NEWS RELEASE
December 6 2001
Unemployed
and stressed out – it’s the same the world over
International conference looks
at unemployment and health
Leading
researchers from around the world will meet in Adelaide next week to
examine just how damaging unemployment and underemployment can be for both
the individual and the community.
The
conference,
Occupational Transitions: Unemployment, Underemployment, and Health,
will be the
first for the newly formed International Scientific Committee on
Unemployment and Health, which was established by the International
Commission on Occupational Health, an organisation founded in Milan almost
100 years ago.
Convened
by Chairman of the Scientific Committee on Unemployment and Health,
Professor Thomas Kieselbach, from the University of Bremen and UniSA’s
Professor Tony Winefield, the three-day event from December 10 to 12 will
highlight some of the most comprehensive research from around the world on
the effects of unemployment.
Professor
Winefield says the conference will offer a rare opportunity to access some
of the latest international research on a range of issues related to
unemployment and human health.
“The
conference will bring together researchers from across the fields of
psychology, medicine, economics, sociology, occupational health and
organisational development from Australia, the UK, Finland, Denmark,
Greece, Sweden, Germany, Japan, Austria and Belgium,” Professor
Winefield said.
“Around
the world researchers are observing the fall out from unemployment and
underemployment. It is clear that in most instances unemployment is
accompanied by increasing levels of stress, anxiety and depression. But in
a world work environment where there is an increase in contract work,
where working part time is more and more common and where people may be
expected to retrain for new careers several times over, there is a need to
look at what factors can help to redress anxiety surrounding the
destabilisation of employment.
“The
pressures of globalisation and new technologies on world economies have
completely transformed our working lives. Job stability and a job with one
organisation for a lifetime are now the stuff of history.
“Researchers
are examining a range of issues related to these factors – the
relationship between unemployment and depression, the comparative impact
of unemployment on men and women, the impact of unemployment on health and
well being, retraining strategies for people who have been retrenched,
what constructive role industry and business can play in managing
retrenchment and reintegration strategies for the long term unemployed.
“The
conference will be invaluable in providing a broad base of research which
allows for comparisons across nations and generations so that we will have
a clearer picture of the impacts of unemployment worldwide but also of the
innovations and ideas that have proved valuable in addressing these
problems.”
Professor
Winefield said the conference would feature presentations from world
leaders in the field including keynote speaker Professor Emeritus Lennart
Levi from the Department of Public Health Sciences in Stockholm’s
Karolinska Institute.
The
conference will be held at the Stamford Grand Hotel at Glenelg from
December 10 to 12. More information about the conference and abstracts of
the papers are available at www.ipg.uni-bremen.de/ICOH.html
Interviews
can be arranged with either Professor Tony Winefield on (08) 8302 2156 or co convenor Professor Thomas
Kieselbach from the University of Bremen, Germany at kieselbach@jpg.uni-bremen.de.
Media contact: Michèle Nardelli (08) 8302 0966 or 041
8823673
email: michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au
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