Organisational psychology - wellbeing at work

Global goals for sustainable development

1. No poverty

2. Zero hunger

3. Good health and well-being

4. Quality education

5. Gender equality

6. Clean water and sanitation

7. Affordable and clean energy

8. Decent work and economic growth

9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure

10. Reduced inequalities

11. Sustainable cities and communities

12. Responsible consumption and production

13. Climate action

14. Life below water

15. Life on land

16. Peace and justice, strong institutions

17. Partnerships for the goals

Factors which may affect productivity

Organisational factors

Individual factors

Context

• Organisational factors may play a role into the inviduals mental health and vice versa

• Eg. Work load, relationships at work, organisational culture

Individual factors which may affect productivity

Resilience and coping skills

Eg. anxiety, depression

Occupational factors which may affect productivity

Some jobs tend to be more stressful than others

Some factors may lead to consequences

Organisational consequences

Individual consequences

Organisational consequences

Productivity

Absenteeism

Reaching targets / goals

Individual consequences

Link between stress and burnout

Poor work-life balance

Increased alcohol consumption

Lack of sleep

Poor relationship problems

Substance abuse problems

Background

21% of adults experience a diagnosable mental health condition each year, with depression and anxiety being the most common in the working population

1 in 4 employees experience significant mental health problems each year

60-70% of disability costs in most organisations are related to mental health conditions

Understanding mental health

Shows the definition of mental health

Comprehensive definition but there are many definitions of mental health

Continuum from low (illness) to high (good wellbeing)

Described using models like Keyes’ mental health continuum

How mental health problems manifest in the workplace

Work outcomes of poor mental health

• Poor mental health is associated with negative work outcomes

Burnout

Characterised by

• Emotional exhaustion

• Cynicism

• Detachment due to prolonged workplace stress

Associated with

• Decreased job performance

• Higher absenteeism and turnover

Leads to

• Interpersonal conflicts with colleagues and supervisors

Classified as an occupational phenomenon by the WHO

Increasing phenomenon in the UK but also worldwide

It is a borderline condition as it is not included in the DSM-5 but is in the ICD-10 and defined by the world health organisation

Lots of overlap woth depression

Emotional exhaustion

Feeling depleted because of work

Examples

• I feel emotionally drained from my work

• I feel fatigued when I get up in the morning and have to face another day on the job

• I feel used up at the end of the workday

• I feel overwhelmed by my work responsibilities

• I feel like I am at the end of my rope

Depersonalisation

Cynicism

No energy to spend with others, starts to detach from the world outside

Do not want to meet others outside of the workplace

Examples

• I feel detached from my job

• I feel indifferent about my work

• I have become more cynical about the impact of my work

• I feel less empthetic toward my colleagues or students

• I have a negative attitude toward my job

Reduced personal accomplishment

Not a major component of burnout

Examples

• I feel ineffective in my job

• I feel like I am not making a meaningful contribution through my work

• I doubt the signficance of my work

• I feel like I am not reaching my full potential at work

• I feel like my work doesn’t really matter

When stress becomes burnout

Physical fatigue → physical symptoms as well as emotional

Cognitive weariness → reduced cognitive abilities due to the stress

• Linked to making mistakes at work

The cycle of burnout

Difficult to address due to this cycle

Occupational burnout

Context

• Work realted stress

Symptoms

• Emotional exhaustion

• Cynicism

• Reduced profesional efficacy

Impact

• Primarily affects professional life

Reversibility

• Often reversible with changes in work conditions

Treatment

• Stress management

• Workplace interventions

• Improved work-life balance

Depression

Context

• Clinical mental health condition

Symptoms

• Persistent sadness

• Loss interest

• Signifcant weight change

• Sleep issues

• Fatigue

• Feelings of worthlessness

• Difficulty concentrating

• Thoughts of suicide

Impact

• Affects all areas of life

Reversibility

• Requires medical or psychological intervention

Treatment

• Therapy

• Medication

• Lifestyle changes

Strain / distress

Refers to a prolonged state of distress and tension due to ongoing stressors, such as job demands and poor work-life balance

Symptoms

• Fatigue

• Poor sleep quality

• Decreased performance

• Anxiety

Strain is often linked to high job demands with limited resources and contributes to mental health deterioration

Both burnout and strain fit within the injured or struggling states of mental health continuum

Distress = generalised condition where individuals are not doing well, a prolonged state of stress / strain

• Can be an early warning of burnout

Occupationla stress models

Transactional stress model (Lazarus et al)

• Stress is a result of an individual’s appraisal of stressors and their ability to cope

Job demands-resources theory (Karasek)

• High job demands lead to strain while job resources help cope with stress

• Most useful tool in terms of burnout

• Stress and burnout often due to high job demand and low job resources

Conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll)

• Stress occurs when valuable resources are threatened or lost

Allostatic load model (McEwen)

• Chronic stress leads to dysregulation of bodily systems, increasing health risks

Job-demands resources (JD-R) model (Bakker & Demerouti)

Job demands

• Physical, psychological, social or organisational aspects of ajob that require sustained effort and are associated with physiological and psychological cost

• High workload

• Time pressur

• Emotionally demanding interactions

Job resources

• Aspects of the job that help employees meet their job demands, reduce stress, and promote personal growth

• Autonomy

• Support from colleagues / supervisors

• Feedback

• Opportunities for development

• Job resources can buffer the impact of job demands on stress, promote engagement, and improve well-being

