Health and Employability

The relationships between work / or unemployment  and health, have been well documented . Unemployment is associated with a higher risk of death and increased mental health problems.  Job insecurity is also damaging to health, and has been linked to higher rates of hospital admissions, increases in heart disease and deterioration in mental health.  In addition to these quantified relationships between unemployment and health, the presence or absence of employment has a range of consequences for people’s lives, materially, socially and psychologically.
 
For those in employment, work which provides fulfilment and offers individuals a degree of control over decisions brings benefits to health.  In addition research has shown that:

• Ill-health in the working age population has been estimated to cost the British economy £100 billion a year in lost productivity, lost tax and health and welfare costs (CBI).
• Work is, for most people , good for long term health outcomes.
• Partnership working needs to be developed and supported between local health and employability services