Anyone who was unemployed carries the mental scars from this experience years after starting a new job. This is the conclusion reached by the Chair of Empirical Economic Sociology at FAU.
It is no surprise that unemployment has a detrimental effect on mental wellbeing, and this has long been scientifically proven to be the case. But how long do these 'mental scars' last? Until now, research findings have been inconclusive.
The FAU economic sociologists Dr. Andreas Eberl and Professor Dr. Tobias Wolbring have now looked into the issue in more detail together with Dr. Matthias Collischon (IAB), and the assistance of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). The result: unemployment still has a negative effect on mental wellbeing as long as five years after starting a new job. Participants reported feeling less satisfied over all than before they became unemployed. Even those who were only unemployed for a short time. The lack of satisfaction was particularly driven by repeated periods of unemployment.
