Lynne Friedli and Robert Stearn take a shot at a new UK policy in NewScientist (18 July 2015):
Unemployment is being redefined as a psychological disorder at a time when the UK government has vowed to cut the welfare bill by £12 billion. It joins nations such as Australia and the US in increasingly requiring claimants to comply with interventions intended to modify emotions, beliefs and personality.
While the option of free access to therapy for the unemployed makes sense, what is taking place is psychological conditionality. Claimants must demonstrate characteristics deemed desirable in workplaces, like confidence and enthusiasm, in return for welfare.
The Department for Work and Pensions denies anyone will lose benefits if they refuse therapy. However, the Conservative party manifesto warned that those who refuse a recommended medical treatment could have their payments reviewed.
Claimants are already coerced into “confidence building” programmes, made to join humiliating psychological group activities (like building paper-clip towers), and to take meaningless and unethical psychological tests to determine “strengths”. …
The policies that rebrand unemployment as a psychological disorder distract from the insecurity and stark inequality seen in many labour markets. They promote the therapeutic value of work at a time when work is increasingly unable to provide either an income high enough to live on or emotional satisfaction.
The BBC reports the DWP disagrees:
But the DWP [Department for Works and Pensions] said Friedli and Stearns’ report had no basis in fact and was just relying on anecdotal evidence from blogs and social media.
“We know that being unemployed can be a difficult time, which is why our Jobcentre staff put so much time and effort into supporting people back into work as quickly as possible,” said a DWP spokesman.
“We offer support through a range of schemes so that jobseekers have the skills and experience that today’s employers need.”
At first blush, this seems straightforward: getting a job should not require a brain-washing. But there is also no denying that certain habits and mindsets are detrimental in a job setting. And it must be hard to be in a government position, to see that, and want to do something about it.
