The World of Work: Stress, Underemployment & Limited Employment Opportunities

The struggles of an educated generation

The Globe and Mail, Nov. 08 2012.

Two recent studies reveal a young, educated workforce that is suffering from Canada’s weak economy. Not only are a substantial number of young people failing to find work that matches their education – and young people have never been as well educated – but they are also unduly stressed by their inability to secure satisfactory jobs.

While we can hope that the economy improves and that these well educated workers are swept up by the growth, there is still a need to ensure the educational offerings of postsecondary institutions have a reasonable correlation to the likelihood of employment.
Canadian youth should not be prepared for a workplace where their skills are not needed. That leads to a high rate of job dissatisfaction; if employees’ range of talents are not put to use, the quality of their work will suffer.

A report released at the end of October by the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada concludes that many young people leaving postsecondary institutions are securing jobs in sectors where their learned skills are not being developed into professional abilities.

Though the causes of underemployment are not yet fully understood, the report does find that “some 24.6 per cent of all youths holding a university degree who were continuously employed full-time in 2005 were effectively underutilized”; this was especially true for young people with a bachelor’s degree. It also mentions that “one in 10 youth workers holding a graduate degree were likewise employed in occupations not requiring a university degree.”

Sun Life Financial Inc.’s annual health survey helps illuminate the consequences: Ninety per cent of people aged 18 to 24 say they are feeling excessive levels of anxiety.

“Canada’s weak economic recovery – now in its fourth year since the financial crisis of 2008 – is a driver of remarkably high stress levels, particularly among young adults across the country,” the Sun Life study says. This in turn has contributed to a marked increase in mental health-related long-term disability claims.

There is something to be said for education for education’s sake, but there has to be a reasonable prospect of transforming that knowledge into productive work. A strong economy cannot be assured, but there ought to be some vigilance over the job-prospect claims made for the offerings of post-secondary institutions.

*************************************
Youth Unemployment in Canada: Challenging Conventional Thinking? (October 2012). Certified General Accountants Association of Canada.

Many youth are underemployed and do not use their skills to the fullest potential. Underemployment has dire consequences for Canadian workers and the economy, but its causes are not well understood.

• Underemployment of youth in Canada exists through both the underutilization of skills and labour; however, all age groups are susceptible to underemployment.
• Some 24.6 per cent of all youth holding a university degree who were continuously employed full-time during 2005 were effectively underutilized as they were employed in occupations where employment requirements did not call for post-secondary education.
• The underutilization of skills among youth is prevalent in sales and service occupations and clerical occupations, it is also present in such occupational groups as: technical occupations related to natural and applied sciences, technical occupations in computer and information systems, and assisting occupations in support of health services.
• Youth experience a high rate of involuntary part-time employment. In 2011, the economy was underutilizing the ability and willingness to work of some 4.0 per cent of employed youth.

*************************************
National survey reveals 90 per cent of young Canadians are stressed out in today’s economy 
Sun Life Canadian Health Index™ reveals finances and work life are two of the highest contributors to stress. November 05, 2012.

TORONTO, ON (November 5, 2012) – The instability in today’s economy is contributing to high stress levels in young Canadians, with 90 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds experiencing excessive stress and 72 per cent of adult Canadians are feeling overwhelmed, according to the third annual Sun Life Canadian Health Index™ compiled by Ipsos Reid.

Finances and work life are cited as two of the biggest sources of anxiety for all Canadians surveyed, according to the index. Other top sources of stress include personal relationships and personal health issues.

The index also found that the employment landscape in Canada is changing with almost 30 per cent of Canadians saying they are underemployed, under-utilized and not able to make full use of their skills and abilities. Underemployment is highest amongst young Canadians – with 39 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds feeling under-utilized.

“These results are consistent with Canada’s national unemployment rate sitting at close to 15 per cent for Canadians under 25, more than twice the Canadian average” said Louis Theriault, Director, Health Economics at the Conference Board of Canada. “It is more difficult for young Canadians to find permanent full-time jobs that suit their skills and areas of study. Recent job creation has been dominated by part-time work – which is becoming a trend in Canada. This impacts younger workers in particular and contributes to their higher stress level.”

