Effects and Influences of Unemployment on Social Capital

It is not always that social networks provide solace for the unemployed as there are examples when this is sometimes far from the case. Social networks could turn out to be a negative influence or be exploitative for an unemployed individual. Furthermore, the exclusion of individuals from certain influential social networks could deprive them of certain opportunities.

When unemployment is seen as a form of social or economic exclusion of a section of individuals, there is the tendency for affected individuals to congregate into social groups through which they could address the social structures inhibiting their progress. In Tunisia, unemployed youth that were faced with economic hardships were responsible for the series of protests and demonstrations that culminated in the national uprising in 2010 and 2011 where Ben Ali, a dictator who was in power for many Years was ousted (Weipert-Fenner and Jonas Wolff, 2016, p5-6). Similarly, in Argentina, economic hardships during the mid-1990s through the early 2000s resulted in the

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country’s most extensive unemployment rates (Weipert-Fenner and Jonas Wolff, 2016, p3-4).

Unemployed youth who felt excluded congregated into social groups that became known as the

‘piquetero’ (picketer) movement. These groups engaged in systematically organized protests and demonstrations that ultimately led to the ousting of President De la Rúa in 2001(Weipert-Fenner and Jonas Wolff, 2016, p4). In Northern Kenya, there has been a similar situation where young people in unfavourable socio-economic situations formed formidable social groups to fight for their interests. Here, their lands and source of livelihood were being taken over by entities with political and economic power and thus, to fight, they formed groups to collectively oppose the external interests (Jørgensen, 2017, p141). These paralegals from such groups eventually warded of politically motivated external interests through negotiations and legal processes to maintain their land rights. Thus, this is important in maintaining the livelihood strategies by the local population. (Jørgensen, 2017, p 142-143)

Unemployed persons who feel excluded from society and pursue to find social attachments could end up in social groups where they are exploited or influenced to engage in illegal activities.

Yeboah (2017, p91) points out that in most cases, migrants who move to urban areas often find themselves in economic hardships tend to rely on their social networks for survival. In some instances, however, migrants end up in rather exploitative networks that further deprive them of their already scarce resources. Evidence of this is seen in Accra in the reports of such exploitation among migrant groups where individuals were defrauded by a trusted member of their social network. Yeboah (2017, p91). There are also situations where the lack of employment opportunities pushes people into social groups that are involved in crime, violence and other illegal activities. For instance, there is a tendency for young people who perceive they are being left back through exclusions, lack of job opportunities and poverty to congregate into gangs or join existing gangs to illegally acquire for themselves social justice (Filmer et al., 2014, p46). In Ecuador, a study revealed that young people usually turned to gangs to recompense their ‘non-entity’ status in society (Filmer et al., 2014 p 46). Most of such gang members decide to join gangs when their families and society does not provide, support, or give a sense of inclusion (Filmer et al., p 46). In Port Harcot Metropolis of Nigeria, evidence shows the youth are known to succumb to the pressures of joining gangs engaged in crimes due to lack of avenues to gainful employment (Kpae and Adishi, 2017,p5).

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As Fisher (2016 p209) points out, being employed goes beyond finding a job to do. Often, it involves social constructs and individual perceptions of prestige and status. Pohlan (2019, p274) further assesses that being employed reflects positively on individuals and in social contexts, and attaches to them a status that unemployed persons ordinarily do not get. In some societies, the type of job or skill sets one has, determines the social status of the person. Studies in Ethiopia suggest that urban males placed a lot of emphasis on the value attached to one’s job by the society thereby preferring to be unemployed or going abroad if the job did not bring a significant change in their social pedigree or level (Ains, 2016, p-153-154). In such a context, jobs do play a role in determining social classes and individuals may perceive their jobs as more than just a means of making a livelihood, but rather affecting their perception of their self-worth which is shaped by what work they do.

In the midst of social and economic vulnerabilities associated with unemployment, young people become easily susceptible to political influences, voluntarily or involuntarily taking roles to do the bidding of the political influencer. Gyampo, Graham and Asare (2017, p117-129) suggest that in Ghana, the conception of political vigilantism is usually characterized by unemployed youth being influenced by political entities to take active roles in political campaigns. However, during post-election, members of such groups tend to take the law into their own hands and obtain supposed benefits from the work they did for the electoral victory by seizing public property and intimidating or physically assaulting members of the previous government administration (Gyampo et al., 2017, p120). Another case can be made of Zimbabwe’s National Youth Service, created at a period that Zimbabwe was in deep socio-economic turmoil, being used as a political tool by the ruling party to perpetrate violence and intimidate the opposition (Mhike, 2018, p246). On face value, it seemed as though this youth with the support from the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (i.e. the ZANU PF party), had been exercising their rights to political participation in an often over-exuberant and sometimes unlawful manner. However, it could also be argued that these youth were being manipulated or coerced into taking these roles by people in power due to the socio-economic hardships and joblessness they faced (Mhike, 2018, p246). In hindsight, the influence that politicians have, and the susceptibility of unemployed youth to such influences when they are in a vulnerable situation of unemployment cannot be overemphasized particularly in developing country contexts where survival for some is all that matters at the end of the day. Bayart (1993) has sensationally described this situation as ‘the politics of the belly’.

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It can be seen for the above-discussed issues and examples that social capital has some influences on employability even though this influence is typically indirect. People tend to rely on their immediate social network (i.e. their families) for investment in their education in preparation for work. Other social capital played various roles that indirectly influence employment outcomes.

These included friends and associations people affiliate to. Friends played various roles in the job search process. These roles included being of emotional and financial support, providing information on vacancies and recommending unemployed persons to potential employers. Such support helped aid unemployed persons have a comfortable transition to employment. It was also seen that affiliations to certain associations (i.e. political ones) potentially yield employment outcome for unemployed persons. The literature further revealed that in the face of economic difficulties, unemployment could propel people to associate with exploitative social networks or be involved in social groups that could potentially influence them to commit social vices.