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Chapter 5 - Working with Stigma Identity Management in the Quest for Employment

Angela N. Gist, Peter R. Jensen, Jonathan E. Wickert, Rebecca J. Meisenbach

Synopsis

This case study follows the first frantic and frustrating days of a job search for Steve, an American who was injured on the job, became addicted to pain killers, and committed armed robbery to support his addiction. As a convicted felon on parole, Steve must learn how to search for jobs using the internet and how to talk about his conviction with possible employers, if he even gets the chance to talk to anyone. Steve must use communication to manage the stigmas associated with unemployment, a lack of education, and his felon status. Unfortunately for Steve, finding a job is not as simple as he thought, and he struggles to abide by the rules of his halfway house, yet meet the expectations of possible employers. Suddenly, tasks as simple as filling out a job application become complicated, and he only has 21 days to find employment or will lose his halfway house residency.

Keywords: Unemployment, Felony Conviction, Identity, Stigma, Social Class

Key Takeaways and Take a Stand Form

Key Takeaways

  1. The choices of individuals and organizations combine to make job searching difficult for undereducated, lower class, and/or formerly convicted individuals.
  2. Beyond choices, a myriad of circumstances (i.e. lack of education, no access to personal transportation, low computer literacy and access, time restrictions, prior convictions) snowball and construct insurmountable barriers to re-employment efforts.
  3. Experiences of stigmatized identities or moments of stigmatization occur frequently, impacting a wide variety of communication interactions for individuals who are managing perceptions of unemployment and/or prior convictions.
  4. Job seekers with prior convictions must strategically use communication to manage and negotiate the stigmas associated with prior convictions and unemployed status.
  5. Steve is torn between his desire to withdraw from interactions with others and the urgency with which he must communicate his need for work because he must manage the intersecting stigmas that come along with both his convicted felony and his joblessness.
  6. Employment is the number one predictor of whether or not a convicted felon will offend again, making the hunt for employment even more important for people like Steve.

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