title: Psychological effects of (non)employment: A cross-national comparison of the United States and Japan.
abstract: The involuntary loss of employment has been shown to deteriorate subjective well-being. Adopting a cross-cultural perspective on Jahoda's (1982) deprivation model this study examines several latent and manifest benefits of work that were expected to mediate the effects of employment status on well-being. It was hypothesized that in more collectivistic societies the decline in subjective well-being would be a consequence of a diminished sense of collective purpose for the non-employed, whereas in individualistic societies the crucial factors would be a loss of social status and financial benefits. The findings from two representative national surveys conducted in the United States (N = 1,093) and Japan (N = 647) provided partial support for these hypotheses. Cultural differences moderated the effects of employment status on the benefits of work. As a consequence, different processes mediated the decline in well-being for the non-employed in the two countries. These results are embedded within the wider discourse on culture and its effect on unemployment.
authors.affiliation: Osnabrück University, Germany.
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gnambs
authors.affiliation: University of Linz, Austria.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stiglbauer
authors.affiliation: University of Sheffield, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Selenko
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014478:Unemployment / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States
keywords: Employment status; Jahoda; benefits of work; cultural differences; well-being