Relationship between self-actualisation and employment for at-risk young unemployed women

Abstract

This study used drawing and semi-structured interviews to access the visions of self-actualisation of a group of at-risk young women in an employment support group in Israel. The findings point to the synergetic relationship between the self-defined goals of the young women such as inner peace, self-regulation, assertiveness, good relationships and entering employment. These goals were understood through a social, but also through a humanistic perspective that assumes everyone has a right to reach self-fulfilment in a broad sense: how employment interacts with this right according to the women’s understanding is discussed so as to situate gaining a job within the women’s self-defined visions of self-actualisation that were shown to be beyond basic financial needs.

Keywords:

• self-actualisation
• unemployment
• at-risk young women