I went in to see my adviser, and she was very nasty in a nice way.. she kept stressing that universal jobs match should be opened to let the adviser see, I quoted the universal jobsmatch toolkit at her and she backed down.. I said i do not want to share my cv with people i always upload and download a cv to the sites she said well thats limiting your job search..
so she gave me 2 taskes to do spec emails to 4 places in a week, and to upload my cv to a jobsite..
what was most telling was she said voluntary work isnt counted, and she said several times well you are getting paid by the tax payer.. essentially trying to guilt me into thinking I am a scrounger.
Now I got so upset there she phoned the work place psychologist for an appointment for me, then suggested I speak to my doctor, which I did. I broke down there and started crying and told him that this adviser told me to get my hair and beard cut if I wanted a reception job but I was casual no point in shaving unless theres an interview it was also raining and windy so some wind swept hair..I explained to my doctor what went on and he was shocked he said it looks like depression to him so gave me a sick note for a month and some fluoxetine and he arranged a counselling session to be arranged later. I didnt ask for a sick note but got one.
I hope this message reaches you. I'm a freelance researcher, interested in mental health and the struggle for social justice and also active in Boycott Workfare. I'm currently looking at how psychology is being used to punish and coerce people on JSA and other benefits - and I've been reading your very vivid and sometimes painful blog about your experiences with A4e and the work programme.
ReplyDeleteI am writing a paper about these issues - partly to raise awareness of what is going on - and partly to try and bring pressure on various 'professional' bodies like the British Psychological Society. I'm getting in touch to ask if you would be happy for me to quote your blog - obviously I'd include a link so people can read it themselves - I'm also happy to send you a copy of the paper when it is complete. Let me know how you feel about this. and thanks again for a great blog.