This morning, I boarded a bus and noticed an old friend sitting quietly by the window. Cyril and I were mates in school. We had not seen each other in years. As a matter of fact, the last time we set eyes on each other was after we wrote our last paper.
He, upon recognising me, gave me virtually a toothless smile as if he were an infant. After exchanging pleasantries, I asked how work was going. He hesitated. Then he looked out of the window and said softly, “I’m still searching.”
The conversation changed immediately. He became apologetic for things I had never accused him of. He explained why he had left his previous job, the applications he had submitted, and the promises that had never become offers. Before long, I realised he was no longer telling me about his employment status. He was defending his dignity.
As we reached my stop, he said something I have never forgotten. “ All our mates have left me behind in life. Sometimes, I don’t just feel unemployed. I feel useless as well,” he lamented! This is when I observed that losing a job and losing a sense of self are not the same, yet many people experience them as though they were.
Unemployment has a way of creating invisible storms. Routine disappears, confidence weakens, and social interactions become uncomfortable. Even well-meaning relatives can unintentionally deepen the wound by constantly comparing, advising, or expressing disappointments. Over time, repeated rejection may convince someone that they are unwanted rather than unemployed.
Nonetheless, through my experience and interaction with my old friend and others, I have come to understand that not everyone without a job is lazy. Not everyone with work is fulfilled. A person’s employment status only reveals something about their present situation; it does not reveal everything about their character.
Human dignity entreats us to see people beyond their CVs, salaries, business cards, or job titles. It’s high time we knew that a person’s value does not begin on the day they sign an employment contract. It does not also disappear on the day they lose their jobs.
I have come to believe that a season without work is still a season with worth. My hands may be waiting for an opportunity, but my dignity is not asking for permission to exist. My circumstances may change with time, but my value remains sacrosanct.
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