Job Seekers Need More Than Jobs: Addressing the Grief of Unemployment

Image above Michael O’Bryan introducing fellow colleagues and panelists at the Wealth + Work Futures Lab (L-R) Kevin Carter, Alicia Atkinson and Timothy (TJ) Dean at the CommonGround Grief & Workforce event on September 18, 2025.

It was a simple and attractive promise: if you study and work hard, you can count on a secure job, a home, and a stable future. But belief in this promise has steadily declined. A recent poll shows only 27% of people in the United States still believe in the “American Dream,” down from 50% in 2010.

Rising housing costs, student debt, and unemployment are all part of the picture. Data from August 2025 show the unemployment rate recently rose to 4.3%: the highest since October 2021, while job growth is at its lowest point in 15 years. Compared to 2010, there are fewer jobs available and 17 million more people seeking work.

Job loss affects people of all ages, but in recent years, young people have been among the hardest hit. The unemployment rate for 22- to 27-year-olds is 4.8%, well above the national average of 4.3%.

“They saw their parents or maybe older siblings, get the college education, get the house, find stability and there’s just so much more data now that’s saying that that equation is just not equating to the same prosperity and stability as it used to,” explains Alicia Atkinson, Research and Innovation Officer at Drexel University’s Wealth + Work Futures Lab.

From our Partners

Art installation created by fellows of the Wealth and Work Futures Lab, in exhibition at CIC. Photo courtesy of Rian Watkins of the Wealth + Work Futures Lab. 

Atkinson adds that the disappearance of entry-level jobs is also making it harder for young people to enter and thrive in the workforce, because “they help you learn some of the norms and practices and make social connections at work” that are crucial in a professional environment. 

The emotional toll of unemployment is not new, and communities and researchers have long been working on ways to address it. But as more people find themselves experiencing unemployment, this moment offers an opportunity to look more closely at the strategies already being used to help people move through the grief of job loss.

“There are so many other losses that do not get the space or the credit”: Acknowledging Unemployment Grief 

Lou Balikos had projects in motion when they were notified they were being let go from their role as editorial manager at a Philadelphia media platform. 

“It was in the middle of the week. There were projects that were incoming. I had just pitched some writers that week,” says Balikos. “So for me, it was supremely destabilizing because I was like, all of that work is just going to go nowhere. Those stories will not see the light of day,” they recall.

Mary* had just returned to work under the Family Medical Leave Act after recovering from an injury she sustained on a service trip, only to find out she was being laid off. 

“They said that my position was being eliminated and they were going in a different direction. I was devastated because I had planned on retiring there.” 

Sabrina Iglesias suspected her employer, also a Philadelphia-based media outlet, was shifting directions, but the dissolution of her entire team, resulting in her layoff along with two other reporters, still came as a shock. 

“I think it’s always a shock when it happens, even if you think you know that it’s going to,” says Iglesias. “I felt very sad that I was losing my job as a disabled person, I was sad that my colleagues were losing their jobs because they were such great reporters, and I was sad to see that, you know, the media landscape in Philly would be changing in such a big source of news for a lot of people.”

All three have been unemployed since earlier this year. When reflecting on the emotional impact of job loss, they each described it as losing a part of themselves. 

“I tied a lot of my identity to being a part of this university and being part of this wonderful program that was well known,” recalls Mary, who lost her job at a government agency in May but still feels the deeper loss of her previous role at the university.

“So much of my identity was tied to my career that like when I didn’t have it anymore, it was, it was kind of bittersweet to sort of like look around and realize like, oh, like this is where so much of my energy has been going towards like the better part of this year,” says Balikos. 

“I’m not healed at all. I feel like I have a lot of work to do on separating myself from my work. And I think that’s been very apparent to me in a way that it wasn’t while I was working,” reflects Iglesias.

