Being ‘laid off’ leads to a decade of distrust

Science Daily reports on Research by the University of Manchester which shows the worrying consequences of the current economic climate:

“People who lose their jobs are less willing to trust others for up to a decade after being laid-off, according to new research. The author finds that being made redundant from your job not only makes people less willing to trust others but that this increased distrust and cynicism lasts for years after being forced out of work. It also finds that far from dissipating over time, an individual can remain distrustful of others even after they find a new job.”…

This is so “…according to the new findings by social scientist Dr James Laurence. This means that the large-scale job losses of the recent recession could lead to a worrying level of long-term distrust among the British public and risks having a detrimental effect on the fabric of society.”…

…”Society is still recovering from one of the longest recessions this century and much has been discussed in counting the economic costs of that. This study looks at the social costs of recession.

“Even a single experience of redundancy can lead to depressed trust and what is particularly concerning is that people reported less willingness to trust others even after they got another job. The study shows that the experience of redundancy can scar an individual’s trust in others. This has important implications not just for the person involved but for society as a whole as trust can have significant benefits, from health and happiness, to social cohesion, efficient democratic governance and economic development.”

“The study examined ‘job displacement’, meaning involuntary job loss from redundancy, downsizing, restructuring, or similar.”