Group Identity and Readiness to Change Unemployment Status

The authors assessed the degree to which unemployed individuals identified with an unemployed “in-group” and the subsequent impact on readiness to change their unemployed status. Participants from 2 Australian employment agencies completed the Group Identification Scale and the Lam Assessment on Stages of Employment Readiness measure. Findings suggest that the extent of family unemployment affects unemployed in-group identification and predicts readiness to change unemployed status. Duration of unemployment was negatively correlated with readiness to change. Results suggest that unemployed individuals form an in-group. Interventions to assist unemployed individuals to return to the workforce should take this into account for effectiveness to be maximized.