The Stigma Trap: College-Educated, Experienced, and Long-Term Unemployed [Hardcover]

The majority of American workers experience unemployment, and millions get trapped in devastating long-term unemployment. Drawing on interviews with unemployed workers, job recruiters, and career coaches,The Stigma Trapexplains how the stigma of unemployment can render past educational and professional achievements irrelevant, leaving all American workers--including the most highly educated--vulnerable to getting trapped in unemployment. Eye-opening and clearly written,The Stigma Trapis essential reading for anyone who has experienced unemployment, has a family member or friend who is unemployed, or who wants to understand the forces that underlie the anxiety-filled lives of contemporary American workers.An eye-opening look at how all American workers, even the highly educated and experienced, are vulnerable to the stigma of unemployment.After receiving a PhD in mathematics from MIT, Larry spent three decades working at prestigious companies in the tech industry. Initially he was not worried when he lost his job as part of a large layoff, but the prolonged unemployment that followed decimated his finances and nearly ended his marriage. Larry's story is not an anomaly. The majority of American workers experience unemployment, and millions get trapped in devastating long-term unemployment, including experienced workers with advanced degrees from top universities. How is it possible for even highly successful careers to suddenly go off the rails?InThe Stigma Trap, Ofer Sharone explains how the stigma of unemployment can render past educational and professional achievements irrelevant, and how it leaves all American workers vulnerable to becoming trapped in unemployment. Drawing on interviews with unemployed workers, job recruiters, and career coaches, Sharone brings to light the subtle ways that stigmatization prevents even the most educated and experienced workers from gaining middle-class jobs. Stigma also means that an AmelóT