'I get £1,300 a month and all my housing costs paid. Why would I need the hassle of work?' A shocking insight into Britain's worklessness crisis by LEO MCKINSTRY and INAYA FOLARIN IMAN
11 months ago

'I get £1,300 a month and all my housing costs paid. Why would I need the hassle of work?' A shocking insight into Britain's worklessness crisis by LEO MCKINSTRY and INAYA FOLARIN IMAN

Daily Mail  

It is a mid-week afternoon in the Essex seaside resort of Clacton. Currently standing at £297 billion, the overall welfare bill is projected to climb to £360 billion over the next five years — the equivalent of 11 per cent of Britain's entire economic output. Strikingly, the think tank found that some 12 per cent of people in their 20s and early 30s say they are 'disabled' because of their mental health — more than in any other age group. Experts say the best antidote to mental health problems is actually to enter the workplace, as a job helps people find purpose and spend less time mulling over their troubles But why has the problem become so much worse in recent years? The rich irony is that the best antidote to mental health problems is actually to enter the workplace, as a job helps people find purpose and spend less time mulling over their troubles.

Health Benefits Mental Health Welfare Work Mental Covid Cent Recent Britain Tory Clacton Pip Mental Health Problems  paid  recent  britain  cent  insight  mental  need  shocking  month  health  welfare  worklessness  young  work  leo  place  benefits  inaya  mckinstry

History of this topic

Death of the work ethic: With Labour at war over benefits cuts, ONE IN FOUR young people consider quitting workforce entirely
4 days, 22 hours ago

Death of the work ethic: With Labour at war over benefits cuts, ONE IN FOUR young people consider quitting workforce entirely

Daily Mail  

A generation of young people risk is languishing on benefits after one in four said they considered quitting the workforce. Health Wes Streeting warned that an 'overdiagnosis' of mental health conditions was seeing too many people written off Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall's plans to freeze personal independence payments have reportedly been scrapped following a party backlash Official figures …

UK’s Mental Health Crisis Drives 500,000 Onto Benefits, IFS Says
1 week, 2 days ago

UK’s Mental Health Crisis Drives 500,000 Onto Benefits, IFS Says

Live Mint  

-- Half a million more people in England and Wales are claiming disability benefits for mental-health problems than before the pandemic, according to research that may add to concerns over government plans to squeeze welfare spending. The analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies pointed to a surge in “deaths of despair,” rising numbers of people accessing mental health services …

Generation Anxious: Why ordinary ups and downs are turning the young into ‘can’t cope’ workers
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Generation Anxious: Why ordinary ups and downs are turning the young into ‘can’t cope’ workers

The Independent  

Growing up you always know that one day soon you’ll be heading off to work. open image in gallery Nearly 30 per cent of people aged 25 to 34 took ‘time off for mental health in 2024’ Professor Rosalind Gill at Goldsmiths College researched the effects of social media on women aged 18 to 28 in the book Perfect: Feeling …

Spike in mental health insurance claims sees more Australians leaving the workforce for good
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Spike in mental health insurance claims sees more Australians leaving the workforce for good

ABC  

Jamie was once proud to introduce himself as a painter and decorator, a career he held for almost 20 years in the construction sector. CALI CEO Christine Cupitt said there had been an almost 10 per cent increase every year for a decade in the rate of people who put in a claim through their life insurance for total permanent …

Why British men are ditching work for a life on benefits
5 months ago

Why British men are ditching work for a life on benefits

The Telegraph  

Cribb describes this trend as “worrying” and suggests some of it started in the classroom during lockdown. “I think it’s an open and reasonable question whether this is a hangover from poor-quality education during the pandemic and the huge disruptions that happened.” Laurance Hancock, founder of The Boathouse Youth, a charity, says he’s witnessed the damage of lockdown first-hand. “The …

