To wonder if all those gleeful about PIP cuts are going to welcome people with serious mental health conditions as colleagues and employees?

[Somethingthecatdraggedin7]

Given the amount of ableisism I see on MN I think the likelihood of people welcoming people with serious mental health conditions into their workplace is pretty low.
And yes, these people will very likely now be forced to try to work even though their condition makes it impossible. We are not just talking about some lazy twenty year old who expects to sit at home gaming due to his “anxiety” as many people seem to believe is the case. It will be people with significant impairments to social functioning.
Even if they get support to apply for jobs, and even if they then get the position (doubtful) how accommodating will colleagues or customers be if the person seems a bit odd, or gets adjustments workmates deem unfair?
This is going to be a total shit show.

Yes I've not8ced i can't work out is it russian nonsense or is it really what people think. It's so insulting as though being disabled makes me an incapable fool or thst disabled people are so odd they couldn't possibly be supported into work.

That’s fine. I think it’s important to redress the balance on these threads as they become an emotive echo chamber, and I haven’t sworn at or personally attacked anyone, which is more than can be said for you.

There's always bullies but I think there are also a lot of people who would normally be compassionate but are so burdened with their own workload that they don't feel able to take on more.

I can't work out what you're suggesting. Should disabled people have to expect to put up with snide comments or outright complaints about their reasonable adjustments because other colleagues are burdened with their workload?

Should disabled employees not get the reasonable adjustments because of their colleagues' workload?

How not to make your case!

So every post you don’t agree with has to be a Russian bot /yawn

No I think workplaces need to improve before anything is going to change. There needs to be more slack for everyone so that we can accommodate in a healthier and more realistic way. The way things are now I think it's sensible for people to be cautious about what they can cope with.

And this is precisely the type of attitude a lot of people with disabilities are up against. People carping behind their backs at work, due to perceived 'privileges' that they think are being bestowed on people, who require that extra help. It is these disgusting attitudes that no doubt drives some people to breakdown, and even leaving jobs.

My DD27 has PTSD, ADHD, Chronic fatigue Syndrome, Depression, Anxiety and severe asthma. She’s also smart, intelligent, funny, and a brilliant artist. How could she have an employer? She would love to work, but there aren’t enough reasonable adjustments in the world to support her coexisting conditions.

These threads are getting very irritating sorry. No one wants the disabled physically or mentally to struggle but something needs to be done, not for the genuine who do use pip as a means to make life more bareable, but for my bf dd who spends it on takeaway food delivered to her home daily , gave up walking “because her thighs rub and get sore” now has a scooter and uses food banks when she’s finished eating and smoking her benefits (which she calls her wages) , surely medical intervention ie weight loss drugs etc would help in theses situations , how about prescription exercise etc offer everyone a years well being to get them physically fit and they may start to break the cycle

She is not on trial.

You mean other countries can pay workers less, have fewer safety regulations, use child labour, poor unionisation etc? Well, there are some things we could do about competition! Perhaps globalisation should extend to making wage levels in such countries higher, enforce health and safety at work, ban (or at least modify child labour - bans are likely to lead to child prostitution instead), and beef up unions. A level playing field isn't level usually - and generally means levelling down. Time the world levelled everyone up.

No, but her post clearly spoke badly of her to others.

A year of exercise? Losing weight?

My dear, I did them both. I was on benefits. I was morbidly obese and lost all the weight. Not only did I start exercising, I started running 3x a week, gym 3x a week. Competing with long distance running. My transformation deserved a montage. As a bonus, I I also stopped smoking.

Doing these things did not cure me of my physical or mental health conditions, and in fact created more. I now have anorexia nervosa to contend with (developed during my weight loss journey) , along with the chronic fatigue and physical problems being worse than they ever were. It all came crashing down after a few years of doing what you describe, much worse than before - because my body and mind are sick, and no amount of calorie deficit, running, or avoided cigarettes will change that. And, as I learned the hard way, dissociating and "pushing through it" will come back to bite you on the ass.

