Working From Home fuels long term sickness says minister as record 2.5million people signed off work
27 June 2023, 12:34
Working from home and the potentially damaging mental health impact of social media are among the factors behind the steady number of people suffering from long-term illnesses, the Work and Pensions Secretary has suggested.
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Mel Stride, whose priority since entering office last year has been getting people back to work in a bid to boost the British economy, also suggested that the pandemic had left a toll on the mental health of many people.
Speaking to the Times newspaper, Mr Stride promised an expansion of life-coach schemes for those with long-term health conditions in a bid to get people back to work.
"There is a lot around mental health, particularly amongst younger people - phobias and anxieties have been on the increase and you can speculate about, it is social media driven.
"And driven in part by the pandemic and lockdown - lots of things that could feed into that," Mr Stride told the paper.
The paper also reported that Mr Stride name-checked musculoskeletal problems, a side-effect of poor posture when working from home, as among the other factors.
He also told the paper that the current cost-of-living crisis may have "increased the propensity of people to apply for benefits".