How Britain became hooked on sickness benefits
5 months, 1 week ago

How Britain became hooked on sickness benefits

The Telegraph  

Britain is in the grip of its worst sickness crisis in decades, and the Treasury is growing increasingly concerned. According to the latest predictions, one in 12 working-age Britons are expected to claim sickness benefits by the end of the decade, fuelled by a surge in mental health conditions. The Office for Budget Responsibility, the Government’s tax-and-spending watchdog, pulled no …

Britain’s ill-health crisis drives eight million adults out of workforce
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Britain’s ill-health crisis drives eight million adults out of workforce

The Telegraph  

Experts said Britain’s obesity crisis and worsening mental health were fuelling the trends, which have heaped billions on annual borrowing. The commission, established by the Health Foundation think tank, calls for reform of sick pay, to better support phased returns to work with higher pay rates. The Office for Budget Responsibility has estimated that the rise in ill health and …

People with 'mild' mental health problems will be told to get therapy and get back to work under disability benefit cash clampdown targeting 3.5million as minister says some are just struggling with t
10 months, 3 weeks ago

People with 'mild' mental health problems will be told to get therapy and get back to work under disability benefit cash clampdown targeting 3.5million as minister says some are just struggling with t

Daily Mail  

Ministers will tell people with 'mild' mental health problems to get therapy and get back to work this week as they seek to reduce the 3.5million disability benefits bill. Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, today suggested that some people who were labelled as having 'serious mental health conditions' were simply struggling with 'the kind of ups and downs …

Workshy Brits could lose handouts after 12 months as Rishi Sunak warns benefits bill is 'unsustainable' and 'life worries' are not a reason to dodge jobs - suggesting specialist teams NOT GPs should d
11 months ago

Workshy Brits could lose handouts after 12 months as Rishi Sunak warns benefits bill is 'unsustainable' and 'life worries' are not a reason to dodge jobs - suggesting specialist teams NOT GPs should d

Daily Mail  

Rishi Sunak unveiled a 'moral mission' to get Brits off benefits today as he warned that numbers out of the workforce are 'unsustainable' and 'tragic'. In a major speech today, Rishi Sunak will warn that a surge in people signed off sick with mental health conditions is placing 'unsustainable' pressure on the welfare budget Your browser does not support iframes. …

The number of jobless Brits signing on for long-term sick leave hits a record 2.8 million - a THIRD of 16 to 64-year-olds considered economically active
11 months ago

The number of jobless Brits signing on for long-term sick leave hits a record 2.8 million - a THIRD of 16 to 64-year-olds considered economically active

Daily Mail  

The number of people on long-term sick leave has soared to a new high in a worrying sign about the state of Britain's workforce. Data released by the Office for National Statistics showed 2.829 million people were described as long-term sick between last December and February – up by 16,000. Data released by the Office for National Statistics showed 2.829 …

£300m bill for handouts: Spending on disability benefits for people claiming to have ADHD shoots up 41,000 per cent within a decade
11 months, 1 week ago

£300m bill for handouts: Spending on disability benefits for people claiming to have ADHD shoots up 41,000 per cent within a decade

Daily Mail  

British taxpayers are shelling out an astonishing £292 million a year in disability benefits to people claiming to have ADHD, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Our investigation shows that spending on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder claims has shot up from just £700,000 per year in 2013 – a rise of more than 41,000 per cent. British taxpayers are shelling …

The rise of the suburban mental health sicknote: Every part of Britain sees a rises in incapacity benefit claims - with some of the largest increases in affluent commuter belt towns - see how many hav
11 months, 1 week ago

The rise of the suburban mental health sicknote: Every part of Britain sees a rises in incapacity benefit claims - with some of the largest increases in affluent commuter belt towns - see how many hav

Daily Mail  

Every parliamentary constituency in Britain saw a rise in incapacity benefit claims last year - with some of the largest increases driven by a surge in mental health problems in affluent areas. Mental health problems affect more than a third of 16 to 34-year-olds out of work due to long-term illness and account for 69 per cent of all medical …

