We Need to Talk About Unemployment

Hiring processes affect mental health and that contributes to rising benefit claims, this writer argues.

As mental health benefit claims soar to 400 per day, it's clear that we're facing a crisis in both mental health and unemployment. On 10th October, The Telegraph reported this alarming rise. On the same day, a debate took place in the House of Commons regarding Mental Health support. 

Sojan Joseph, the newly-elected Labour MP for the Ashford constituency, has spent the past 22 years working for the NHS, primarily in mental health. In the debate, he said: “All the evidence shows that being active helps people’s mental health. Helping them back to work will also help to grow our economy. Lord Darzi’s report identified that, since the pandemic, the number of people who are economically inactive has increased by around 800,000, with people with mental health conditions accounting for most of the increase.”

The job hunt

I would like to offer what I think is an important piece in the puzzle: the job hunt. Years ago, I applied for a role as a copywriter. I had the skills necessary to do the job, at least at a technical level, and after completing a task, was invited to interview for the role. The interview went well, until it came to my turn to ask questions. I wanted to know whether the company would be supportive of an employee who lived with depression. The response was that the company’s primary concern was how someone with depression was going to do the job. 

"The company’s primary concern was how someone with depression was going to do the job."

I could have said I’d do the job to the best of my ability. I could have revealed that I studied for my Master’s degree whilst living with depression, so it didn’t stop me from being ambitious. But being young, I didn’t say either of those things. I didn’t get the job, and consoled myself with the knowledge that I had avoided a ghastly commute. But the damage done to one’s self-esteem isn’t so easy to soothe. 

That was just one person. Just one person is enough to make you think you’re not cut out for working, let alone a career. If that interviewer has those concerns, other interviewers might hold that concern too. 

To disclose, or not to disclose?

These days, job application forms often ask if candidates would like to disclose their disability. For any candidate who falls into the trap and answers honestly, the chances are they’ll never even make it to the interview stage. If a candidate openly shares their experience with depression in job applications and continues to experience rejection, it's understandable how they might begin to feel like they’re not capable of working. It is often overlooked that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) was meant to include those with mental health conditions, as well as those who are neurodivergent. 

Job applications ask candidates if they are disabled

In his foreword for The Buckland Review of Autism Employment (published in February 2024), Sir Robert Buckland writes: “At the moment only 3 in 10 autistic people of working age are in employment,” even though research carried out by the National Autistic Society found that the majority of working age people living with autism want to work. 

The National Autistic Society found that the majority of working age people living with autism want to work.

Somewhere along the line, DEI has forgotten about mental health and neurodivergence. And society has forgotten that there are people living with invisible conditions who do want to work. Some want to thrive in their careers. But if the world of work continues rejecting those who answer honestly on application forms, this simply isn’t going to happen.

This is alongside the mental gymnastics required to decode job descriptions. And if one does it make it to the interview stage, good luck with the questions. Earlier this year, an interviewer asked me, ‘how would your family describe you?’ I responded with my go-to answer, and then it was followed up with ‘how would your friends describe you?’ By all means, ask me what I think of myself, but no employer needs to know what my family and friends think of me. 

"No employer needs to know what my family and friends think of me."

It baffles me how interviews often veer into the territory of personal relationships, as if the opinions of one’s family and friends has any bearing on one’s ability to do the job. What’s even more frustrating is that these questions seem to distract from the actual skills and qualifications that matter. The focus should not be on what others think of the candidate, but on the candidate’s ability to do the job. 

Instead of focusing on relevant competencies, a candidate is often left wondering if they are being judged based on irrelevant personal dynamics. Or if you're lucky like me, you’ll get a rejection letter clarifying that the decision wasn’t unilateral—so instead of being turned down by just one person, you got rejected by a whole group (though it is worth noting that when you are rejected with a statement that the decision wasn’t unilateral, they’re trying to show that the process was free from bias, or at least attempted to avoid it). 

Waiting for a response can stretch on for weeks

To make matters worse, the waiting time between applying and receiving a response can stretch on for weeks, leaving candidates to exist in uncertainty for an unspecified amount of time. In some cases, candidates are ghosted entirely, never receiving any feedback at all. There is also the prevalence of automated systems that can instantly reject applications, sometimes based on arbitrary keyword matches, to contend with. These processes leave many qualified individuals feeling excluded, unable to even get a fair shot at a role.

"In some cases, candidates are ghosted entirely..."

This entire process is not only frustrating but exhausting, particularly for those already dealing with mental health challenges. Constantly facing irrelevant or invasive questions, coupled with the weight of repeated rejection, takes a significant toll on one’s well-being. Unemployment can exacerbate mental health issues, leading to a vicious cycle where candidates feel stuck in a system that overlooks their real strengths.

Another piece of the puzzle

I don’t think these things are unconnected. As I said earlier, I think it is another piece of the puzzle. I don’t wonder why benefit claims are rising, not when it comes to mental health. People aren’t only struggling to find work—they’re navigating a job market that, in many cases, seems to overlook their skills and instead focuses on superficial factors. When the barriers to employment become so tedious and draining, it’s no surprise that many find themselves turning to benefits as their only option. Bills, after all, still need to be paid.

If we really want to tackle the mental health crisis and in turn the rising benefit claims, we need to take a look at how the job market treats those with mental health conditions. While stigma around mental health has decreased, and people are talking more openly about it, we need to see more individuals with mental health conditions finding work that aligns with their skill sets and strengths. Ending intrusive and hostile hiring practices would be a crucial first step.