Sociology focuses on the influences found in society that shape how people behave, their life experiences and how they interpret the world around them. By understanding the society one can then contribute significantly to the changes in the society and explain them to others. One is also able to highlight the various sociological problems that are affecting the society and the rest of the world. Browne (2006) defines sociological problems as social issues that need explanation from sociologists. In most cases sociological problems are social problems, though not all the social problems can be defined as sociological issues. This essay we will analyze the sociological problem of “Unemployment” and we will find out that “What are the most significant social problems that lead to unemployment and what measures can we take to eradicate those problems.”
Unemployment is an issue that has been affecting very many people all over the world. The issue has been affecting people at a personal level as they loose their jobs during entrenchments, corporate downsizing and in other unavoidable situations. The problem is however deeply rooted in the structure the society hence affecting more communities. In order to understand the primary causes for unemployment we will have to apply reverse methodology where we talk about the social problems initially and then find out their relation with unemployment.
Sociologists regularly research to understand the various factors that lead to unemployment since the problem is rooted and hence requires them to understand the structural conditions that influence the lives of people. Unemployment is also affected by how the society is organized since it does not provide enough opportunities for those who are unemployed while those who have jobs are overworked (Willis, 1996).
Several sociological studies have been carried out regarding unemployment as an issue affecting the society. Authors Jatmrozik & Nocella (1998) have carried out a study on unemployment as they highlight the concerns that have been raised in industrialized societies. The problem is examined in challenging perspectives regarding who is responsible and how the issue is constantly ignored. Other authors Andersen & Taylor (2007) have described the unemployment problem in the United States as one that is a result of cultural habits transmitted from one generation to another.
It will be right to say that employment is not something that can be proactively created, it is not feasible to develop a forecasting about the number of Jobs required in the coming time and flourish the market with those however this is more of a social awareness issue, with the kind of population and resource needs, there is no defficiency of opputunities, hence we can say that there is a deficiency of jobs but we may not say that there is lack of oppurtunities. From the above discussion it is clear that creating talent in the area where it is required more, will definitely improve the situations. Moreover, self-employment oppurtunities are not a bad option either as they will not only reduce unemployment but will also create more employment.
Unemployment as a sociological problem does not occur simply as a result of the certain behavior of some individuals. However it is created by several other wider factors existing in the society. It is thus important that the problem is analyzed and understood by sociologists who can then help in developing a way of sorting the issue. With their research and analysis, major contributions to the subject can be made to tackle it. Policies, regulations and laws can then be developed based on the sociologists recommendations of the problem.
The above discussion will lead us to draw the inference about the social problem of unemployment, and the inference will be, that definitely it is important to eradicate this problem however the opportunities to fight are not less. The economical fluctuations might cause some distress at times however it is definitely possible for us to drive the talent in the right area so that the encouragement is given according to the requirement in the market and secondly the change in mindset will make the present generation understand that they must create employment for themselves and not just wait for the social measures to do that.
References
Andersen, M. L., & Taylor, H. F. (2007). Sociology: the essentials. New York: Cengage Learning.
Browne, K. (2006). Introducing Sociology for AS Level. Cambridge: Polity.
Jamrozik, A., & Nocella, L. (1998). The Sociology of Social Problems: theoretical perspectives and methods of intervention. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Willis, E. (1996). The sociological quest: an introduction to the study of social life. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.