Brits must revert to the 'old-fashioned belief' that work is good for you, minister claims
11 months, 1 week ago

Brits must revert to the 'old-fashioned belief' that work is good for you, minister claims

Daily Mail  

Britons must revert to the 'old-fashioned belief' that work is good for you, the Work and Pensions Secretary said yesterday. Mel Stride, who has said the nation's approach to tackling mental health issues may have 'gone too far', suggested the regular 'ups-and-downs of life' should not be 'labelled' or 'medicalised'. 'Perhaps it's an old-fashioned belief – but I think it's …

Why Britain’s mental health crisis threatens to doom a new generation
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Why Britain’s mental health crisis threatens to doom a new generation

The Telegraph  

“For the past 10 or 15 years, we have had an increase in the percentage of people requiring mental health support,” says Smith, who focuses on treating young adults. Last year 1.2 million people were on the waiting list for community mental health services. A growing number of school children are suffering with mental health conditions, meaning that unless something …

Mental health culture has gone too far, says Mel Stride
1 year ago

Mental health culture has gone too far, says Mel Stride

The Telegraph  

Mr Stride warned that “as a culture, we seem to have forgotten that work is good for mental health” and he suggested people were being signed off too easily. “While I’m grateful for today’s much more open approach to mental health, there is a danger that this has gone too far,” the Work and Pensions Secretary said. “There is a …

Young people ‘more likely to be out of work due to ill health than those in 40s’
1 year ago

Young people ‘more likely to be out of work due to ill health than those in 40s’

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The report also uncovered the extent to which young people with mental health problems …

Generation sicknote: Young people are increasingly blaming their mental health for being out of work... but critics question if it's all just 'snowflakery'
1 year ago

Generation sicknote: Young people are increasingly blaming their mental health for being out of work... but critics question if it's all just 'snowflakery'

Daily Mail  

Young people are increasingly blaming mental health problems for being jobless, a stark report warns today. The number of 18 to 24-year-olds who are 'economically inactive' due to health issues has more than doubled in the past decade The report by the Left-leaning Resolution Foundation says young people are now more likely to experience a common mental disorder than any …

UK at risk of becoming a ‘burnt-out nation’, mental health charity warns
1 year, 1 month ago

UK at risk of becoming a ‘burnt-out nation’, mental health charity warns

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The UK is at risk of becoming a “burnt-out nation”, …

Tories ‘writing off’ young people as growing number ‘economically inactive’
1 year, 2 months ago

Tories ‘writing off’ young people as growing number ‘economically inactive’

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Tories are “writing off” …

One in ten young people too sick to work full-time
1 year, 4 months ago

One in ten young people too sick to work full-time

The Telegraph  

One in ten young people are too sick to work full-time, a new report has revealed, with mental health conditions the most common cause. More than 1.1 million of Britain’s 16- to 34-year-olds say they have a long-term health condition that “limits” how much they can work, with two in five citing a mental health issue. This is double the …

Brits struggle with mental health due to cost of living crisis
1 year, 6 months ago

Brits struggle with mental health due to cost of living crisis

The Independent  

Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. …

The silent crisis crippling Britain’s public finances
1 year, 8 months ago

The silent crisis crippling Britain’s public finances

The Telegraph  

Among those who are not working because of sickness, almost 620,000 cite mental health problems as the cause, a jump of more than one-third from just under 460,000 a decade ago. As well as infecting millions, the pandemic also overwhelmed parts of the health service, delayed treatment for other conditions and contributed to vast waiting lists – meaning those who …

Are money worries causing a rise in mental health problems?
1 year, 9 months ago

Are money worries causing a rise in mental health problems?

