There is actually a difference between Working and being Employed

 Before you go about saying you're employed because you have a Job, let me enlighten you. It is true that many Nigerians who have come of working age have got a Job where he/she gets money, be it keke driver, primary school teacher, network marketer, sales boys and girls etc. It is also true that some graduates due to job scarcity in the country are into all sorts of jobs that are sometimes very much different from what they read in the school. If asked, “Are you employed?”, the answer I may get to hear from you could be a 'YES, I am employed because I am working'. The big question here now is this, would you term all Jobs/work, Employment?

The subject Economics makes us to understand that there are various types of UNEMPLOYMENT and one for them is UNDEREMPLOYMENT. Underemployment is simply a situation where people who are working at one place or another are not paid enough to cover the amount of work they do in the place. For instance, Madam Bisi is a secondary school teacher, she teaches JSS1-JSS3, Mathematics, Social studies and Integrated science. In a week, Madam Bisi teaches for 6 periods of about 35 minutes each, but at the end of the month, Madam Bisi is only paid 15,000 Naira. After subtracting Saturdays and Sundays in a month, Madam Bisi goes to work for 22 days. If you divide her 15,000 naira salary by the 22 days she comes to work, she is only earning 690 Naira a day. So after coming to school very early, teaching, shouting, standing, for 6 periods in a week, she only gets 690 naira a day. Economists see anybody in Madam Bisi’s situation as underemployed and therefore unemployed. Yes it is true that at least Madam Bisi has something doing, she is working; but she is unemployed. We see this daily, people are teaching for 5,000 Naira a month, people are climbing MTN masts for 35,000 Naira a month, doing all sorts of Jobs yet they are given what you can call "CHICKEN CHANGE".

Therefore, before you can call yourself employed, you will have to check the amount of work you do, where you work and the amount of money you are being paid for the job. If your salary is greater than or equal to the job, then you are employed, but if your work is tougher than your salary then you are unemployed. So, permit me to ask this question. ARE YOU WORKING OR ARE YOU EMPLOYED? Comment below.