Annie Irvine

The policy challenge of mental health and economic inactivity is not leaving the headlines, now with a new inquiry launched into the particular issues facing younger people. Here I am again, banging the drum for a more holistic approach: blogs.york.ac.uk/sbs-spotlight/
@drsoapsub.bsky.social

Ending the Culture of Fear - Z2K Ending the Culture of Fear: Reforming the PIP assessment system to get decisions right first time Much of the political and media debate about Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has focused on the idea that it’s too easy to qualify. A new report from Z2K – Ending the Culture of Fear: Reforming the PIP assessment system

Making the benefits system meaner has backfired.

The punitive PIP system is leaving disabled people too afraid to try work. It’s time to overhaul the broken assessment process.

Read our new report here: https://z2k.org/pip-report/

NHS night cleaners NHS night cleaners are often not seen and not heard by the public they serve. Through Lewis Khan’s photographs and interviews, they reveal the vital role they play in keeping our hospitals safe.

wellcomecollection.org/stories/nhs-...

@drsoapsub.bsky.social @spaemploysocsec.bsky.social @benbgeiger.bsky.social @pollardtom.bsky.social @wilsontony.bsky.social @kayleyhignell.bsky.social @moneyandmentalhealth.org @beccastacey.bsky.social @ingunborg.bsky.social @kingscsmh.bsky.social @profsharonwright.bsky.social

Read our open access research article in the Journal of Poverty and Social Justice: bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...

What if we took a more holistic approach to understanding capacity for work? What might change if the benefits system created a safe space for people to talk about the whole range of barriers they face, instead of the preoccupation with assessing and categorising people based on health alone?

We argue that the climb in mental health related benefit claims is (in part) a result of these structural mechanisms of medicalisation. Ill health is the only thing that ‘counts’ in the benefit system; therefore, it’s the thing that gets counted.

But the Work Capability Assessment is only interested in the effects of health symptoms. It neglects the wider range of barriers people face. It individualises and medicalises a much more complex picture and diverts the focus away from structural and socioeconomic barriers to work.

Mental health problems are real. But they’re rarely people’s only barrier to work. People with experience of mental distress describe a wide range of social, economic, relational and structural barriers to work – in addition to the challenges posed by symptoms. It’s more than a mental health issue 🧵

There’s got to be some active labour market metaphor in there somewhere!

"The key is to give people enough support so they could stabilise their situation, allowing the space to think beyond getting by each day. This can be achieved by higher UC rates, less pressure from conditionality, and high-quality
employment support" (2/2)
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

Crucial message from Citizen's Advice: "When both working full-time and claiming maximum benefit entitlement leaves one in a low-income limbo, focusing on making the former slightly more financially beneficial than the latter is only ever going to have a limited impact on outcomes..." (1/2)

Engagement and qualitative sociology in health research: proximal, but incongruent - Social Theory & Health This paper argues that sociology’s distinctive value in health research lies not in amplifying experiential accounts but in analysing the social structures and norms that shape them—a contribution oft...

Very thought-provoking article on the sometimes uneasy (and perhaps not uneasy enough) relationship between social science and lived experience @drcrmatthews.bsky.social you might enjoy link.springer.com/article/10.1...

@ingunborg.bsky.social @benbgeiger.bsky.social @kingscsmh.bsky.social

This was an excellent piece of exploration and analysis seeking a better understanding of how to engage residents in the LCWRA group in an initial conversation about work. Sign up to hear the key lessons learned! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/camden-emp... @spaemploysocsec.bsky.social

You inspire me Ruth. All those things make you the amazing and unique researcher that you are xx

Job opportunities on both the amazing @changingrealities.bsky.social and @safety-nets.bsky.social projects!

It's a busy time on @d-liveability.bsky.social!

We are hiring a 12 month #postdoc Research Fellow to contribute to #qualitative analysis of suicide prevention policies + parliamentary debates:

elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

Hi Connor! Massive congratulations - this is great news! I’ve worked with the Welfare Conditionality data as a secondary analyst, so would be very happy to chat when you get under way!

@kingscsmh.bsky.social

Two Policy Assistant roles available for people just starting out in this sector. Could be a great opportunity for those just about to graduate from @uoysbs.bsky.social

Thanks so much Ceri!

@ceridwenhughes.bsky.social @katyjones.bsky.social @sionedps.bsky.social @benbgeiger.bsky.social @drvanesafuertes.bsky.social - please share! 👍

Are you a post-doctoral researcher with strong qualitative skills, a critical mind and a love for digging into the complexities of how people navigate work and health? Check out our vacancy at the Uni of York School for Business and Society: jobs.york.ac.uk/vacancy/rese... @uoysbs.bsky.social

Detached but Not Disengaged: Reframing Employability Practice Through Community-Rooted Youth Work - The Institute of Employability Professionals 28/05/2025

I've been thinking for a while that we should be talking more about the "social determinants of work". David Kingsley has got there first; great piece naming "the social determinants of employability" - housing insecurity, digital exclusion, mental health, access to care www.myiep.uk/blogs-and-op...

For all the recent focus on incentives in the benefits system, it's a lack of suitable & supportive jobs that prevents many disabled people moving into work

This online @neweconomics.bsky.social event (June 19th 10am) will explore the changes needed to fix this www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/its-not-me...

Postdoctoral Research Associate in Welfare Experiences & Mental Health

Want a 3yr quali postdoc job leading the UK fieldwork for an amazing international project on how it feels to claim benefits? And also to do important work on benefits and mental health?

Then see this job ad! Closing date being changed to 8th June www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/114985-...

Postdoctoral Research Associate in Welfare Experiences & Mental Health

This looks like a super-cool postdoc for people interested in #qualitative #mentalhealth research and the interactions between #mh and #welfare

www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/114985-...

Have you watched the recent one with Chris O’Dowd? It properly haunted me for days!

Screengrab from NEF website. Photo shows couple at home looking at laptop. Text reads: What’s behind the rise in disability benefit claims? Rising rates of disability colliding with greater financial hardship are pushing more people to seek support

NEW ANALYSIS: A rise in financial hardship is a key driver of the increase in benefit claims. These new figures cast serious doubts on the government’s justification for cutting disability and incapacity payments. 1/10