When initially researching my approach for Re:Purpose I found some pretty shocking statistics. Within three months of having to leave work for health reasons, 33% of individuals will be living in poverty (Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex). More so, for those who do endeavour to stay in the workplace with a chronic health condition or disability, those individuals are 12 times more likely to have their experience get worse than better when formally reporting a work complaint on their experiences, irrespective of the nature of the actual complaint lodged (Speak Out Revolution, www.speakoutrevolution.co.uk).
From my own personal experience in the workplace, health and disability was a performative tick box by senior management that got thrown into the mix of the organisation’s ‘diversity and inclusion’ agenda, but was a very poor cousin to the other strands of the agenda.
Despite all the shiny awards, PR, branding, flags and dedicated balloon days, employers are pretty poor at walking the walk. The law that is in place does not protect to the degree that it should, and seems to provide more a smokescreen than a tangible safety net for workers.
I think it’s a safe enough assumption to make that the world of work simply does not work for anyone who does not fit the narrowest of criteria – able-bodied, fit, healthy and without any challenges or responsibilities that might impede their ability to show up within the contracted hours.
So what is one to do? Carry on trying to fit in to that narrow criteria despite personal detriment; find a job that will meet your requirements with risk of less pay/worse conditions; or become long-term unemployed and embrace poverty?
I spent a lot of time working on the Re:Purpose idea, and speaking to others who had to make the difficult decision to leave their day jobs and full-time employment. The one common theme is that individuals stayed as long as they could hoping the situation would get better, but found it didn’t, and for many it descended into chaos and outright victimisation if they made the choice to actually raise a formal grievance to their employer. For those who did strike out and become self-employed, none had looked back and regretted the decision – it was work as they had not previously experienced it, but the sense of fulfilment from applying skills in a new direction that they had control over was the bonus.
Re:Purpose was founded from a place of understanding that work does not work for many, and the loss of talent and skills to long-term unemployment or unskilled work impacts both on the individual and on the economy. Individuals need options, and the Re:Purpose approach helps individuals find those.