Being Conscious & Becoming Unstuck through Intention

I thought this was a really valuable reflection on how we can become more conscious, shaking loose from our stuck places through intention from the Mindfulness Institute.

New Year's Resolutions: Reflections On Stuckness And Becoming Unstuck

As we anticipate the unfolding of another year, we face wonderful moment to moment opportunities to consciously direct both the development of our brains (neuroplasticity), and who we will become (epigenetics). As the beginning of a new year, January is a popular time for reassessing one’s life – a practice often accompanied by a set of new year’s resolutions formed to address areas of unhappiness. The majority of people soon abandon their intentions; failing to consistently follow through on their resolutions, they lapse into discouragement, self judgement and demoralization, giving up on themselves and their goals.
In order to successfully change any aspect of our lives, it is crucial to be consciously aware of:

1. What we want to change.
2. Why we want to change it.
3. How we are going to accomplish this.

Only with this awareness can we form a clear intention about how we choose to address the situation, and act firmly and decisively in a manner consistent with this intention. Two of the biggest challenges people face in accomplishing their new year’s resolutions are not knowing how to persevere to achieve the change they desire, and not recognizing the areas of stuckness that cause them difficulty in the first place. In my experience the process of transformation begins with reflection – reflection on one’s life with a focus not on the external world, but on taking a very close inventory of one’s internal world as follows:

- One’s  patterns of thoughts, emotions and actions
- One’s attitudes towards self, others and life
- One’s interpersonal interactions and reactions

Without introspection it can be difficult to identify these patterns. Without meditation it can be difficult to realize that they are often just habits we default to automatically; ingrained tendencies that constrict our sense of self and limit our freedom without us even realizing it. 

Close scrutiny and contemplation of our internal and external patterns while letting go of attachment to them can help us to become aware of areas of stuckness within ourselves. Consider which of the areas listed above you might have degrees of stuckness in. As you go through the above inventory you might choose to itemize each area of stuckness, as well as:

- Where or when the stuckness originated
- How it has helped and/or hindered you
- Why you have chosen (consciously or unconsciously) to continue this pattern
- Whether you choose to take the steps to become unstuck from this pattern at this time

Once your inventory has been compiled, the process of transformation has begun! This process works with awareness in the present moment as well as with life affirming attitudes, and is no different from any other mindfulness work. For ease of application, it can be conceptualized in 5 easy steps:

1. Identify the area of stuckness along with its when’s, where’s and why’s.
2. Set a clear intention of how you would like things to be different. Consider all the alternative possibilities of thinking, perceiving, reacting or interacting. Internally rehearse these and envision their outcomes.
3. Notice how your stuckness may neglect or ignore any of the mindful attitudes – non-judgement, patience, acceptance, letting go, beginner’s mind, kindness, generosity and compassion. Experiment with applying these attitudes to the area of stuckness.
4. Practice noticing when your thoughts, feelings or behaviours are no longer aligned with your intention. This is rather like noticing when the focus of awareness is no longer on the breath in the breath-awareness exercise.
5. Reconnect with your intention and realign your thoughts, feelings and actions with this intention.

Just as with any other mindfulness exercise we set our intention, we practice noticing when we have lost our alignment (focus) with our intention, and when we discover that our thoughts, emotions or behaviour have wandered, we gently but firmly re-align them with our initial intention. This decreases the conflict between conscious intention and unconscious habitual patterns, freeing us from the limitations those patterns carry and allowing us to take a more active role in consciously creating our life. This also helps establish consistency between intention and action, and leads us to peace. And through this process, applied moment by moment to our observations of ourselves and our interactions with the external world, life itself becomes a meditation practice, with each moment full of creative possibilities. May 2012 be transformational for you!

Catherine L. Phillips, MD, CM FRCP(C)