Poor Health, Lone-mothers and Welfare Reform: Competing Visions of Employability

Welfare-to-work research has revealed many constraints for beneficiaries attempting to leave social benefits to survive on employment income, including low confidence levels, dead-end jobs, low pay, unfavourable tax rates and childcare problems. Little is known about health-related constraints even though researchers have long been aware of the correlation between low income and poor health. This article is derived from a New Zealand project examining the health of lone-mothers on welfare and how health and other factors affect their ability to engage in paid-work. Stories from 120 interviews with work-tested sole-mothers illustrate their concerns when they are expected to find paid-work despite having sick children, poor health of their own, multiple family problems and depression. These stories, which coincide with research in other countries, are contrasted with neo- liberal welfare policy, suggesting competing visions of employability. As all ‘liberal’ welfare regimes are restructuring in similar ways, this project is relevant to other nations