Employment, welfare and mental health
Context
Many people will experience mental health problems at some time in their life. It is important to understand how mental health affects people’s ability to work, and what helps to keep people connected with employment during times of poor mental health. Although lots of research has already been done on mental health and employment, more and more people are claiming out-of-work benefits because of mental health. Something is still not working.
This research project used a biographical approach to see whether exploring the relationships between people’s work and mental health across the life course could add important new insights.
The research
Twenty-three people, aged from mid-20s to late-50s, took part in the study. We invited people to tell the story of their whole working life, not just the times when they were unwell. This biographical approach helped us to understand the links between mental health and work in the context of people’s wider life experiences.
By using a more unstructured biographical narrative interview method, the study generated detailed and nuanced evidence on the real-world experiences of people navigating the world of work and welfare alongside mental health problems, shedding light on enablers and barriers from a more holistic perspective.
Featured publications
- Understanding Mental Health and Employment in Context – Research Report (PDF
, 1,239kb) - Mental Health in Context: The role of precarious and insecure work