Health and Wellbeing Research
Improving the
health and well-being of UK citizens is currently a major government
concern. So much so, that they have funded a great deal of research
aimed at trying to determine how best to do this. As UK citizens
spend much of their time at work, all the reports state that
the workplace should be more involved in promoting information
on health and well being.
Many organisations are therefore starting to recognise a corporate
responsibility to provide information and advice on health
and well being in the workplace. However, there are also good
economic reasons for tackling health and well being at work.
Poor employee health and well -being can result in reduced
performance and increased absenteeism.
As a result of this a number of research projects have also
been carried out to try to determine good practice for tackling
health and well being at work and to try to evaluate different
approaches.
Below are outlined
-
some of the major points that have been made in the reports
on the role of the workplace in promoting health and well
being
-
some of the most useful research on how
best to do this.
Research and recommendations for the role of the workplace
in improving health and well being in the UK
1. “Working for a healthier tomorrow”
In 2007 the National Director for Work and Health, Dame
Carol Black conducted a comprehensive investigation of
health and
well being in Britain. In March 2008 she released a report “Working
for a healthier tomorrow.” In this report Dame Black
commented on the results of the investigation and current state
of health and well being in the UK, and made recommendations
for improvements.
Although many factors were considered in the report not
least the role of primary care, the introduction of a fit
for work note rather than a sick note and a fit
for work service,
there was a great deal on the role of organisations in
improving
the health of the nation.
In the report Dame Black suggests that “the workplace
can be a key setting for improving people's health and well
being” and in Chapter 3 “Good Health is Good Business” she
outlines the components of a good organisational well being
programme. These are as follows:
-
Needs to address employees needs in a specific organisation
-
Requires true senior management buy in - not lip service
-
Needs to be aligned with the business’ aims and
goals and not an after thought
-
Employees views should consulted about programmes and informed
and updated of initiatives
-
The organisation should measure the outcomes of the programmes
and share the business case with directors share
holders and other organisations
It was very reassuring to see that these recommendations
totally reflect the ApP approach
to health and well being.
In making these recommendations Dame Black
recognises that there is
a good business case for tackling health
and well
being at work but recognises
that one of the biggest obstacles to this happening is
the fact that the
evidence base to
support the business case
is poorly understood by employers. She also
recognises that there is
a lack of appropriate information and advice. She therefore
suggests that
-
A robust model should be developed for reporting on the benefits
of employer investment in
health and well being and this should be used to report on health and well being
in the board room
and company accounts
-
There should be a business led health and well being consultancy
service offering
tailored advice and support at a market rate.
-
There should be a major drive to promote understanding of the
positive relationship
between health and work among employers, healthcare professionals and the general
public.
-
Finally, Dame Black states that all organisations must ensure
compliance with H&S and other employment law, through good
H&S management
prevention and exposure
to risk. The
following information
will therefore
be useful for helping
organisations do
that for stress and
common
mental health problems.
The HSE has produced
guidance
for this.
The HSE
guidance
is
outlined on this
web
site under
Legal
issues
and
health and safety
guidelines
on
this
web
site.
Click
HERE to
see these.
ApP
provides help
with all
aspects of
H&S
guidance for
stress
2.
The Foresight
Project on
Mental Capital
and well
being (Oct
2008)
-
employers should play a part in reducing the stigma of mental
ill-health
-
fulfilling work can be beneficial for mental health
-
poor conditions in the workplace can cause stress and exacerbate
mental health problems
-
employers should be encouraged to foster work environments
that are conducive to good mental well being
and the enhancement of mental capital
-
collection of wellbeing data against key performance indicators
-
employers in both the public and private sector should be encouraged
to carry out an annual stress and wellbeing audit
and act on its findings
-
better training for managers so they understand the impact
they can have on mental capital and wellbeing
-
raising the profile of the importance of mental health and
well being at work
-
encourage companies to include wellbeing indicators in
their annual reports, thereby benchmarking their
performance for
shareholders and showcasing any improvements
3. The Boorman report NHS staff health and Well-being Review
23rd November 2009
This stated that:
-
All NHS leaders and managers are developed and
equipped to recognise the link between staff health and
well-
being and organisational performance and their actions are judged in
terms of whether they contribute to or undermine
staff health and well- being
-
All NHS trusts develop and implement strategies for actively
improving the health and well-being of their workforce – this
should be developed with a full involvement
of staff
-
All NHS staff should implement the NICE guidance on promoting
mental health an dwell being at work
-
Training in health and well being should be an integral part
of management training and leadership development … and
should be built into annual performance assessment
and personal development planning processes
-
Ensuring managers have the skills and tools to support staff
with mental health problems
-
When drawing up a health and well being strategy a proper assessment
is taken of key health priorities and risk
factors. These should fully reflect legal requirements in this area
-
Consistent access to early interventions
-
In addition to core services there Should provide a range of
specific health and well being services targeted
at the needs of the organisation
-
Staff engagement critical in determining what services are
required
-
Staff health and wellbeing services should be regularly assessed
and reviewed
4. NICEGuidance for employers on promoting mental wellbeing
through productive and healthy working conditions
These guidelines from the National Institute for Health
and Clinical Excellence (NICE) set out clear recommendations,
based
on the best available evidence. The guidance is for
those who have a direct or indirect role in, and responsibility
for,
promoting mental wellbeing at work. This includes
all employers and their representatives, irrespective
of the size of the
business or organisation. There are 5 recommendations
and all can be seen at http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/12331/45895/45895.pdf
Below are recommendations 1 and 4 around which the
e learning was based
Recommendation 1: strategic and coordinated approach
to promoting employees’ mental wellbeing
Adopt an organisation-wide approach to promoting
the mental wellbeing of all employees, working in
partnership with them.
