26 weeks without work - a milestone to shout about

Therese is a single parent who found herself out of a job and is now struggling to survive in a cost-of-living crisis, while doing her best to protect her child from the consequences of poverty. She has previous experience in the education sector, not-for-profits, and social justice, and believes governments need to show leadership by making choices that improve life for those experiencing hardship. This post was sourced by @AusUnemployment.

At the point of writing this I have reached a dubiously auspicious milestone: being out of work for 26 weeks … and counting. 

With the coming of this event I thought it an idea to document the impact of this past 6 months on me psychologically, emotionally and physically. When my job ended, I never imagined what being without work for 26 weeks would look or feel like. 

At that point I still felt connected to the ‘world of work’, optimistic even, that there would be another opportunity. All the time though, unbeknownst to me, there was a spectre on my back following me around - but it took me a while to even realise it was there!

The spectre I refer to is ‘reality’. The reality is, it’s just not that easy for some of us to find and/or broker another job. The reasons for this are varied and include but are not limited to: availability/accessibility of jobs (how many are there really?), availability/accessibility of appropriate and sustainable jobs, burnout, length of time out of work, length of time in previous roles, previous experiences in workplaces, impact of not working on health and/or family, shifting responsibilities due to a change in pattern while not working, emotional influences (feeling confident and great one day, and not so great the next) not to mention the full time occupation of managing day to day household finances, with tiny sums of money far below the poverty line, and just generally keeping the home fires burning. The amount of time this takes is monumental. Did I also mention the impact of ‘mutual obligations’?

I have recently been temporarily relieved from mutual obligations after a visit to my doctor resulted in her completing a form to request an exemption on medical grounds. The exemption is for two months at this stage. I have to say, I feel like a completely different person. I feel like such a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. The mutual obligations process is stress-inducing, restrictive and unhelpful. Time-consuming by nature, mutual obligations make it hard for the jobseeker to spend the time needed for the deeper research required to find, and apply for (with a high quality application) an appropriate, sustainable job. It just isn’t a linear process for me and I suggest for most. The ‘one size fits all’ mutual obligations approach doesn’t work. Looking for a job requires networking, being creative, taking a step back and re-evaluating options. In fact, I am far closer to getting a job now than I was when I was trapped in a state of ‘mutual obligations-panic’.

For someone who for many years lived to work, often being the early bird in the office at 7.00am or 7.30am, and as equally often being late to leave (sometimes 10pm) and one memorable night, many, many years ago at 1.30am, I have found not working extremely hard to manage. I am not a huge fan of labels, but I think I had aspects of the stereotypical ‘workaholic’ about me, in that I threw everything into it. I did so because of the messages I got presented with in my formative years. Messages like “Get a job”, “have a job”, “keep a job”. I lived through an era where ‘what do you do?’ was a common introductory line. These days when I get asked the same, I tend to glaze over and say ‘Good question! I’m not quite sure’. I really can’t relate to any of it anymore. If desperate I will fall back on my most recent role and take it from there, but normally saying ‘I’m unemployed’ does not feel like a safe option. It’s interesting how we all expect others to have a response to the question of ‘what do you do?’

It was considered in my family the worst thing of all to be ‘unemployed’ – a state which implied/implies irresponsibility, failure, unwillingness, incompetence, laziness, not wanting to pay your own way in the world… and a whole lot of other unhelpful connotations.

There wasn’t really an emphasis on having a career – a ‘career’ as a generalised term for everyone’s work trajectory is only fairly recent, say in the last 20-30 years. There were professions, vocations and other occupations, but in terms of ‘mapping a career’, ‘climbing the career ladder’, ‘building a successful career’ these were not my main focus in being employed – my main focus was remaining employed for respectability and acceptability. And I expected to be working forever, even into my 80’s. I couldn’t imagine a time when I couldn’t work. Even with just a week to go before my child was born, I was confused as my boss bundled me into a cab and waved me off saying ‘I’m stopping short at helping you give birth in the office!’

Imagine how I now feel being ‘unemployed’. The worst part is I feel I have done a 180 degree flip and I now feel repelled by the workforce I previously threw myself at like a child on a bouncy castle. Work has become a monster, a big hairy one with tentacles that I feel scared about approaching. I no longer recognise it. It seems very different to what it was. I feel so very disenfranchised from it.

It’s made me question what it is all really about. What jobs are out there because they really need to be? What jobs can be reorganised to give others some opportunity? Bear in mind I very much believe our current laws, processes and systems are inherited from a very outdated patriarchal era and so in many instances are not fit for purpose in today’s world, and definitely not tomorrow’s.

As someone who has been in many different workplaces, I can tell you that they can all become very toxic environments. Mainly, I believe, because of the constant imposed competitiveness. You’re expected to speak up all the time in front of others even when you haven’t got your head around the issues. People speak in jargon and you need to follow suit to be understood. You’re competing with your favourite colleague for a promotion or attention from the boss. And all you are really doing is pushing out yet another spreadsheet.

My six months in unemployment has lead me to reflect on two vital questions: what jobs need to be done that will create a sustainable income for us all, and what genuine help is out there for us to obtain these?

We need to be advocating for better support systems like a universal basic wage that supports people with respect and dignity when they are unable, for whatever reason, to be working.

Why couldn’t I be given more time and money to be the best parent I can be instead of being rushed back into work or trying to survive on an inhumane amount of money, desperately battling to keep a roof over my family’s head.

The current Jobseeker allowance is inhumane and derisive. And, maybe we need not to be referred to as ‘jobseekers’. We are people in a particular phase of our life and we don’t need to be specifically called out.

Yes, I am jaded and cheesed off. And very confused - but I am giving myself permission to be so. It’s ok, I figure, after so many years of ‘devotion’ to the entity of work to feel this way especially since I’ve been turfed out of it.

The job webinars and training courses, which job providers force you to do, are fillers that do not meet the need. The need is a job and or the humane level financial support when a job is not available or possible. The benefit should be at a higher level to allow the jobseeker some release from the relentless pressure of meeting commitments – these don’t stop or diminish when your job ends.

I strongly believe anyone who wants a job should be offered an appropriate job and supported well in that job. This should be a focus of government to provide. To have to compete for a job with hundreds of other unknowns is unsatisfactory. It’s far too a competitive scenario for the purpose of earning money to put food on the table. 

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