Nap Time

The Great Depression of the 1930s produced some odd effects. The study of sleep habits was in its infancy during that decade, but even still the researchers in the United States noted a troubling trend: the worse the economic conditions, the more people wanted to sleep but couldn't. Stress levels from joblessness, the loss of assets, and the inability to even afford the basic of life were so high that the average American walked an endless road of job searching, standing in food lines, dealing with family stress induced by poverty - enough sleep became a rarity.The Great Recession of the last two years has produced a similar phenomenon, only this time there are two key differences - research and industry. As economic times crumbled since 2006, researchers have noted far more clearly the penchant for sleeping it off because there are few other options. But, unlike the Depression, there is now an entire industry standing ready to assist. In 2007, Americans spent a staggering total of $23.9 billion on sleep-related products like special mattresses and sleep-inducing drugs - double what was spent just the decade previous. Antidepressants are now the most prescribed medication in the U.S. In fact, the number of people on such drugs doubled between 1997 and 2007.Canadians are facing similar challenges. There are reasons for such sharp inclines and they have to do with the economy and employment. As the gap between the rich and the poor is expanding rapidly since the Great Recession began, middle class folks have had to work half again as hard to merely maintain their standard of living. While the wealthy glean most of their gains from investments, the key investment for most Canadians has been in the value of their homes. Sadly, as the investments fields work their way back to normal, housing prices haven't kept pace.Canadians are only now waking up to the fact that something indeed has changed. The great bailout of cash from stimulus funding, while maintaining certain short-term employment, has proved fully inefficient at creating the jobs of tomorrow. And so work harder, or longer, or piecemeal ... or not at all. Our inability to create effective employment for average Canadians to maintain their lifestyle is now coming home to roost. Sure, we keep hearing about all those jobs that are being created, but it's best to look at what kind of jobs are being trumpeted. While manufacturing and the productive sector lost some 400,000 jobs in the last three years, they have yet to be replaced with effective employment. Something is missing and it's the increase in the private sector jobs that produce goods and make for a productive economy that makes for a rising standard of living. A natural byproduct would be the tax revenue generated to provide the service required to run an advanced nation.The jobless numbers in Canada hardly tell the true story. Numerous statisticians say the numbers are much worse than projected and that we must make a distinction between historical unemployment and the new long-term form of joblessness. Traditionally, Canadians emerged from recessions with the ability to get back to work, but as we emerge from the Great Recession a new story is emerging. Not only are the traditional good jobs coming back, but long-term unemployment is capable of digging a huge hole in society, as those unable to find work sell off their houses and cash in on any RSPs they might have possessed. Many of these are no longer looking for work and thus don't show up in the unemployment numbers.However, there has been a significant increase in the number of people who can only find a few hours of work each week but who aren't registered as "unemployed." Thousands of students fall into this category and fall farther and farther behind.So, times are hard. The prognosis? As Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney recently: "Our  productivity performance is abysmal." It is only in that productivity that we can forge ahead with increased standards of living. It does no long-term assistance to this country to have people working at fast food outlets or being employed in short-term stimulus jobs; the future lies in innovation and producing goods rather than just servicing or selling them. Canadians are discovering that not only does today look bleak but that the better times coming tomorrow just might not appear. We need visionary plans for the good jobs of tomorrow and they are not yet forthcoming. We sense it and we're increasingly stressed about it as we struggle harder to just have the standard of living we enjoyed prior to the Great Recession. We're tired and frustrated. Maybe it's time for a nap.