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Dismissed? Men, employment and mental health Aidan Collins. Who are we?. Scottish service provider 1 million hours of support per year 3,000 service users Campaigning charity. What are we doing?. Why are we doing it?.
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Dismissed? Men, employment and mental health Aidan Collins
Who are we? Scottish service provider 1 million hours of support per year 3,000 service users Campaigning charity
Why are we doing it? Nearly three in every ten employees will have a mental health problem in any year. People with mental health problems have the lowest employment rate of any disability group Mental illness is the most common qualifying condition for an incapacity benefit.
Men and employment Men are more likely to be in employment than women Men have higher paid jobs (2009: men £510.30 Vs women £421.50) Employment is good for your mental health So presumably everything’s fine?
In reality Men are more likely to be in prison More likely to die by suicide More likely to be addicted to drugs or alcohol More likely to commit violent crime
Or to put it another way If men have all the jobs, then why are they so messed up?
Men and employment More likely to claim unemployment benefits (but…) More likely to claim Incapacity Benefit (however…) More affected by recession? (although…) Less likely to experience depression?
“Men, unlike women, have few positive ways of defining themselves outside the workplace when they leave school and when they retire.” Dr Brendan Burchell, senior lecturer, Cambridge University
Male identity Effect of unemployment Effect of uncertainty Male response to depression
Conclusions Men don’t talk about problems: is there any point in providing more mental health services? Employment is central to men’s mental health So short-term answer lies with employers and unemployment support? What about the long-term answer?
What do you think? Is employment good for our mental health? What can we do to help men deal with unemployment? What messages should we be giving employers? How can we improve mental health services for men? Who are we trying to influence?
Find out more www.samh.org.uk Aidan.collins@samh.org.uk