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Money concerns were the most common driver of mental …

Britain’s sickness crisis is damaging the economy and will only get worse
2 years, 4 months ago

Britain’s sickness crisis is damaging the economy and will only get worse

The Telegraph  

“NHS backlogs and long COVID seem to be making a contribution to the increase in poor health,” says David Finch at the Health Foundation, “ this is something that's been happening over the longer term where gradually we've been seeing a rise in the number of people with long term sickness.” He adds: “Some of this is demographic change where …

Most parents struggling with mental health or finances – Unicef UK
2 years, 5 months ago

Most parents struggling with mental health or finances – Unicef UK

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Jon Sparkes Unicef UK’s chief executive, said: “Up and down the country, we’re hearing …

The cost of living crisis is wreaking havoc on our children’s mental health
2 years, 5 months ago

The cost of living crisis is wreaking havoc on our children’s mental health

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. As the chair of the Anna …

Why is unemployment so stubbornly high among young men?
2 years, 9 months ago

Why is unemployment so stubbornly high among young men?

The Independent  

The decline in youth unemployment in Britain is a notable policy success, but hides a troubling failure: while young women have been flying, the position of young men has barely changed. Whereas in those days, jobless young men would typically have been classified as unemployed and seeking work, now they’re much more like to be labelled “economically inactive” – neither …

Mental health should be at the forefront of today’s workplace
3 years, 3 months ago

Mental health should be at the forefront of today’s workplace

The Independent  

Fora is a Business Reporter client Prioritising well-being in the workspace, along with optimised office space, enhances the productivity of employees and businesses Mental health and wellbeing support is needed more than ever. Fora’s buildings receive more fresh air than the majority of Grade A commercial office spaces in London and the UK, while best-in-class ventilation draws in 100 per …

Covid: Young people say their prospects are dwindling and wellbeing suffering after pandemic
3 years, 6 months ago

Covid: Young people say their prospects are dwindling and wellbeing suffering after pandemic

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The overwhelming majority of young people feel that their employment prospects …

Workers look to their bosses for mental health support. Many aren’t getting it
3 years, 11 months ago

Workers look to their bosses for mental health support. Many aren’t getting it

LA Times  

Home-bound workers and those out serving the public have struggled to keep their equilibrium during a trauma year of mass disease and death. “We’ve all lost sense of when to stop working and what a weekend means.” Uchitel said she hopes internal struggles even among top executives will compel companies to get more serious about how they support employees’ mental …

Millions of mental health sufferers fear returning to the workplace
4 years, 1 month ago

Millions of mental health sufferers fear returning to the workplace

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Led by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, …

The welfare system is failing those with mental health problems
4 years, 4 months ago

The welfare system is failing those with mental health problems

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. But in practice, mental health problems are often unrecognised, invalidated or actively harmed by work …

Serious mental disorder in youth may have lasting impact on employment prospects, says study
5 years, 6 months ago

Serious mental disorder in youth may have lasting impact on employment prospects, says study

Hindustan Times  

Mental disorders experienced in adolescence or early adulthood that require hospital care are linked to low income, poor education, and unemployment over the life span of individuals, suggests a study. Mental disorders experienced in adolescence or early adulthood that require hospital care are linked to low income, poor education. However, opportunities for contributing to professional life and acquiring an education …

Shortchanging the next generation’s mental health is a false economy the country can ill afford
6 years, 3 months ago

Shortchanging the next generation’s mental health is a false economy the country can ill afford

The Independent  

In the most in-depth stock take of young people’s wellbeing for more than a decade, an NHS report found one in eight children have a mental health disorder and numbers are rising. Yet young people’s mental health gets just one-third of the funding of adult services, and over a third of young people referred to specialist support are never admitted, …

The Tories said they cared about child mental health – but the Budget implies the exact opposite
7 years, 3 months ago

The Tories said they cared about child mental health – but the Budget implies the exact opposite

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy It was …

Jobless? Don't let it stress you!
12 years, 3 months ago

Jobless? Don't let it stress you!

India TV News  

Sydney: Employees with excessive job demands can be as distressed as someone who is jobless, says a new comparative study. The study, led by Peter Butterworth, associate professor at the the Australian National University College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, is the first to use representative data from England to compare the mental health of those who are unemployed with …

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