Political Perspectives, Policies, Outcomes and Effects Relating to Mental Health Issues. {Please keep to topic}

Hi @AussieRecharger

and others visiting this thread

I acknowledge and agree with what you are saying @AussieRecharger , about agendas, corruption and personal gain. We can apply all the checks and balances that we have and there will still be "slippage" and new ways that people use to achieve their own ends, despite those ends being in conflict with the "common good", or the benefit of those whom their work is supposed to serve.

When it is all said and done we can only do the best that we can with what we have. It is only if nothing is done, or the corrupters are more numerous or powerful, that everything goes backwards. Sometimes, it may seem soul-destroying when we see our efforts diluted and diminished by the negative influences. However, to paraphrase the oft quoted expression,

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.”

Your last two paragraphs are a reminder of my time in the employment placement field, where I often spoke with clients, particularly those who had been unemployed for extended periods of time. Discussion would often centre on the financial income derived from various positions in relation to that received already by the client. This led to the discussion of non-monetary benefits. It was occasionally the promise of non-monetary benefits that changed the discussion in a more positive direction. For some it meant that they were able to take on employment with a new perspective on returns.

I had one lady, whose partner had taken on a position arranged after such a conversation, come in to the office two weeks later to thank me, not for the job, as much as for the improved quality of their relationship. This was indeed among the issues that the client and I had discussed before the referral.

So non-financial benefits do have a significant part in the value of our employment and many other aspects of our lives. It is possible that we should be asking for more or greater recognition of non-monetary benefits.

With Best Wishes

@HenryX

@HenryXThose sound like much better conversations then any I ever had with my therapist regarding employment. All she ever wanted to talk about was money. Her interest in getting me employment was entirely rooted in getting me an income stream.

She was totally uninterested in the relationship and emotional payoffs of the right job, despite me repeatedly telling her that these matters needed to be paramount in assigning me my job. Consequently, it became a serious concern that she was going to railroad me into an inappropriate career path, contenting herself that I was making all that "precious money", while being completely unsympathetic to the fact that she'd tied me up in an even worse nightmare then I was to begin with.

Remember: this woman was a therapist, not an accountant. Emotional needs ought to have been her utmost concern, not financial status. That's what her job was (theoretically) all about! But all she cared about was getting me an income stream, at any cost.

The scant conversations I've had with other people in my social circle regarding employment haven't been any more promising. I'm surrounded by people obsessed with money. I don't know how to escape - at least, not in the non-lethal sense.

So I hope it is becoming much more mainstream to talk about employment in terms of the non-financial benefits. Maybe then people might get the jobs they truly need, instead of just the money that others are obsessed with thrusting upon them.

Hello @chibam

and others following this thread

It concerns me that conversations about employment revolve only around the financial considerations. Unfortunately, neither the prospective employee nor the employer win in those situations. It creates a tension between the two, that I believe should be minimised.

During the time to which I was referring, now more than 30 years ago, in my previous post, I believe that I would have been among the relatively few people, in the employment industry in which I worked, who approached the interview with the client in the way that I have described. However, it simply made sense to me from all perspectives.

• I did have to have the acknowledgement of the client that we were working towards a commonly beneficial goal.
• I did not wish to disadvantage an employer with an unwilling or reluctant employee,
• I wanted the client to feel and know that it was my concern to see that their needs were met and for us to have established clear ideas about what those needs were.
• And I also wanted to continue to have access to positions with employers with whom I had built a foundation of confidence.

Needless to say, the preparedness of the client to continue to be part of the process was central and pivotal. There were occasions when I said to a client,

"If you are not interested, there are other people who are interested and with whom I can spend my time more productively."

The client had to be a willing partner in the process.

I would think, from what I have heard, that the present situation would be likely to be different, because of the higher demand for potential employees than there is, apparently, supply. In this situation, people seeking employment, I would think, could approach their provider for assistance in accessing work more closely aligned with the client's own preferred options. The client may even have a prospective employer in mind. In this way the client would appear to have the advantage.

A great deal depends on the established skills, the motivation and the preparedness of the client to be an active and willing participant in the process.

I believe that you are correct in your observation that simply thrusting money at a problem rarely leads to a solution or positive outcome.

With Best Wishes

@HenryX

I really like the way you've chosen your words, as well @Appleblossom . And, to your recommendations, I say right on!