下载掌阅APP，畅读海量书库
立即打开
In mid-April 2020, the national unemployment rate reached 14.7 percent—the highest since the Great Depression. Forty-one million American workers filed for unemployment between February and May of 2020. Unprecedented unemployment rates don’t just have an impact on the unemployed, though. For people still employed during the COVID-19 pandemic, job insecurity and financial concern are associated with greater symptoms of depression and anxiety, according to findings from the UConn School of Nursing published recently in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
The findings are part of a year-long examination of how behavior and social attitudes change, and what factors influence those changes, when people in the United States are faced with the threat of widespread disease. Supported by a National Science Foundation grant, the study is tracking the well-being, feelings, and behavioral practices of about 1,000 individuals across the United States, and more than 18 surveys of the participants have already been conducted since March.
The study asked participants to identify symptoms of anxiety by asking if they were feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge, or if they were not able to stop or control their worrying. They were also asked about the extent of their financial concerns—how worried they were about their employment and financial situation, if they expected their financial situation to get worse over the next 12 months, and if they had the means to secure food and housing for their family for the next 12 months.
Most study participants reported some level of worry about the effects of COVID-19 on their employment. While previous studies have linked large-scale disruptions like recessions and pandemics with poor mental health, the researchers note that their study importantly expands on these associations by demonstrating independent links between greater financial concern with greater anxiety symptoms, and greater job insecurity with greater depressive symptoms, after accounting for demographics, health, and other COVID-19 concerns and experiences.
The researchers say employers can play a critical role in supporting the mental health of their employees by recognizing the increased anxiety that workers experience when their job security feels threatened during the pandemic.
“Our results demonstrate the potential adverse consequences that job insecurity and financial concern have on employees’ mental health,” the researchers write. “Based on these findings, for those experiencing depressive symptoms during the pandemic, it may be particularly important for employers to be mindful and try to minimize feelings of uncertainty for the employees, as well as instilling hope or agency in employees. For those experiencing anxiety symptoms, employers could attempt to reduce financial concerns by allowing employees to continue to work (eg, telework), even with reduced hours and income, to ensure that employees do not lose their entire income.”
1. What can we know from the first paragraph?
A) The unemployment rate in the United States is at an all-time high.
B) 41 million people were unemployed in the United States in 2020.
C) The high unemployment rate has little effect on the employed.
D) The employed are also uneasy about their employment prospects.
2. Researchers of the mentioned study mainly asked participants about ______.
A) their mental conditions
B) their depression symptoms
C) their views on economic situation
D) their family income and expenditure
3. Through the investigation, the researchers found that ______.
A) greater economic insecurity can cause serious anxiety
B) epidemics can lead to psychological problems
C) people infected with COVID-19 are prone to depression
D) anxiety symptoms are barely associated with physical health status
4. The researchers advised employers to ______.
A) provide more work opportunities
B) avoid firing their sick employees
C) make employees feel financially secure
D) allow anxious workers to get fully paid
5. What would be the author’s purpose of writing this passage?
A) To call on policymakers to respond to unemployment crisis.
B) To offer some advice to deal with unemployment anxiety and depression.
C) To explore root reasons for the rise of unemployment rate.
D) To illustrate the great influence of pandemics on economy.