Lived Experiences of Breadwinners as a Result of Job Loss During the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic struck the world and rapidly caused economic and health damage among people, and because of the economic impact caused by this pandemic, it has now become one of the major concerns in terms of psychological health, most especially of family breadwinners who lost their jobs. The Phenomenological Qualitative Research Design was employed in this study. It aimed to characterize primary breadwinners' experiences, such as their experience of abruptly losing their work during the epidemic. Internal psychological processes, such as their personal experiences and connections with others, were also considered. This study was conducted with ten (10) breadwinners who lost their jobs and are currently living in N.C.R. This study employed a purposive sampling technique. The participants underwent a validation as part of the selection of respondents for the study, participants that met the study criteria proceeded to the interview process. Seven (7) criteria had to be firmly met: (1) Breadwinners, people who brought in the main source of income of the family who lost their jobs due to redundancy or downsizing, (2) can either be male or female (3) ages from 20 years old to 45 years old, (4) must be married (5) must have at least have 5 years and above work experience in any field such as corporate and fieldwork, (7) can either be a high school or college graduate. In selecting the participants, the researchers considered only those who could respond to the interview. Also, the participants were asked to answer a qualifier question and then a list of semi-structured questions. The findings show two major themes (1) Positive Realizations and (2) Negative outcomes. In conclusion, for the breadwinners, the process of strengthening the bond between family members and establishing a good support system is essential to have a strong relationship with the members of the family as well as to be able to cope with the stress brought by the pandemic situation. The recommendations based on the findings are strong family bonds, quality time, a support system, self-enhancement, stress management, coping mechanisms, and good communication between the breadwinners and their families.