ABSTRACT
Goal-setting theory (Locke & Latham, 1990) states that given goal commitment, setting specic hard goals leads to higher levels of performance than is the case when no goals are set or when the goal is vague, such as to do one’s best. Seeking reemployment, particularly during an economic recession, constitutes a hard goal, one for which numerous failures are likely to precede success. A lay article indicated that during a two-month period 45,000 job seekers in Canada gave-up looking for work (McCarthy, 1992). Frustration and discouragement over failure to get a job were cited as reasons. A second article stated that the current 8.5% rate of unemployment in the industrial world would be approximately 40% higher if discouraged workers who had given up looking for a job were included (Crane, 1994).
