Increasing a nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) creates a “tidal wave of mental ill health” among people of poverty, the report by Olivier De Schutter, the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights found.
According to the report’s findings, 11 percent or 970 million of the world's population experience a mental health condition. However, those who have lower incomes are three times more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, and other common mental illnesses, compared to those with the highest incomes.
The Group Impacted the Most
“The mental health impacts of living in a world in thrall to growth, obsessed with productivity and competitiveness, are increasingly recognised as contributing to ‘burnout’ among white-collar professionals,” De Schutter highlighted.
“Yet it is people living in poverty, working mostly in informal or precarious jobs, that suffer from this condition the most, while having the least resources to cope – creating a mental health crisis that is largely ignored and unseen,” he added.
Moreover, changes in working conditions and other forms of labor play a major role in the increase of mental health problems affecting those with low incomes. The report indicated that the “pursuit of growth” in one's standard form of employment resulted in fewer long-term employment contracts. This includes more casual or self-employed part-time work, resulting in reduced worker protections and wages.
The Burnout Economy
De Schutter mentioned that with today's economy, unemployment can sometimes be the healthier option, rather than taking a job.
“While unemployment can increase the risk of mental health conditions, doing precarious work has been found to lead to even worse mental health outcomes – due to insecurity, lack of bargaining power, unfair pay and wildly unpredictable work schedules which make it impossible to manage a healthy work-life balance,” he said.
Therefore, the expert called on governments to urgently address the rise of precarious work. They suggested putting legal protections in place to guarantee decent work and a living wage. Additionally, De Schutter pushed for scheduling regulations that provide workers with advance notice of their work schedules and compensation.
Improvement on economic security through granting a minimum number of hours to part-time workers were also pushed.
“Our obsession with growth has created a burnout economy – a race to increase the profits of a tiny elite in which millions of people have been made too sick to run,” De Schutter said.
He added how the consequences led people down a path of extreme economic inequality, as more societies suffer higher rates of various mental health problems. The report indicated that strengthening social protection, including a universal basic income will lead to the improvement of mental health.
“It is only by addressing this broken economic system, and by putting well-being above the endless quest for more, that we can begin to seriously address poverty and the mental health crisis that accompanies it,” the Special Rapporteur ended.
