We’ve seen these before, usually behind a Jobcentre ‘advisors’ desks, or on films made by programmes such as Dispatches. And who could ever forget Sandras Sheriff Badges.
The DWP use this method of ‘encouragment’ to coerce staff to achieve higher offload levels or as recently discovered ‘Aspiration’ levels.
They must think that the public are ready to succumb to these tactics. Luckily we have claimants who are very observant and can see the absurdity and irony in this.
It also strikes me as being a bit orwelian, I mean how on earth can claimants think for themselves? They must need to have little reminders of how inadequate they are placed in their direct eyeline!
Here is the offending item placed directly above the computers that claimants are forced to use.
Now anyone who has spent any time on these computers will know that this entails constant pointless job searches. This is very repetitive and the authenticity of many of these jobs is dubious. Infact you are far less likely to find a job using one of these computers than you are going out and positively looking for work.
So if we take the wording “If you always do what you always did, you will get what you always got.”
So translated this could mean “If you sit here on these computers always looking for work, most likely you will be doing this for forever.” Which is very likely due to the fact that most of these jobs are either non existent or zero hour agency work.
I think that they need to possibly have lessons in how to communicate positively with claimants.
Don’t treat claimants as if they are idiots. Many are highly intelligent people who are down on their luck.
If they could see the fault with this straight away then they are obviously one step ahead of you.
Many thanks for informing me about this. If anyone else happens to see little messages like this appear in their local Jobcentre please forward a photo to myself. Your anonymity will be respected at all times.
The poor side of life 
The full version of this saying is to the best of my knowledge:
“If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you’ve always got”, and is taken from the world of Counselling.
I first came across this ‘gem’ many years ago and have made much use of it over the years. It is meant to be applied in a psychological sense in the ‘Rogerian’ sense of ‘Unconditional Positive Regard’ ie if you continue to behave in a particular way then don’t be surprised that you continue to get the same results. Payoffs! It very much relates to Eric Berne’s ‘Games People Play’, payoffs, and R D Laing’s book Knots.
It’s just typical that such a useful saying is much abused by the likes of the DWP. Someone there may well have done the typical 10 week counselling skills course, but they are not a qualified cousellor.
Nor am I! I completed 9 months of a 2 years Counselling Certificate course 20 years ago. I lasted 9 months before being kicked-off the course. Many people complained they didn’t understand me, and for the sake of the majority I had to leave. I think I upset, puzzled, and frightened many others just by being me. Personally I found the course easy!
Many years later after my apparent failure I thought I’ll have another try thinking that I must have ‘improved’ by now and may be able to complete the course. Such courses were then free! However, this time I lasted only 3 weeks before being asked to leave the course. Down from 9 months to 3 weeks! I can only but conclude that not only had I continued to behave in the same way but that I had somehow increased this. What I had done over the intervening years was more meditation, more reading and study, increased my self-awareness plus further personal deprogramming and deconditioning. I’d also got involved in green politics.
I think it’s also because I tend to utilise Gestalt forms of counselling rather than the preferred gentler Rogerian forms. I’m also prepared to actively engage with people and offer advice, something counsellors are forbidden to do. The courage of my convictions! A counsellor proper is supposed to remain stumm and just listen. Listening skills are important, but there is also sometimes the need for appropriate action and to be intuitive and make suggestions as to waht they can or could do, to help, but without disempowering people, without taking away their ability to choose, to decide what to do. After all they are responsible for their actions. This must be emphaised. They must not do anything simply because I said so. The distinction between suggesting and telling or ordering must be made clear. Not that Ashton Jobcentre make any such distinctions especially in this age of Nudge theory! Self awareness is key to spotting the various forms of manipulation, howsoever subtle or brutal they may be.
Nuff said
Love, Light & Laughter
Starlord
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Thanks steve! Very good advice there!
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If you put in a search radius of say 5 miles of the place you are searching for be it from a home PC or the JCP job point many of the so called vacancies quickly turn up to be 20 plus miles from your search criteria, even if you say this is a radius as the crow flies that can mean a very big area is covered. In a LEEDS job centre I put in 5 miles and the third option was a job in Halifax this to me just proves that no matter what you put in it just displays any old sh*t jobs. Even ones that don’t exist, how would the JCP/DWP like a £50 penalty added for every job they advertise that is not available? I would be a millionaire now if I applied a £50 charge to every job I had applied for to be told it’s gone or it’s been gone weeks, and these are job searches for recently added vacancies.
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Yes!!!!!!!!!!
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Luckily for me I’m in support group atm so don’t have to see these. But maybe some enterprising person could make up their own sayings and place them ontop of these ones. Something like:
‘You are better than the DWP treat you’
‘There are more who appreciate you than work for the DWP’
‘With cuts to DWP staff your advisor may be using these computers soon’
A bit like the low pay campaigners did at Tescos
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Brilliant idea!
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Reblogged this on Same Difference.
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Again we see the idea projected by messages like this, that it is somehow all the fault of the claimant if they are not succeeding in finding work. Typical pseudo-psychological DWP nonsense.
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Absolutely Jeff and it’s awful.
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