‘Still Out of Work?’ How to Handle Holiday Small Talk
By SUE SHELLENBARGER
Holiday gatherings can be anything but festive for people who are out of work. Even an innocuous “How’s it going?” can feel like a tender topic—especially for the legions of long-term unemployed Americans whose ranks have swelled since the last recession.
Frustrated job seekers may find it awkward to explain what is going on, or not going on, in their lives. (Especially dreaded: the new-acquaintance query “What do you do?”)
On the other hand, hosts and partygoers trying to catch up with an out-of-work friend or relative may find themselves unexpectedly in a conversational minefield, since research links long-term job loss to other problems such as depression and declining health.
Some partygoers shy away as if unemployment were contagious or tiptoe around work-related topics for fear of hurting feelings or being asked for help. Many people feel like, “I’m busy trying to hang onto my own job. I don’t even want to enter into that conversation,” says Frederick Hairston, a training specialist with National Able Network, Chicago, a nonprofit that works with job-seeking adults.
I just ask if they voted for Obama ,if so from the exit polls a job was not important , so then I dont worry about it