‘Work is good for you’: how UK scheme could help tackle youth mental health crisis

Work must be "part of the answer" to the mental health crisis affecting young people, according to UK Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden. He emphasized this point during a visit to Boots headquarters in Nottingham, where he met some of the initial recipients of Labour's youth jobs guarantee scheme.

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Work is part of the answer. Work is good for you. It’s bad for your mental health to be sitting at home, isolated.

The initiative provides paid employment for 18- to 21-year-olds, with the taxpayer covering wages for the first six months. Some recruits are engaged in packing and administrative roles, and they shared their experiences of prolonged, unsuccessful job hunting. McFadden noted the significant positive change in their confidence and self-belief after only a few weeks in their new positions.

McFadden suggested that the reasons for youth unemployment may be reversed, arguing that prolonged isolation at home can negatively impact mental health. He sees the jobs guarantee not just as an economic measure but as a response to rising mental health challenges among young people. The recruits themselves reported improvements in their social lives and daily routines as a direct result of being in paid work.

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I see this not only as an economic thing, but as a response to greater instances of mental health problems for young people.

Addressing concerns about youth inactivity, which could reach 1.25 million by 2030 without intervention, McFadden also criticized the current universal credit system. He pointed out a "design flaw" that too easily categorizes individuals as either "fit for work" or "unfit for work," potentially leaving those deemed unfit without adequate support. He advocates for a change to this system, moving away from a culture of people being "signed off and written off."

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There’s a design flaw in the universal credit system, which too readily separates people into ‘fit for work’ and ‘unfit for work’, and when they are unfit for work, leaves them without any support or any conditions.