Similar or different? Profiling the unemployed from selected communities in South Africa

Abstract

South Africa‟s unemployment rate poses a significant challenge, both at an individual and at a national level. The unemployment initiatives offered by the South African government (and other stakeholders) are mainly driven from an economic perspective, neglecting the psychological burden of unemployment. Economic intervention, as well as resultant (re-)employment, is one way to escape the psychological burden of unemployment, but the reality of few in South Africa. Furthermore, the unemployed who are psychologically well are often better positioned to find employment and to weather the challenges associated with a job search. Unemployment interventions should, thus, aim to alleviate the psychological burden of the unemployed. The effectiveness of these psychologically oriented interventions could be enhanced if they were to take a differentiated approach in their delivery, as research postulates that „the unemployed‟ may not be a homogeneous group. Previous research in South Africa supported the notion that „the unemployed‟ consisted of several homogeneous subgroups. More specifically, four (sub)groups of the unemployed were identified, differing in their experiences of unemployment, their commitment to employment, and their job search behaviour. These four groups included the optimist, the desperate, the discouraged, and the adapted. Despite the value-add of previous research, two limitations were noted: the sample was not reflective of the South African unemployed, and the associations with negative emotions and psychological need frustration were not evaluated. Consequently, the first aim of the current study was to determine whether these four groups could be replicated in other unemployed communities in South Africa, using a more representative sample of the South African unemployed population. The second aim of the study was to examine the associations between these different types of unemployed people and negative emotions and psychological need frustration. To achieve these aims, recruitment of participants occurred in two informal settlements in South Africa's Gauteng province. The study used a quantitative survey design, and data was collected with the Experiences of Unemployment Questionnaire, the Employment Commitment Scale, a job search behaviour scale, a discrete negative emotions questionnaire, and a shortened version of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale. Data was collected from a sample of 867 unemployed participants. Through latent profile analysis, the results indicated that the four unemployment groups could be replicated in other unemployed communities in South Africa and that they differed in their experiences of unemployment, their commitment to employment, as well as their job search behaviour. The results also showed that the different types of unemployed differed in the levels of negative emotions and psychological need frustration they experienced. The results paved the way for a differential approach to intervention design and implementation.