Returning to the idea that employment helps define a person, Cooley's theory can be applied to this social phenomenon. A person without work looks to see the social reactions of people in his or her environment to help modify his or her behaviour. Consider the example of a man losing his job and deciding to be a stay-at-home dad. When meeting people, the man explains that he does not work and tends to the children and the house during the day. The reactions he gets from others help him gauge how to act and what other people expect, and he modifies his behaviour to meet social expectations. The man may seek to find a steady income to meet the social expectation that he should work. Meanwhile, the "I" may enjoy staying at home and caring for the children and the home, but he does not express this because he does not want the social consequences associated with being different. Changing behaviour may not happen after one encounter, like the one described above, but the information is internalized and changes eventually occur.
FIGURE 4-9
How is personal identity reinforced through work?
Credit and Debt
Rising debt levels are a troubling trend for Canadians. The ratio of debt to income of Canadian households has risen 150 percent in the last decade (Crawford and Faruqui, 2012). For every dollar of after tax income, the average Canadian family owes 1.51 (Statistics Canada 2011). This follows a 30-year pattern of rising debt, which comes from a variety of sources, including mortgage debt, line of credit, credit cards, student loans and car loans. Borrowing money does have its advantages. It allows people to live more comfortably and can act as a buffer following a temporary loss of income.
However, debt can also make households vulnerable and creates risks in the financial system as a whole. This can be seen in the United States in 2008, when the mortgage system collapsed triggering a recession (Crawford and Faruqui, 2012). Financial stability depends on the ability of individuals to make their debt payments.
Debt levels usually peak between the ages of 31 and 35 and reduce with age (as mortgage debt is paid off). While older Canadians are more likely to have debt from mortgages or lines of credit, younger Canadians are more likely to be in debt from student loans and credit cards. Six out of ten Canadians between the ages of 18 and 29 report having debt, with credit card debt being the most common (Embrett, 2009). In 2009, the average debt for Canadian university graduates was $26 680. There are implications for starting out with so much debt. Entry-level wages may not be enough to support living expenses and debt repayment. Lingering debt may mean major life decisions may be delayed, such as getting married, having children, or owning a home.
1) How do rising debt levels contribute to demographic trends?
2) How is personal identity reinforced through work?