Self-affirmation increases reemployment success for the unemployed.

Losing a job is one of life's most stressful events. Furthermore, maladaptive reactions to unemployment can trap people in a vicious cycle that derails their reemployment efforts. The current research tested whether a brief values-based self-affirmation intervention increases the odds of reemployment after a job loss and during unemployment, which presumably breaks this vicious cycle. Two field experiments, including one with a governmental employment agency, found that a 15-min self-affirmation exercise-i.e., reflecting on one's most important values-increased key employment-related outcomes after 4 wk, including the probability and speed of reemployment and the number of job offers. Because the ordeal of job loss and the probability of reemployment may be particularly challenging for individuals above the age of 50 y, we also explored whether the intervention was equally effective for those above and below 50 y of age. Demonstrating the generality of this effect, the efficacy of the intervention did not differ between individuals below and above the age of 50, and it was also effective for both recently unemployed and chronically unemployed individuals. Because self-affirmations have more typically been tested in educational contexts, the current research demonstrates the wide-ranging value of this intervention. By diminishing the vicious cycle of unemployment, the present studies show how a simple self-affirmation intervention can help individuals succeed in the labor market.

Uncertainty in Aging and Lifespan Research: Covid-19 as Catalyst for Addressing the Elephant in the Room.

Uncertainty is at the center of debates on how to best cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. In our exploration of the role of uncertainty in current aging and lifespan research, we build on an uncertainty regulation framework that includes both reduction and creation of uncertainty as viable self-regulatory processes. In particular, we propose that future time perspective, a key component in models of successful aging, should be reconceptualized in terms of uncertainty regulation. We argue that by proactively regulating the amount of uncertainty one is exposed to, individuals' future time perspective can be altered. We show how extant research might be (re)interpreted based on these considerations and suggest directions for future research, challenging a number of implicit assumptions about how age and uncertainty are interlinked. We close with some practical implications for individuals and organizations for managing the Covid-19 crisis.