Their experiences align with what researchers identify as grief. “There are so many other losses that do not get the space or the credit,” says Michael O’Bryan, founder and director of the Wealth + Work Futures Lab. At the CommonGround Grief & Workforce event — presented by Generocity in partnership with the Wealth + Work Futures Lab, CIC Philadelphia, and UCity Square on September 18, 2025 — O’Bryan and his team shared their work on grief experienced by young Philadelphians, not only after the loss of loved ones but also through other forms of loss.

The organization draws from Francis Weller’s The Wild Edge of Sorrow and its “Five Gates of Grief” framework to help its fellows, young adults ages 18–26, name and understand diverse sources of sorrow. The fourth gate, “What we expected and did not receive,” reflects the grief that stems from unmet expectations of how life is supposed to unfold. For many, this resonates with the experience of losing a job or struggling to find one despite following the prescribed path. As one Wealth + Work Futures Lab fellow explains in a flyer outlining the gates, “Anticipating what never arrives and longing for completeness are signs of grief deserving attention.”

Safety and emotional needs first, skills building last: A comprehensive model of support 

Michele Martin, founder of the Bamboo Project and a wayfinding practitioner with over 10 years of research into the impacts of job loss on people 45 and older, also highlights the importance of recognizing grief beyond death. 

“Everything we love, we will lose. And whether you loved a job or didn’t, it was still a security stability. You know, it was giving you something. And so there’s an ending that you’re experiencing there,” she explains.

In 2015, Martin became involved with the New Start Career Network at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. The initiative was designed to assist people 45 and older who had been unemployed for more than six months. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the program expanded to include an online meeting space for all New Jersey residents experiencing unemployment. Over a year and a half, the program reached thousands of people. Research from the Heldrich Center pointed to a finding that may feel counterintuitive: when supporting people in their job search, you shouldn’t start with job search skills.

This argument is backed by scientific research as described in the report Effective Job Search Support in the Time of COVID, authored by Martin. 

“When people are stressed, especially if they have a history of trauma, their executive function can suffer,” it reads. Martin elaborates further: “The executive function goes offline when we are feeling unsafe,” she explains. “[When losing a job] there’s physical safety, obviously. Like, how am I going to pay my bills? I might lose my house, those kinds of concerns that people have. But there’s also emotional safety. Do I feel a sense of trust? Do I feel connected to other people? Do I feel seen in the loss that I am experiencing? And if I don’t feel safe in those areas, that also is going to impact my ability to show up, create plans and everything else.”

For that reason, the Heldrich Center concluded that job seekers need support with their physical and psychological safety first. Next, they benefit from building healthy habits and routines that allow them to sustain a job search. Only after these foundations are in place should programs emphasize job search skills and motivation. Most initiatives, however, focus solely on the last step.

Martin warns that skipping the earlier stages can create a cycle of repeated job loss. “A lot of folks who find another job will lose it again. Often, because they were not attended to during that time. And so they’re carrying around a lot of unprocessed grief,” she says. Once people feel safe enough to let their emotions surface, she adds, the feelings can overwhelm them and spill into their next workplace. “It would show up at the new employer and then they would get laid off and then, you know, the cycle begins again.”

Despite the strength of this model, it has yet to be widely implemented. Martin says funding is a major barrier. “There are no funding efforts that are really going in those kinds of directions.” Because the model is not designed around the single outcome of rapid reemployment, it often gets overlooked. “We’re so focused on the only measure of success is, do people get back to work, that we are losing all of what happens between I lost my job and I’ve found another job.”

Mary, who has been both at the providing and receiving end of unemployment services, echoes Martin’s critique. Systems like CareerLink, she says, focus on skill-building while ignoring other pressing needs. In her case, what she needed most was a new suit. When she turned to CareerLink for help, they told her there was no funding available. 

“I said, the only thing that I needed was a new suit because I gained some weight and my suit doesn’t fit anymore. I know how to write my own resume. How are you helping me?”

