Psychosocial Value of Employment
RCTReview
Unconditional cash transfer interventions address financial poverty but fail to alleviate psychological distress, social isolation, and loss of identity associated with unemployment. Evaluating social protection solely on monetary income overlooks the psychological wellbeing derived from productive work.
Picture this
Giving someone a free gift card every week helps them buy food, but sitting idle all day can cause loneliness and depression. Giving that same person a small daily wage to work on a community garden provides a sense of purpose, dignity, and social connection that cash alone cannot supply.
What the evidence says
Participants randomly assigned to receive paid work experienced significantly stronger psychological and mental health benefits compared to participants receiving the exact same cash amount without work.
- Who was studied
- Displaced refugees residing in a refugee camp setting (Hussam et al., 2022).
- How
- Randomized controlled trial assigning displaced individuals to receive either a small daily wage in exchange for work or an equivalent cash transfer without work requirements.
What to do
Incorporate structured employment components into social safety net programs deployed in crisis or refugee settings where psychological distress and social isolation are prevalent.
From the source
"Refugees who were randomly assigned to receive a small daily wage in exchange for work experienced strong psychological benefits compared to participants who received the same amount of cash but did not work."
Public works programs and labor market outcomes.pdf