MSE News: Recession triggers huge rise in depression

edinburgher

What is the point of anyone trying to make us work on after our expected retirement age - when there are people down in a younger age group who need to have our jobs?

It's a common misconception that there's a fixed pool of labour. Jobs aren't 'one in, one out' and there's reasonable evidence to suggest that working longer doesn't necessarily act to the detriment of younger workers looking for jobs. Many of the jobs done by slightly older folk starting to think about retirement are no doubt too highly skilled or require more experience than many young people have. I realise this isn't always the case.

jenniewb

The article doesn't suprize me. I lost my job at the beginning of the recession- the company cut my hours to such a degree that I could only afford to get to work and feed myself, but could not afford my utility bills, council tax, rent or anything other I needed to survive. I asked for extra hours, the company told me about the recession, I asked to work voluntary for them (and so claim benefits but wirk for free) until the conditions improved, they told me this would be "abusive" to my rights. I had to leave. I had no income, I tried to claim housing benefit as I was unable to pay my rent and my landlady (from the council) starting being unfair (she no longer works there...) I got 5 over-the-overdraft-limit charges from my bank...I had a loan I was also now unable to repay...and it wasn't as if I had a highly paid job to begin with (C. £11k) minimum wage was what I was expecting to go back to and there was just no way I could afford all this and then the charges...
I nearly took an overdose. It was after I found this site and about the rules on the charges and how to claim them back that I changed my actions. For that reason I really think this site saved my life.

But I do think something needs to be done about the lack of fairness in the country. Its not fair that people work and cannot afford to live, it was not fair I had only the option to leave my job- it had taken years to get myself to a decent level, even if it was only a fraction more then mimimum wage. Its not fair that just because my title is not "senior exceutive" or "CEO" that I can never and will never be able to afford my own pension, its not fair that many people work hard too and yet don't get paid as much and so will always be.

There are many demanding mimimum wage jobs which are dead end- see the guy who has to pull trolleys in and out of Sainsburys/Tescos or stack shelves at Primark all day- how many would want that job over sitting in a cosy office and having the power to dictate and though stressful, comes with a tidy reward for all the effots. Who would rather the mimimum wage job? Its not as if one works harder then the other in my opinion. It just strikes me as more then unfair when one will go home to a 10 bedroom mansion in a BMW whilst the other gets the bus home *if* they have enough cash left over for the day. Fairness where fairness is due- lower paid people should be paid more and I don't actually think thats all the fault of the government, I think thats to do with the fat cats walking off with all the profits and not sharing anything with the millions of low paid workers for their company. Then being thought of as "such a good person" when they share like 1% of the turnover with the mimimum wage staff at the end of the year whilst they walk off with the other 10% of the profits.

OK, rant over!

edinburgher

Fairness where fairness is due- lower paid people should be paid more and I don't actually think thats all the fault of the government

I agree with you completely Jennie, people who do some jobs which are very physical by nature or demanding in that they're incredibly stressful and repetitive and earn the minimum wage get a fairly raw deal.

While I feel some of the people who are sitting in offices making decisions {my words} have worked very hard to do so, there is a horrendous disconnect between the poorest paid and the best paid in our society.

I'm willing to bet that if there was a wide-ranging and unbiased review of what level the minimum wage should be set at it would be c. 40% higher than it is now...

Errata

Why no link to the published study ? Without being able to read how participants were selected, what method was used, what 'nationwide' means, how can people give Jenny's report any more weight than some unattributed rabble rousing/scaremongering report in a newspaper ?

poppy10_2

Errata wrote: »

Why no link to the published study ?

They haven't published the study yet, just a press release about the it:

http://elizabethfinncare.org.uk/Rise_in_mental_health_illness

Doesn't sound like the most rigorous scientific study ever

Horasio

I can well understand the recession triggering depression.

Applying for jobs and getting rejected is very depressing.

Watching savings dwindle is very depressing. And as for pensions - what a joke!

The thought of Labour party possibly getting in again is depressing.

So all in all, I am not surprised by the news article.

Horasio

perplexed.com wrote: »

@Ceridwen

Conspiracy theory contd./ Maybe they want people near retirement who don't want to work on to become more stressed, unhappy, unhealthy and hence succumb to illness etc and die earlier, thus reducing the "pension burden"? Or alternatively they want people to say "well I'll just smoke, drink, eat as I want and enjoy a shorter, less healthy life so I don't live so long"!

Interesting reply, as junk food is often on a good deal:(

glossyhair

Being unemployed and therefore forced to deal with the DWP and the majority of Job Centre staff is enough to make a healthy person depressed so those of us who already have mental health issues don't really stand much of a chance!!