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From Labor Market Exclusion to Social Exclusion: A Sociological Analysis of Unemployed Workers

This thesis begins with the economic globalization, and uses secondary data analysis to explore the labor structural change and employment conditions in Taiwan under globalization. Then, using the social exclusion theory, through qualitative in-depth interview methods, this study explores the unemployment and re-employment experiences of the long-term unemployed and the marginally employed, as well as the economic, psychological, and social network exclusion in the process of employment to unemployment. This study also discusses the roles of government employment policies, familial and social relationship networks. Finally, policy suggestions are proposed according to related research discoveries.
The study finds that: first, in terms of unemployment and re-employment experience, most laborers regard unemployment with a passive and external attribution attitude; this negatively influences emotions, interpersonal relationships, and later re-employment. While unable to return to the original career, unemployed laborers develop different life choices. Those who return to the labor market the earliest return because they succumb to economic pressure, becoming marginal workers who are willing to do any work, and the other kind are those who are continuously accumulate capital and convert it into employment resource; these are the active workers. On the other hand, there are two types of people who remain unemployed. One is the type that becomes waiting unemployed because they are unwilling to budge on employment conditions, and the other is the type that is limited by their own employment abilities and become helplessly unemployed. Additionally, unemployed people with different identities also have different life choices at their inability to return to their original careers.
Secondly, from labor market exclusion to social exclusion: 1.Labor market exclusion and economic exclusion: unemployment results in decreased income, which further impairs daily living needs, basic medical care, and educational services, as well as stops one from participating in entertainment and leisure activities; these impact basic life opportunities and makes one feel more and more exclusion. 2. Labor market exclusion and psychological exclusion: emotional changes during unemployment are primarily affected by decreased income, but it is also affected by personal expectations of future re-employment. For the involuntarily unemployed, they feel a greater sense of lack of control and impotence over their lives. 3. Labor market exclusion and social relationship exclusion: as a result of lack of self esteem or economic considerations, the unemployed have significantly less social interaction, in a singularized network structure, which would provide relatively smaller economic or re-employment support. 4. Social networks have a positive influence on alleviating the multifaceted exclusion caused by unemployment, but the majority of unemployment laborers have significantly insufficient social network functions. Those who are unemployed with weak formal and informal social networks would fall into social exclusion, have a bleak outlook on the future and believe that there is no chance to extricate oneself from the various unfavorable situations caused by unemployment.
¡@¡@The end of the thesis also discusses some related issues, such as the unemployment issue (unemployment conceptualization? Who are the unemployed? Work or retire?), social exclusion issues (applicability of social exclusion theories? what is the role of the country in labor market exclusion? Does the employment policy cause social cohesion or social exclusion?), social structures, and individual action interactions. Finally, from labor market intervention, construction to social network, and proposes related policy suggestions to reverse social exclusion.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:NSYSU/oai:NSYSU:etd-0624106-065544
Date24 June 2006
CreatorsTung, Hsiao-Chu
ContributorsJeno-rong Shyu, none, none, none, Jou-juo Chu
PublisherNSYSU
Source SetsNSYSU Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Archive
LanguageCholon
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
Sourcehttp://etd.lib.nsysu.edu.tw/ETD-db/ETD-search/view_etd?URN=etd-0624106-065544
Rightsnot_available, Copyright information available at source archive

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