RESEARCH_FILE
Marie Jahoda
University of Sussex
Known for:The latent deprivation model of employment and the pioneering Marienthal unemployment study
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“They kept everyone but me”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“A spreadsheet made a call about a role. It never met the person.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
When you next feel the urge to revise your CV, pause and name aloud: 'I'm re-trying the case.' Then close the file and spend exactly those ten minutes on one real job posting instead.
Key findings
- 1933
The Marienthal study of an Austrian community with near-total unemployment documented resignation rather than revolt: apathy, a shrinking of plans and social life, and a breakdown of the daily sense of time — Jahoda's own later account of the study anchors her theory of what work provides. Marienthal: The Sociography of an Unemployed Community (with Lazarsfeld & Zeisel; discussed in Employment and Unemployment) ↗
- 1982
Employment carries one manifest function — income — and five latent functions: time structure, social contact, collective purpose, status, and enforced activity. Unemployment deprives people of these latent functions, which is why it damages mental health beyond financial hardship. Employment and Unemployment: A Social-Psychological Analysis ↗