By Stu at SJI Creative
Is work good for you when you’re ill (mentally and/or physically)? This is a question that rears its ugly head in the rhetorical roundabout every so often, when the news cycle is slow or a government is under pressure for poor performance, or perhaps both. The recent discourse has primarily been focused on mental health and the allegedly ‘spiralling’ health-related welfare bill (at least in the UK). This post has been split into parts due to the complexity of the issues involved. Fair warning: I’m not pulling punches – this is a problem that has personally affected me throughout my entire working life and will continue to do so for the remainder. I’m physically disabled and struggle with my health in a multitude of ways. The potential consequences of the current discussion under a Labour government are potentially grave.
But to the question posed in the title. The answer is: there isn’t an answer, and the constant merry-go-round of rhetorical nonsense is just that. The issue of health versus work is a highly complex problem that has been reduced to a political football. Recent reporting makes for grim reading.[1]
As with many things, our representatives like to discuss the solution to the ongoing problem ad nauseam. Unfortunately for them (and us), it is nuanced and multifaceted, more suited to the halls of academia and the dusty corridors of Whitehall’s offices, rather than pithy back-and-forth on a TV panel show. What is perhaps most regrettable about this, of course, as with many other complex questions faced by the modern nation state, is that most of the voter base doesn’t read academic journals or Green and White Papers, either through lack of interest, lack of access, lack of understanding, or a combination of the three. Actual concrete figures on engagement with UK Government consultations are challenging to find; the latest data available, from 2023-24, indicated a response rate of 18% among respondents. However, the sample size was not made clear.[2]
Ergo, the vast majority of folk at the ballot box get their information, and thus their opinions, from soundbites, red top editorials, tweets (or Xeets or whatever they’re called now) and worst of all, AI summaries. I’d wager what little I have that any survey with a large enough sample asking the question: “Where do you get your opinions from?” Those would be the top responses. I won’t delve into the intricacies of the pitfalls of universal suffrage in a low-information population, but it is a problematic situation.[3]
I believe there’s another hurdle to overcome, related to how most of the world measures economic success: GDP, GNP, the FTSE Index (or its local equivalent), house prices, and so on. Scientific American agreed five years ago.[4]
We’re told a simple story: if the line goes up, then things are good. If you’re a homeowner or hold significant stocks or Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), then yes – it is good. However, if you (i.e., not specifically you) are not a bar, perhaps a private pension and an ISA, if that, those numbers are meaningless. What matters most to people who live real lives (in the measurable sense) is what goes into their current account on payday and how much is left after all their bills are paid. The rest of it is a world apart.
To be continued.
[1] Gutteridge, N. (2025, October 25). Therapists “to prescribe having a job” for depressed and anxious patients. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/25/anxious-and-depressed-to-be-told-work-is-good-for-you/. *I hate to use the Telegraph as a reference, but it is a “Paper of Record.”
[2] for, D. (2024, December 4). Community Life Survey 2023/24: Civic engagement and social action. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/community-life-survey-202324-annual-publication/community-life-survey-202324-civic-engagement-and-social-action#civic-consultation
[3] Information inequality makes voters vulnerable to manipulation. (2018, May 2). LSE Business Review. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2018/05/02/information-inequality-makes-voters-vulnerable-to-manipulation/
[4] Stiglitz, J. E. (2020, August 1). GDP Is the Wrong Tool for Measuring What Matters. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gdp-is-the-wrong-tool-for-measuring-what-matters/
