New Books in Sociology

Ofer Sharone, "The Stigma Trap: College-Educated, Experienced, and Long-Term Unemployed" (Oxford UP, 2024)

Jan 22, 2024

Ofer Sharone, an expert on the stigma of unemployment, discusses how highly educated and experienced workers are vulnerable to long-term unemployment. He explains the impact of unemployment stigma on job seekers and their relationships. The podcast also explores the financial consequences on intimate relationships and friendships. Additionally, it highlights the importance of advocacy and collective action in changing societal perceptions of unemployment.

34:00

Episode guests

Ofer Sharone

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Quick takeaways

The stigma of unemployment can render a person's educational and professional achievements irrelevant, leaving even highly educated and experienced workers vulnerable to becoming trapped in long-term unemployment.

Long-term unemployed individuals face significant obstacles in finding employment, including stigma, age discrimination, and assumptions of overqualification, highlighting the need for structural changes and collective action to create better opportunities for all workers.

Deep dives

The Challenges Faced by Long-Term Unemployed Workers

Long-term unemployed workers, many of whom are college-educated and experienced, face significant obstacles in finding employment. Despite their credentials and qualifications, they often struggle to even receive job offers or responses to their applications. One of the major obstacles they face is the stigma associated with unemployment, which can cause recruiters to overlook their qualifications and experience. The longer individuals remain unemployed, the more this stigma intensifies. Additionally, age discrimination plays a role, with older workers being less likely to receive callbacks. Overqualification is another hurdle, as employers assume that individuals with a track record of success will not be satisfied with lower-level positions. Overall, long-term unemployment creates emotional turmoil and a sense of shame, which further hampers job search efforts. The financial consequences of unemployment also strain intimate relationships, with marriages often experiencing tension due to the failure to uphold the breadwinner expectation. Friendships can suffer as well, as the loss of work friends and financial constraints in social activities contribute to a sense of isolation. It is crucial to address these challenges and provide better support for long-term unemployed individuals.

Introduction

2min

Stigma and Biases in the Job Market

15min

The Financial Consequences of Long-Term Unemployment on Intimate Relationships

3min

The Impact of Unemployment on Friendships

9min

Advocacy and Collective Action: Changing the Perception of Unemployment

4min

An eye-opening look at how all American workers, even the highly educated and experienced, are vulnerable to the stigma of unemployment.

After receiving a PhD in mathematics from MIT, Larry spent three decades working at prestigious companies in the tech industry. Initially he was not worried when he lost his job as part of a large layoff, but the prolonged unemployment that followed decimated his finances and nearly ended his marriage. Larry's story is not an anomaly. The majority of American workers experience unemployment, and millions get trapped in devastating long-term unemployment, including experienced workers with advanced degrees from top universities. How is it possible for even highly successful careers to suddenly go off the rails?

In The Stigma Trap: College-Educated, Experienced, and Long-Term Unemployed (Oxford UP, 2024), Ofer Sharone explains how the stigma of unemployment can render past educational and professional achievements irrelevant, and how it leaves all American workers vulnerable to becoming trapped in unemployment. Drawing on interviews with unemployed workers, job recruiters, and career coaches, Sharone brings to light the subtle ways that stigmatization prevents even the most educated and experienced workers from gaining middle-class jobs. Stigma also means that an American worker risks more than financial calamity from a protracted period of unemployment. One's closest relationships and sense of self are also on the line.

Eye-opening and clearly written, The Stigma Trap is essential reading for anyone who has experienced unemployment, has a family member or friend who is unemployed, or who wants to understand the forces that underlie the anxiety-filled lives of contemporary American workers. The book offers a unique approach to supporting unemployed jobseekers. At a broader level it exposes the precarious condition of American workers and sparks a conversation about much-needed policies to assure that we are not all one layoff away from being trapped by stigma.

Stephen Pimpare is a Senior Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire.

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New Books in Sociology

Ofer Sharone, "The Stigma Trap: College-Educated, Experienced, and Long-Term Unemployed" (Oxford UP, 2024)

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Challenges Faced by Long-Term Unemployed Workers

Improving Support for Long-Term Unemployed Workers

The Call for Societal Change in How We View Unemployment

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts