Psychological well-being during unemployment: the role of personality and perception of time structure

Hanne Lootens & Greet Van Hoye, Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 24, September 2011, nr. 3, pp. 207-232. Unemployed people report lower levels of psychological well-being than employed individuals. However, when unemployed individuals perceive their use of time to be structured and purposive, this negative effect of unemployment on psychological well-being is reduced. This study investigated whether personality as measured by the Big Five framework determined the perception of time structure. In a sample of 231 Flemish unemployed people, we found that the more sense of purpose and present orientation individuals showed, the higher their psychological well-being was. Concerning the relation between personality and the perception of time structure, unemployed people with more openness to experience reported less sense of purpose. More conscientious individuals showed more sense of purpose, routine, organization, and present orientation. More neurotic individuals perceived less sense of purpose and present orientation. Finally, more neurotic unemployed individuals with more openness for experience showed lower psychological well-being, due to their lower perception of time structure.