- Social isolation, anxiety, depression, a loss of sense of identity and reduced confidence and self-esteem are just a few of the psychological effects that can be triggered by "phone off syndrome", which affects a large number of unemployed senior professionals on account of the difficulties they face on the labour market.
- The solutions for dealing with this sense of invisibility in the labour market are as follows: setting realistic career goals, caring for emotional well-being, seeking social support as well as setting up routines that help to keep seniors feeling motivated.
- Generación SAVIA, the Endesa Foundation's project in collaboration with the máshumano Foundation, has been promoting the employability of senior professionals for more than five years now, helping them to explore new career opportunities and overcome phone off syndrome, as well as other challenges.
Professionals aged over 50 account for 30.34% of total unemployment in Spain, as revealed by data from the latest Active Population Survey (EPA) performed at the end of July. What's more four out of ten senior unemployed people are classed as long-term unemployed people, meaning they have been unsuccessfully looking for a job for more than 12 months. This combination of adverse factors means that this group of workers is particularly exposed to "phone off syndrome", a feeling of invisibility on the labour market that Generación SAVIA, the Endesa Foundation's project in cooperation with the máshumano Foundation, has detected in many people it has been supporting and training for the past five years.
Óscar Fajardo, an expert in human and social behaviour with more than 20 years of experience in the field of business and a Generación SAVIA collaborator, defined this syndrome as "the stress experienced by individuals who are actively seeking employment and how they cope with the lack of a response to applications submitted". The situation faced by unemployed people aged over 50 is particularly difficult, as they are affected not only economically, but also mentally and emotionally, making them more susceptible to suffer from what is known as phone off syndrome.
"We have created a 'work-centric' society, where people absolutely identify their being with their work. Being out of work entails the disappearance of one of the most important pillars around which a person constructs their identity. The result of this is the loss of a clear position in the world, a sort of mental block as they do not have a clear direction in which to head", asserts Fajardo.
Ana Aceituno, an executive coach, human quality trainer and Generación SAVIA collaborator, acknowledges having suffered from this syndrome and its impact on mental health. To remedy this impact, the mentor explains that "it is important to seek out emotional support, develop coping strategies for handling it healthily and maintaining a positive mental attitude to effectively handle this stage of the job search."
Along the same lines, Fajardo emphasises how phone off syndrome "can really affect people's self-esteem and have a psychological impact", which he divides into four areas:
- Anxiety and depression: constantly waiting for a call or reply can generate high levels of anxiety. Uncertainty about their occupational future and lack of control over circumstances can cause symptoms of depression.
- Reduced self-esteem and self-confidence: a lack of response to applications sent or constant rejections can undermine a person's self-esteem and confidence in their professional abilities. They may experience feelings of inadequacy and doubt about their worth as a professional.
- Social isolation: a lack of response as part of active job searches can lead to social isolation, as unemployed people may avoid contact with friends and family due to embarrassment or a sense of not having anything positive to share.
- Loss of the sense of identity: A person's work often provides them with a sense of purpose and is an integral part of their identity. A lack of employment can lead to a loss of their sense of identity, to a sense of becoming stuck in life.
Against this backdrop, Generación SAVIA also has more than five years of experience promoting the employability of senior professionals, helping them to explore new career opportunities and overcome phone off syndrome in addition to other difficulties. It achieves this through guidance, training and making their skills visible on the labour market. "Guiding senior professionals who are in this difficult situation, as well as offering them training, is essential because this job invisibility can negatively affect their reintegration into the job market," asserts Elsa Novo de Miguel, project manager at the Endesa Foundation.
How to handle job invisibility, in the words of Óscar Fajardo
The expert in human and social behaviour sets out a series of solutions for handling this feared sense of invisibility amongst senior professionals:
- Establishing and maintaining a daily routine helps provide structure and maintain motivation. Including activities such as searching for work, the development of professional skills, skills training and improving the person's professional profile are all worthwhile.
- Seeking out social support: talking to friends, family and others in a similar situation can offer emotional support and different perspectives, as well as expanding potential job opportunities by enhancing their network of close contacts.
- Setting realistic career goals, rather than being focussed exclusively on waiting for a call, it is important to establish specific and manageable goals in order to structure the search for work. This can help maintain focus and motivation.
- Caring for their emotional well-being: practising hobbies, regular exercise, relaxation techniques or seeking professional help are activities that can help provide serenity and emotional well-being.
Julio Estalella, a Generación SAVIA senior who overcame Phone Off Syndrome
Julio Estalella is a engineer from Seville who, after 27 years of work, saw his career in the energy and infrastructure sector come to an end. "Nobody would answer my calls, it was a really disappointing time because I realised that people were no longer there".
However, Estalella sought imaginative solutions and found them in a video on how to make tabasco sauce. "It was at that moment that my professional life changed, I found a way to deal with a problem that I was struggling to find a solution for, phone off syndrome." He founded Salsas Quietud, a business dedicated to hot sauces that has gone international, having logged sales of more than 10,000 bottles in two years. His efforts have seen him win second prize at the 4th Edition of the +50 Emprende Awards, an initiative organised by Generación SAVIA and production company 02:59 Films, which has been promoting senior talent since 2019, promoting entrepreneurship amongst this segment of society.
About Generación SAVIA
Generación SAVIA, the Endesa Foundation project in collaboration with the Máshumano Foundation, has been promoting the employability of workers over 50 for five years, providing solutions through training and networking activities and promoting recognition of the value of these professionals, who suffer high unemployment rates. Generación SAVIA is a platform and community in which collaborative spaces are created and initiatives come together to create job opportunities for senior professionals. It also offers human resources solutions for Spain's social and business fabric. 43,000 senior professionals and 660 companies are registered with Generación SAVIA. 200 entities also collaborate on the project.
About the Endesa Foundation
The Endesa Foundation is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. A quarter of a century of social work that enables us to look to the future with the challenge of continuing to progress, with a broad and conscious outlook on human beings and the rest of the species that surround us to build a world in which there is room for everyone. With this in mind, the Endesa Foundation contributes to social development and the conservation of biodiversity through education, training for employment, culture, volunteering and urban biodiversity projects so that there is a future in which we can all live together and in balance with each other. For further information go to: www.fundacionendesa.org