Scholz, F and Ingold, J orcid.org/0000-0001-8088-8262 (2021) Activating the ‘ideal jobseeker’: Experiences of individuals with mental health conditions on the UK Work Programme. Human Relations, 74 (10). pp. 1604-1627. ISSN 0018-7267
Abstract
Active labour market programmes (ALMPs) are critical preparation mechanisms to assist people to enter the workplace. This article analyses qualitative data from a hard-to-access group of individuals with mental health conditions (MHCs) participating in a large-scale UK ALMP, the Work Programme (WP). Using the lens of the ‘extended social model of disability’ and the concept of the ‘ideal worker’, the article demonstrates that ableist norms of the ‘ideal jobseeker’ were embedded within the Programme’s design, prioritising individuals with certain abilities and behaviour over others. Second, the article extends Acker’s framework of inequality regimes to demonstrate that formal and informal inequality practices within the Programme maintained, rather than challenged, disability inequality. This was visible along four dimensions: (1) ALMPs as organising processes producing disability inequality; (2) the visibility of disability inequality; (3) the legitimacy of disability inequality; and (4) control and compliance derived from hierarchical social relations within ALMP design and implementation, involving either stabilising or destabilising effects on disabled jobseekers. The theoretical and practical contributions of this article demonstrate that the design of the WP as an employment preparation mechanism pushed disabled jobseekers further away from paid employment, rather than towards workplace inclusion.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2020. This is an author produced version of an article published in Human Relations. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Active labour market programmes (ALMPs), disability, ideal jobseeker, inequality regime, mental health conditions (MHCs) |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Business (Leeds) > Work and Employment Relation Division (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 29 May 2020 12:44 |
Last Modified: | 06 Jan 2023 15:07 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/0018726720934848 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:161350 |