UI Research Says Pre-Employment Cards Reduce 'Angry' Due To Pandemic

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Research results from the Institute for Community Economic Research, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia (LPEM FEB UI) stated that the pre-employment card program reduces the impact of mental health due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It can be concluded that the Pre-Employment Card does not only help improve one's skills, but can also affect mental health conditions due to the pandemic," said LPEM FEB UI researcher Chairina Hanum Siregar in a statement, quoted from Antara, Friday, June 25.

Chairina Hanum Siregar and M. Rifqi Aufari, both researchers from LPEM FEB UI in a webinar session, presented the results of a study entitled “Does the Allocation of the Pre-Employment Card Program have an impact on the Mental Health Level of People during the COVID-19 Pandemic? Findings from Indonesia”.

This study describes the impact of the Pre-Employment Card program on people's mental health conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study uses survey data on 4,000 respondents from all over Indonesia in August - September 2020. The questions asked to respondents in the survey were about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on socioeconomic conditions, including changes in income, mental health conditions, and Pre-Employment Cards.

"Mental health conditions are seen through respondents' self-assessment of changes in four basic emotions, namely happiness, sadness, anxiety, and anger," he said.

Based on the survey results, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected people's mental health. A person's mental health condition is getting worse due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be seen from a decrease in happiness, an increase in anxiety, sadness, and anger.

"This is not only due to losing a job or experiencing a decrease in income but also several policies related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as social restrictions," said Hanum.

To reduce the impact of job loss and declining income, the government prioritizes the implementation of Pre-Employment programs for workers and micro-enterprises. The results of research conducted prove that the Pre-Employment program can reduce levels of anxiety, anger, and sadness.

LPEM FEB UI will continue to develop the study considering some of the challenges faced in the current study. The survey in the study was conducted at the beginning of the pandemic, at which time the Pre-Employment Card was just being implemented and the community was still adapting to the changes that occurred, thus allowing for differences with current conditions.

"LPEM FEB UI is currently conducting a new survey which is planned to be completed by the end of June 2021," he said.

In addition, the research team also used more complex mental health indicators so that mental health could be defined more deeply. This study will be more interesting if it uses a wider range of mental health indicators, we will re-explore this study because it so happens that we are currently conducting a follow-up survey, and we use even more complex indicators. So it's not just basic emotion.