First, scary story in the NY Times yesterday (subscription possibly required - and worth it!) about men in the prime of their lives not working, and not looking for work.
About 13 percent of American men between the age of 30 to 55 are not working, up from 5 percent in the late 1960’s. The difference represents 4 million men who would be working today if the employment rate had remained where it was in the 1950’s and 60’s.
I really feel for these guys. As you read the article you can see how life has dealt them a harsh blow and then they have lost some confidence and spiraled downwards. Finally at some point they get so low they give up trying. I wrote previously about how losing confidence and the subsequent spiral can really pull people down, even hard-working, intelligent people like those described in this article (or even high level executives).
If caught early and supported people can jump out of that spiral by rebuilding their confidence with small ongoing achievements. But it takes effort, and the longer it takes the more effort is going to be needed to break out of that funk. Unfortunately for the people in the article they don't feel that a lower paid job can help them with that. I personally don't agree. The act of being out there will help give them some momentum. Plus in my opinion the act of work itself is valuable for the soul, no matter what kind of work it is.
This is also not a phenomenon limited to the US. In Japan, unemployment of men at a similar age group has gone from 4% to 8%. And in the EU 14 percent of men between 25 and 54 were not working last year, up from 7 percent in 1975.
(Hat tip to CM Russell on this article)
Enough of the scary, and now for the interesting. Japanese Rail company JR-East are testing a system where the weight of passengers walking over pads, embedded in the ground at a Shibuya ticket gate, generates an electric current. That current is stored and used to supplement the power needs for the station. I thought this was fascinating. Could highways and roads be layered with these kinds of systems to take advantage of traffic passing over them? Japanese article here, English from Pink Tentacle here.
(Hat tip to brilliant techie blogger Dave5 for this one)
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It's the same story worldwide. So many people have been laid off and it's getting harder and harder to find employment. I'm a graduate and I was a well-paid executive with one of the world's largest MNCs until about 4 years ago. Then I lost my job, followed by my savings and then my home. I joined the queues of the long-term unemployed.
So I learned a bitter lesson: there's No job security. It doesn't matter how hardworking or dedicated or experienced you are. You need to know how to fish for yourself. Now I own several web businesses, and unemployment is unimportant to me. I control my own income.
I had to change my mindset. leave my comfort zone and learn new things, but I'm glad I did. I'll NEVER be helpless again.
Posted by: Carol | Tuesday, August 29, 2006 at 12:22 AM