Employment

I have applied for hundreds and hundreds of jobs in my field over the past two years to no avail — in spite of more than 30 years of experience. I should say “because of” rather than “in spite of” since for most positions my experience works against me. I have found that there exists almost no possibilities between my last good position (I was making $65,000 with good benefits) and the crappy hourly positions I’ve been forced to take the past year.

While increasing attention has been paid to the economic effects of underemployment, the psychological consequences have been largely ignored even though they can be profoundly negative.

Chrysler employees, we are given to understand, are thrilled to be working in the auto industry, even if they are forced to accept wages much lower than their colleagues. What do we learn about what this means for their lives? Nothing.