Job We Do? The Recent

¶ … job we do?

The recent meltdown of the major economies of the world dramatically increased the ranks of the jobless. With high levels of unemployment becoming problematic for many countries, the question of the role of jobs in the lives of individuals becomes a primary concern. We are defined by the jobs that we do. This reality translates into a multiplicity of problems when we are no longer able to work or if we lose our jobs.

One of the first pillars of support for the role that jobs play in our lives comes from the manner in which Western societies are structured. Western societies tend to organized around the idea of work or the kind of work that one actually does. Fryers 2006()

posits that "Western societies are very work-oriented cultures"2010( ADDIN EN.CITE Fryers2006

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(p.1). This means that the lives of persons in western societies are structured to ensure that persons are working, and the work that one is engaged in is a source of status, identity and respect within the community. It should be noted that there are peoples whose identity is not tied to occupation. Gibson)

, posits that the Aboriginal people in Wilcannia derive their sense of identity at birth. However, for most other Western peoples work and identity are inextricably linked.

Additionally, work is seen not simply as a means of receiving an income to survive, work takes on a symbolic meaning. Work in general and the jobs that we are engaged in, produce and give "social legitimacy to our lives" (Fryers 2006, p.2). The idea of social legitimacy is that our value as a member of society is tied to our productive capacity. We are considered to be effective and functioning members of society when we are employed and contributing to national development. Some individuals are so inextricably linked to their jobs that job loss is traumatic; others create family dynasties for generations of doing the same kind of job. Not only is the individual defined but the family is defined by the job.

The nature of work is such that it is also fused to individual identity. Bielby 1992()

suggests that commitment to work is an effective measure of personal identity (p.284). People are generally committed to the things that they understand as defining who they are. An individual's job is one such defining element. While it is accepted that it is one among others such as family and group to which a person belongs. It is a very dominant factor. In so much so, that, individuals demonstrate greater commitment to their jobs, than to their families.

Retirement holds terrors for many individuals not simply because they are no longer employed but because the thing that defined them for decades no longer exists. Fear of retirement demonstrated vividly the challenge that joblessness is tied to a sense of loss of personhood. This loss of personhood can be observed through media reports that simply refer to individuals as "a pensioner" or as "elderly"Fryers, 2006.