Effective interventions to improve workplace wellbeing
Research by Dr Kevin Teoh, Senior Lecturer in Organisational Psychology at Birkbeck
Research supported by Birkbeck, which revealed how changes in HR practices can significantly improve employee wellbeing and staff sickness, is now seeing its impact rolled out within the NHS.
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, an NHS Wales organisation employing over 16,000 staff, implemented new practices, which involved avoiding disciplinary investigations and instead using informal resolution methods through training and mentoring.
The changes led to a 71 per cent reduction in employee investigations, over 3,000 fewer days of sickness absence annually, and savings exceeding £730,000 per year.
Dr Kevin Teoh, Senior Lecturer in Organisational Psychology at Birkbeck, one of the authors of the research paper, said: “This is why I enjoy doing what I do – it’s about having an impact. Changes to someone’s working environment can have an immediate effect on people.
“That work with one health board is now being adopted by NHS Wales. They are revamping their employee investigation service, and we are also working with the Welsh Ambulance Service.
“The output is not only about better staff wellbeing but there’s also dollar and cents attached, which is what drives organisations.”
In Kevin’s career, he has researched the link between work and wellbeing in the workplace, primarily in the healthcare sector.
Dr Kevin Teoh, Senior Lecturer in Organisational Psychology at Birkbeck
Dr Kevin Teoh, Senior Lecturer in Organisational Psychology at Birkbeck
He said: “I have always been interested in psychology and mental health. A lot of the work being done in that space was about getting people better after they had been unwell.
“But I thought about what we should be doing to stop people from getting unwell to begin with.
“Instead, we should be looking at working environments and making sure the individual is working in a healthy system and environment.
“I am interested in the health of people in general and there is that question of who is looking after our carers?
“If you want to have a healthy society, we need a healthy healthcare sector.”
Photo by Julia Taubitz on Unsplash
Photo by Julia Taubitz on Unsplash
In 2020, with the support of early-stage research funding from Birkbeck alumni, Kevin was able to complete analysis of the relationship between perceived working conditions, doctors’ psychological health and patient care.
His research led to a report providing insights on how best to support staff wellbeing within the NHS.
Kevin says that generally employers should introduce wellbeing interventions that move beyond focusing solely on supporting individuals, and instead look at improving working conditions such as addressing job insecurity, balancing workloads or giving people more control.
Alongside this work in the healthcare sector, Kevin has been looking into the data from European countries on the impact that law has on worker health, with the view to pushing for specific legislation on work-related stress.
All this links Kevin’s belief on the role that policymakers and government have in supporting mental health.
In February, he addressed Lords, MPs and business leaders at a House of Lord roundtable on policy needs to help create healthier work and better managed and more productive workplaces.
In June, he met with the Vice-President and Minister of Labour of Spain, Yolanda Díaz to discuss the role of working conditions on workers’ mental health in Spain and across Europe.
Kevin said: “We need a more systematic approach to support mental health at work that focuses on the responsibility of organisations and governments.”
Kevin's tips for looking after your mental health at work:
1. “Self-care is important. Make sure you sleep well, do lots of exercise and think about nutrition.”
2. “Recognise the balance between your demands and the resources available to you.”
3. “If there’s one thing in your job that you can change to make it better for you, recognise what it is and what you can do to change it."
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