Measuring psychological support for the unemployed: The case of Kakao NEET project

Abstract

This paper attempts to investigate Korean youth Not in Education, Employment and Training (NEET) and how daily activities and community participation may influence their positive emotions and job search desire. First, we conducted a focus group interview with 16 NEETs who participated in the Kakao NEET Company project. The project allowed participants to experience employment by founding a virtual company in which each participant selected a daily activity to perform as part of the company’s operations. Second, the interview responses were categorized and assigned emotional values using the card sorting technique and multidimensional analysis (MDS). A total of 11 emotional values were derived through this process. Finally, a social network analysis was conducted in order to measure the density of relations among the emotional values. Results suggest that immersion, confidence, belongingness were the three highest values evaluated by participants. Furthermore, network diagrams imply that the stronger participants perceived social support and belongingness with others, the stronger their responsibility grew, further leading them to establish steady goals. In particular, the high eigenvector score for “desire for job” suggests that emotional values are sequentially connected to the immersion-social support-responsibility-goal-job desire. This sequence suggests that digital services that are developed with the aim to enhance social values such as the Kakao NEET Project may engender motivation and confidence in youth NEETs. The overall results suggest that a systematic approach to policymaking should be considered in order to provide fundamental solutions and expand opportunities for social participation and emotional comfort, as social isolation due to low self-esteem has been reported as one of the reasons for NEETs’ failure in the labor market.