This approach should integrate the promotion of mental
wellbeing into all policies and practices concerned
with managing people,
including those related to employment rights and
working conditions.
-
Ensure that the approach takes account of the nature
of the work, the workforce and the characteristics
of the organisation.
Promote a culture of participation, equality and
fairness that is based on open communication
and inclusion.
-
Create an awareness and understanding of mental wellbeing and
reduce the potential for discrimination and
stigma related to mental health problems.
-
Ensure processes for job design, selection, recruitment, training,
development and appraisal promote mental wellbeing
and reduce the potential for stigma and discrimination. Employees should
have the necessary skills and support to meet
the demands of a job that is worthwhile and offers opportunities for development
and progression. Employees should be fully
supported throughout
organisational change and situations of uncertainty.
-
Ensure that groups of employees who
might be exposed to stress but might be less likely to
be included in
the various approaches for promoting mental wellbeing have the equity
of opportunity to participate. These groups
include part-time workers, shift
workers and migrant workers.
Recommendation 4: the role of line managers
Strengthen the role of line managers in promoting the mental
wellbeing of employees through supportive leadership
style and management practices. This will involve:
-
promoting a management style that encourages participation,
delegation, constructive feedback, mentoring and coaching
-
ensuring that policies for the recruitment, selection, training
and development of managers recognise and
promote these skills
-
ensuring that managers are able to motivate employees and provide
them with the training and support they need
to develop their performance and job satisfaction
-
increasing understanding of how management style and practices
can help to promote the mental wellbeing
of employees and keep their stress to a minimum 7
Research and guidance on best practice for tackling health
and wellbeing at work
1. Health and Safety Executive
Following a landmark legal case for stress at work The HSE
stated that it is necessary to carry out regular risk assessments
for stress. Based a great deal of research they have produced
a set of comprehensive guidelines. These are available in the
HSE publication managing the Cause of Work Related Stress – ISBN
978-0-7176-6273-9 alternatively they can be can be accessed
from the HSE web site www.hse.gov.uk/stress . A shortened version
is available on the ApP web site.
Major research on which the guidance is based was published
in Work and Stress (2004) 18 No 2 Special
Issue – “Risk
Management: Work and Organisational Factors” This journal
contains a number of research papers all related to work related
stress and mental health. In particular is the research paper
entitled “management standards and work related stress
in the UK: policy background and science by Mackay et al (2004).
This outlines how the HSE guidance was developed and discusses
much of the theory on which it was based. Of particular interest
are the following points.
-
The more control employees have the better they
perform, the fewer days they take off sick and the less
likely they
are to leave
-
The clearer employees are of their role the more productive
they are, the more they are at work and the
more likely they are to stay
-
The better an organisation manages change, the more likely
they are to retain staff and decrease absence
-
Higher levels of support and better relationships at work improve
business performance
-
Even simple interventions to improve job control and change
management can reduce sickness absence up to 28%.
2. RR133 - Beacons of excellence in stress prevention.
At the same time as the HSE were developing their guidance
for stress the Beacons of Excellence Research
was being carried out. This dscribes the authors' work
to identify good practice
in stress prevention. It summarises and draws
conclusions from many academic studies on stress prevention,
and uses
this information, as well as advice from
a panel of international experts, to develop a comprehensive
stress prevention model.
This model is then used to describe examples
of stress prevention practices within a wide range of
UK organizations. Of particular
importance is their finding that ssuccessful
stress management interventions all tend to have the
following components:
-
top management commitment
-
risk analysis
-
stress prevention strategy
-
a participative approach
-
interventions concentrating on individuals teams and organisations
3. HSE obstacles RR389 ISMAUK stress workshops 04: Attitudes,
opinions
This report summarises the results of telephone research undertaken
on behalf of the Health & Safety Executive between 10 June
and 24 June 2005, it can be accessed from www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr389.htm
Of most interest here is that it cites the obstacles that
organisations need to overcome to produce effect stress programmes.
These are:
61% lack of time
55% lack of understanding about stress in general
48% lack of manager commitment
46% stigma of stress
34% lack of senior management buy in
Some of these obstacles are addressed in the Beacons of Excellence
Research.
4. Building the Case for Wellness by PricewaterhouseCoopers
(PwC).
This report considers the wider business
case and specifically the economic
case for employers to invest in wellness programmes
for their staff. In this review, PwC
found evidence in over
50 UK case studies that health and
well
being programs have a positive impact
on intermediate and bottom line benefits.
5. Mental health and work by The
Royal College of Psychiatrists.
This report looks at the evidence
for addressing mental health and
work.
And finally a very recent piece
of research is
6. RR633 Management competencies for preventing and reducing
stress - Phase Two
This research identifies the management behaviours necessary
to implement the HSE Management Standards.
These are basically good people management skills and
apply to all aspects of managing
employee health and well being. This research
can also be accessed from www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr633.htm
From these reports and guidelines there are a number of common
themes that have been recommended for successfully addressing
to health and well being at work.
These are as follows:
-
Organisations should take a strategic approach to health and
well-being. Senior managers need to be involved and take responsibility
(e.g. NICE, Boorman Report Black HSE).
-
Regular assessments of employee psychological well-being should
be
-
Made. Such as using a survey tool (e.g. (Foresight, NICE HSE).
-
Managers should have health and well-being key performance
indicators
-
(E.g. Foresight, Boorman).
-
Leaders and managers should be trained and developed to deal
with health
-
And well-being issues (all reports).
-
Employees should be trained to improve health and well being
at work (Carol Black. HSE)
The e learning packages help managers deal with all these recommendations
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