To cope with the frustration and grief of job loss, Mary has turned to writing. Her Philly’s Unemployment (Writing) Series (not affiliated with the Philly Unemployment Project) explores the realities of navigating unemployment. In her second post, Week 2 Unemployment: Navigating Systems and Managing Expectations, she reflects on the challenges of engaging with job assistance programs that aren’t designed to respond to the diverse needs of job seekers.

Phunemployment: A low-stakes hangout with your fellow unemployed people

First Phunemployment gathering on August 21, 2025. Photo courtesy of Phunemployment

While government-run and institutional services often focus narrowly on skill-building, communities have begun creating the support they want for themselves. That was the case for Sabrina Iglesias and Lou Balikos. Both worked in community engagement journalism before being laid off, and both understood the value of connection. After noticing each other’s posts about unemployment on LinkedIn, they decided to meet at Clark Park to talk about their shared experience. During that conversation, the idea for a new kind of gathering took shape.

“We took a minute to think. And then we were like, should we? Should we do something about that?” recalls Balikos. “We were, like, let’s just do it. Like, what’s stopping us? We have essentially nothing else to do,” shares Iglesias.

A few weeks later, they hosted the first Phunemployment meeting, a space for unemployed and underemployed people to come together. So far, there have been two gatherings at Clark Park, each drawing 10–20 people to talk, make art, share treats, and simply be in community. 

“The idea of these Phunemployment hangouts is hanging out with people who are able to understand at a basic level what it feels like to have suddenly had the rug pulled out from under you,” says Balikos. “The importance of being with people who are going through the same thing is key.”

As Phunemployment continues, Iglesias and Balikos hope to expand its reach. “Lou and I definitely want to see it grow, and I would love to see it become a thing where people are sharing resources,” says Iglesias. “I’m excited to see where it goes and hoping that we can find a way to, like, include solutions and resources.”

They also emphasize that the idea is replicable. “I hope that if anything, like our movement inspires other people to, to try and produce something similar,” says Balikos. Iglesias adds, “We would love to see different chapters throughout different parts of Philly. We would love to see people in other cities do it. I had some people comment on my LinkedIn post being like, ‘Oh, I’m in D.C. I wish we had this here.’ And I’m like, do it. Find your co-conspirator and chat on a bench for several hours and then decide you need to make something together.”

Rethinking Layoffs: Who Bears the Burden?

Mary has faced unemployment several times in her life, and through those experiences, she has seen how Black and Brown women are often left more vulnerable to job loss. “We’re not given any warning when we are being terminated or when we are being laid off, so we don’t have time to prepare.” 

That vulnerability is even more visible today. Under the banner of cutting DEI initiatives, 300,000 Black women have exited the American labor force in just the past three months. On top of long-standing bias that already puts Black and Brown workers at higher risk of losing their jobs, the same barriers exist when trying to find new ones.

Too often, the blame for unemployment is placed on the individual. But as Michele Martin points out, the problem lies elsewhere. “The thing is, all of that is about what employers do, not about what people do. Employers are the ones who are discriminating,” she says, discrimination that is tied to gender, race, and age.

Researchers also highlight the responsibility employers have in making the job loss process more humane. “In the end, companies are about themselves,” says Martin. “Now, the interesting thing is, it’s people at those companies, and they cut themselves off from how they would want to be treated. They hide behind ‘I’m in a company, and this is our policy and this is what we should be doing.’”

O’Bryan urges managers and decision-makers to question whether the way things have always been done is really the best way forward. 

“Maybe actually I don’t have to let people know they’re being laid off 24 hours before they’re being laid off,” he says. He points to cases where employers go further, actively supporting the transition. “They spend time with that person explaining what’s going on, why this is happening. And they’ll spend some time helping that person make new relationships, make new connections, figure out the right reference that they can write. They have an entire process for that.” 

At its core, he reminds us, the process should start with shared humanity: “We forget that these aren’t workers, these are humans who work.”