The Work Lives of the Low-Income Welfare Poor

Abstract

The work lives of the low-income welfare poor vary greatly from those in the primary job market with respect to barriers to employment, availability of child care, workplace conditions, wages and hours of work, job stability, industries of employment, and health benefits. Returners have a pattern of consistently greater barriers to employment, reflective of their gender, racial, and single parent status and their neighborhood environments. Both groups appreciate job training and search activities and could benefit from greater offerings, especially efforts geared to their specific barriers and workplace issues. These findings suggest that the work lives of the low-income poor can be improved by supplementation of wages, increases in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and minimum wage, enhanced child care, and neighborhood development programs.

Unemployed and poor in New York: The impact of mentalization and Axis II psychopathology on job outcome

“…It is also important for an individual to adjust his or her behavior according to subtle cues in the behavior of the other, to regulate affect at times of interpersonal stress, and to more accurately interpret the actions of those around him or her. This study is derived from the understanding that when these capacities are impaired-as they are likely to be in individuals who have experienced trauma or who are coping with the sequelae, concomitants, or precursors of social and economic disadvantage, namely substance abuse, domestic violence, child care needs, limited education, and mental illness (Danziger & Seefeldt, 2002;Dworsky & Courtney, 2007;Siegel & Abbott, 2007)-the potential for economic self-sufficiency is threatened in ways that are potentially catastrophic.…”

“…The wealth of data indicating an increased value placed by employers on the so-called soft skills, such as communication skills, interpersonal skills, adaptability skills, teamwork, and negotiation (Bailey, 1997;Carnevale et al, 1990;Halperin, 1998;O'Neil et al, 1997;Overtoom, 2000), has generally been applied toward preparation of high school and college graduates for entry into the workforce, whereas research examining job readiness among disadvantaged communities, such as those receiving public assistance, has tended to focus on barriers to employment, such as substance abuse, domestic violence, child care needs, limited education, mental illness, and transportation issues (Danziger & Seefeldt, 2002;Dworsky & Courtney, 2007;Siegel & Abbott, 2007). Despite some evidence to suggest that poor job retention among poor inner city residents might be related to resentment or misunderstanding of authority and scope of responsibility in the workplace (Berg, Olson, & Conrad, 1991), little ongoing research has been conducted on the impact of core personal competencies on job acquisition and job retention for the unemployed urban poor.…”

Development of the Perceived Employment Barrier Scale (Pebs): Measuring Psychological Self‐sufficiency

“…Other barriers that limit obtaining and maintaining employment have been examined in addition to the previously studied list of barriers: limited job prospects (Anderson & Van Hoy, ); housing and food insecurity (Theriault, ); absenteeism and poor work attitudes (Holzer et al., ); job quality including pay and health benefits (Lee & Vinokur, ); and labor market exclusion and detachment (Cleaveland, , ). Seigel and Abbott () further included the following items as barriers: not enough jobs in the community, physical disability, illness/injury, no jobs in occupation, work clothing, fear of rejection, and English not being primary language.…”

“…It is therefore unclear if measures capture the extent to which barriers exist in their lives or the degree to which one perceives these barriers. Fourth, survey research with smaller samples have approached employment barriers with either the focus on client perception (Barclay, ; Brooks, Martin, Ortiz, & Veniegas, ; Lee & Vinokur, ) or the comprehensiveness of covering wider domains of employment barriers (Seigel & Abbott, ), but it has not been able to do both in one study. Moreover, only one study has been identified as having grouped multiple barrier items into categorical domains that could better inform practice (Ovwigho et al., ).…”

Gendering Welfare: Lone Mothers’ Experiences of Welfare-to-Work Programmes in Hong Kong

“…It has long been argued in comparative policy studies that comprehensive policy packages that include working family tax credits, integrated child credit and a minimum wage are essential to allow lone mothers to work and gain their independence (Lewis and Campbell, 2007;Siegel and Abbort, 2007). Ms Lau's extremely low pay of less than HK$12 (US$1.5) an hour means that a childcare fee of HK$8 (US$1) an hour is unacceptable.…”