Job loss leads to decade of distrust

People who lose their jobs are less willing to trust others for up to a decade after being laid-off, according to a new research.

Being made redundant or forced into unemployment can scar trust to such an extent that even after finding new work this distrust persists, found the study.

People's willingness to trust others tends to remain largely stable over their lifetime.

However, this work shows that a trauma like redundancy can shift people's outlook of the world. "And this change persists long after the experience occurred," said researcher James Laurence of the University of Manchester.

The study examined 'job displacement', meaning involuntary job loss from redundancy, downsizing, restructuring or something similar.

The study looked at the social costs of recession. Even a single experience of redundancy can lead to depressed trust.

"This has important implications not just for the person involved but for society as a whole as trust can have significant benefits, from health and happiness, to social cohesion, efficient democratic governance and economic development," Laurence added.

Data was taken from periodic interviews with a cohort of almost 7,000 British adults.

The study was published in the journal Social Science Research.