You can't cure medical conditions with willpower, even if you become more palatable to onlookers.

Maybe treatment will help... I don't know yet. I'm on a waiting list!

I won't say I was healthier as fat and smoking as I was, but I'm certainly not better now and worse in many ways.

Autistic deaf anxiety working i believe in your daughter but my LA were switched on an i had a lot of support I'm not saying it's easy but it's possible.

Urm no duffrent countries have diffrent economies things can be made chepealy in Romania they are not enslaved.

Wait a minute how would you know people were going to specific forums unless you were also, going to those specific forums?

I have had coworkers with disabilities where you never really remembered that they had disabilities. Yes, we did need to accommodate them in certain ways but it wasn't onerous for the rest of us.

During the crisis with the high prices for electricity a while ago, we were lucky enough to have a coworker who is partly paralyzed and use a wheelchair so the bosses where not allowed to turn down the heat because she couldn't cope with it. The other offices were below 19 degrees celcius.

But of course there are exceptions:

I've had a coworker who was autistic who came to me with all issues regarding administration first. Even though he had been at the workplace for several years he still didn't know who to go for regarding salary issues, who handled IT, who handled legal issues etc. I didn't mind helping him but it took far too much of my time and it was a bit intimidating that he clearly felt that we were closer than we were.

I felt bad for him when his contract didn't get renewed but with the amount of hand holding he needed I can see that from a cost benefit point of view they had to let him go. His nearest coworkers didn't have time to keep carrying him. A lot of the things he asked me about he could have looked up on our intranet. Considering he had been there several years I think he got a fair shot at learning how to do his own job.

At present we have people in "flexible" positions who are supposed to do a little practical help here and there, like emptying the dishwashers in our employee tea kitchens. They are not supposed to work full time. Most of the time the rest of us end up handling their tasks. I think that we need to hire two extra who can cover for the others when they are off sick again.

What adjustments do you think your dd might need? I wouldn't discount certain types of work that she may be able to do. I have ASD, ADHD, EDS, asthma and have also had depression, anxiety and issues with self harm, I work part time in a professional job and have some adjustments that work for me from trial and error over the years. I know everyone's disabilities present differently but I wouldn't just assume she can't do any work at all with those conditions.

Sadly that’s not what will happen. Those people will not be hired. They will likely fall into extreme poverty instead.

But we will ALL fall into poverty if half the country end up unemployed and that doesn’t even seem like hyperbole any more.

What about cleaning? No meetings, very little face to face interaction, not too much mental engagement. My neighbour cleans and loves it as she listens to her favourite podcasts as she goes, it’s a straightforward job and the pay is quite good. Very little if any experience required. No doubt there will be a reason why this is a ridiculous suggestion

I have to have some one come and clean my own house. I have been fired from cleaning jobs, and lost the company contracts, including a family business.
It is not also not well paid at all. None are full time, and the better paid ones you need a car.

I don't understand this, I've worked with lots of people with both physical and mental disabilities over the years. Ranging from very low IQ (struggled with shoe laces but could add labels to bottles) to an Iran-Iraq war veteran with very severe PTSD and health issues after he was gassed on the front line but was a fantastic DBA. Currently working with an Indian man who only has one arm but that doesn't stop him using a PC and a Scandinavian lady with horrific facial scaring (and half a nose, which she wears a mask to cover) who does our admin.

One of the lovely young lads from the pub has complex learning issues but loves his job as a kitchen hand and always enjoys telling us how stressed he is at work (the same as we moan about) so he feels very included.

I think we in the UK have become very used to the idea that disabilities stop you working when they really don't, you just need to find a niche and thrive in it.

The retail and manufacturing roles at least, will not have some of the vital accommodations you mention such as being able to WFH.

That aside, I'd like to work for your company! You seem to think there are lots of jobs available - I'm genuinely hoping you're right, but I don't see them. Where am I going wrong? Where should I be looking?