"Why don't you go get a job?"
You may have heard this said to you. Or thought this. Or said this.
Have you ever thought about what is involved in getting and keeping a job --I mean really thought about it? Likely, if you're saying it, you have a job. How did you get it? How do you keep it? Likely, if you've heard it, you don't have one and feel awful about yourself because someone basically just told you you're lazy and, therefore, a Bad Person.
Let's look at it a different way today ...
Here is a short list of potential barriers to employment:
- Lack of available positions (because they've gone to countries with no workers' protections or to Amazonian robots)
- Lack of meaningful positions (ten hours a week at minimum wage? Thank you! I can certainly live off that while you count me in your employment figures!)
- Disability ("But disabled people can work!" you say. Yes, they can --quite well. Insert long statement about lack of understanding about things like structured employment, reasonable accommodations, and what disability actually looks like. Now look around at society and the way it functions and let's have a real discussion about employment and disability.)
- Formerly incarcerated status (even after you've paid your debt to society, it's hard to reintegrate in all kinds of ways, which brings us to ...)
- Lack of previous experience/gaps in employment history (ex-felons and stay-at-home moms have something in common --never mind the ex-felon stay-at-home moms!)
- Lack of transportation (you see, you don't get paid right away, and somehow, you have to make it there on schedule.)
- Lack of education (not everyone has a degree or training. "Well, go get one!" That takes time and availability of programs --oh yeah, and money.)
- Lack of support (communities have been whittled away by a number of factors; there may be no family around prior to said magical job-getting experience; somehow, the loudest people who show up are the ones yelling, "Get a job!" Makes people feel motivated, no?)
- Lack of self-esteem (see previous parenthetical statement)
Criticizing doesn't help. It's easy. Taking away support doesn't help --it's also easy. In the meantime, the people receiving the criticism and trying to make do without things like healthcare, food, and housing are not just suffering. The word "suffering" is easy --it's vague. People are losing their senses of self-worth, their health, their homes, and, in some cases, their lives in very concrete and preventable ways.
This is not meant to be a hopeless blog post. That's the whole point: it is not hopeless. All of the above things mentioned are things that can be addressed. It's going to take a little bit of change within each one of us. Those of us who are not willing to change because it doesn't affect them or theirs (yet) need a little extra help in this area. Inform them at length about what's going on until they do something just to get you to shut up about it already.
For starters, if you are an asker of questions, instead of asking, "Why don't you go get a job?" in that tone of voice that means you've already decided what the answer is and it's not a good one, try changing the tone of voice. Ask, "Why don't you go get a job?" and listen to the answers.
If you are unemployed or underemployed, think about that list and where you fit on it. What support do you need? Do you know what you need? Is it available? If you're not sure, do you know who or where to talk to start to figure it all out?
A person is not his or her employment status. If that were the case, then kids would be worthless, right? And they're not. No one is worthless. It's all a matter of looking at things a little differently.
Have a great day today.