Money and Mental Health [i] Impact of Mass Unemployment Events (MUEs)
This post was prompted by an infographic on twitter and an associated report that includes the infographics:
Davies AR, Homolova L, Grey C, Bellis MA (2017). Mass Unemployment Events (MUEs) – Prevention and Response from a Public Health Perspective. Public Health Wales, Cardiff ISBN 978-1-910768-42-6.
The report is very interesting, not just in it demonstrating the conceptual scope and application of Hodges' model, but in the real-world examples of people who have experienced this socioeconomic phenomena which impacts so heavily on the individual, spouses (partners) and communities. In addition the research is global across countries and industries. It is sobering to reflect also on the dynamic that is the workforce. Paradoxically, at present UK employment is at a high:
"The employment rate (the proportion of people aged from 16 to 64 who were in work) was 74.8%, the joint highest since comparable records began in 1971." (ONS June 2017).The report does not mention the 'gig economy', but the rise of 'zero hours' a feature of the new economy is found on page 48. With demographers, forward thinking policy makers and media seers predicting the future of work as the robots not only find their feet, but walk, run and jump - you wonder where we are headed. Children will need to be educated in such a way that they are prepared to retrain, possibly several times in their working lives. Other avenues to ease the human pain are a basic universal income, and a reduced working week. You do wonder if another hidden and subtle MUE is underway? It is not so much massive, as yet, but it is happening in not so slow - slow motion ...?
Effect on mental health and well-being loss of self-esteem, increased stress, anxiety, changes to perceived control, shame and loss of status, withdrawal experiencing a grieving process insomnia, depression, self-harm, attempted and completed suicide loneliness financial strain Effect on pre-existing poor health behaviours - helplessness, hopelessness loss of individual and collective* identity | physical health reduced freedom from disability back-pain mortality reduced life expectancy stroke, myocardial infarction weight gain relapse to smoking ... again - such as, increased alcohol consumption, tobacco smoking, illegal and prescription drug misuse, and being overweight "job for life" hidden morbidity |
spousal mental health
reduced household income change in family dynamics emasculation increased conflict and domestic violence, increased unplanned pregnancy, and reduced infant growth - child educational attainment Community impact: loss of cohesion and identity* the already unemployed social inequalities women seeking community mental health support as their (male) partners will not seek help having to work away from home intergenerational impact culture of worklessness, unemployability "job for life of a family" | hidden unemployed accumulation of debt jobs offered not local labour market competition housing market - affordability commuting costs reliance on food banks increased expenditure on antidepressants and related drugs financial hardship increased hospitalisation, out-patient attendance Community impact: labour market and economy Loss of industries youth move away - no workers for new initiatives/industries loss to local economy of MUE reliance on welfare benefits |
A future post will conduct a similar treatment of a publication by The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute.
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