Causes and consequences of stress

The workplace as a resource (also part of the JD-R model)

Having a job that people like is an important factor

• The work itself

Good quality training of line managers to support employees

Support from organisation

Opportunity to actually self-manage teams and have job control

Factors

• The work itself

• Leadership

• Meaning

• Support

• Autonomy and control

The psychologically healthy workplace

The signs of struggle

Emotional distress

• Crying, complaining

Withdrawal

• Reduced social interaction, effort

Attendance changes

• Lateness, Absenteeism

Preformance reductions

• Quality and quantity

Extreme behaviours

• Hygeine issues, substance abuse, harmful expressions

Managers role

• Recognising and adressing these signs, providing support and resources

Three pillars of workplace mental health

Three pillars of workplace mental health categorise interventions into 3 different pillars

• Prevention

• Intervention

• Accomodation

Usually organisational level interventions

• Target organisational issues

• Can’t always be a quick change as it is complex

• Typically very effective as you are changing the root of the problem

Intervention focuses on addressing or preventing mental health issues through proactive or reactive strategies, such as therapy or stress management workshops

In contrast, accomidation involves making workplace adjustments, such as flexible hours or reduced workloads, to support employees with mental health challenges to stay at work or help those who have left employment return to work

Prevention

Prevention involves improving the balance between job stressors and resources to protect employees’ mental health

This can be accomplished by engaging in proactive efforts that address environmental and job factors

Identifying what issues in the business may be present down the line and aiming to stop this

Adopted earlier on

Target employees who have mild levels of distress

Target is the environment and the job factors

Intervention

Mental health interventions typically aim to empower workers by increasing access to resources

• Eg. Social support at work, psychological counselling, training and development opportunities

Mental health literacy training can reduce stigma and improve social support in the workplace

Helping line managers how to support employees

Mental health programmes

Accommodation

Accommodation takes the form of workplace programs and policies designed to provide support for employees who are experiencing significant compromises in mental health

Such programs typically include stay-at-work options and return-to-work plans

Type of intervention that is specifically aimed at a particular group of the workforce which tends to be those with current known conditions

The IGLO model (Nielson et al)

Suggests that when we work with an organisation we need to think about the different layers of a system

• We cannot just change one thing, we need to think about the whole thing

• Multilevel intervention

Organisational change (Nielson et al)

Prep → screening → action planning → implementation → evoiluation

Employee participation is key

Preparation

Objective

• Identify the need for change and create awareness

Key elements

• Leadership communicates the vision for change, and employees are informed about why chnage is necessary

• building readiness and preparing both the organisational structure and employees are critical

Focus

• Emphasise employee participation during this phase to reduce uncertainty and resitance

Screening

Objective

• Identify and prioritise what needs to change before designing solutions

Key elements

• Data triangulation - KPI like absence/turnover/incidents; baseline psychosocial survery; brief qualitative pulse

• Team / unit profiling - heatmaps, thresholds

• Sense-making workshops with staff & managers

• Root-cause hypotheses

• Short list 3 - 5 priorities

Focus

• Converting broad concerns into a small, evidence-based set of priorities with initial SMART objectives

Action planning

Objective

• Develop a detailed plan for implementing the change

Key elements

• Establish goals, timelines and allocate resources

• Involvement of employees in the planning process can enhance commitment

Focus

• Nielson advocates for employee involvement in the design phase to ensure their concerns are addressed and to increase buy-in, promoting a sense of ownership over the change

Implementation

Objective

• Implement the planned changes

Key elements

• This stage involves putting the change into action

• Clear communication and monitoring are essential, along with managing an resistance or issues that arise

Focus

• Support employee well-being during implementation

• She emphasises minimising stress and ensuring employees ahve the necessary resources, training, and support during this period of change

Evaluation (Monitoring of change)

Objective

• Assess the impact of the change

Key elements

• Collect feedback and analyse whether the change is meeting the goals set out during the planning phase

• This phase ensures that any negative impacts on employee well-being are addressed

Focus

• Nielson emphasises the importance of evaluating both the effectiveness of the change and its impact on employees’ mental heralth and jobs satisfaction

• Her work highlights the need for continuous monitoring of employee well-being during organisational transitions

Additional - Sustaining and embedding the change

Objective

• Ensure the change is fully integrated into the organisation

Key elements

• Make adjustments based on feedback, ensure long-term sustainability and embed the change into the organisational culture

Focus

• Nielson advocates for embedding a culture of openness and continued employee participation, ensuring that employees feel supported in the long term

Additional - Reflection and learning

Objective

• Reflect on what went well and what didn’t, to learn for future change initiatives

Key elements

• Organisations should document lessons learned and apply them to future change efforts

Focus

• Learning from the change process, particularly from an employee well-being perspective, is important

• Organisations should assess the psychological impect on employees and consider how future changes can be implemented more smoothly

Nielsons key themes

Employee participation

• Nielson’s work emphasises that involving employees throughout the change process is essential for reducing resistance, enhancing enagagement, and fostering a sense of control

Mental health and well-being

• She highlights that organisational changes can increase employee stress and negatively impect mental health if not managed properly making employee well-being a core consideration

Tailoring interventions

• Nielson often suggests that change management interventions should be adapted to specific context of the organisation, with a flexibility approach to ensure the best outcomes for both the organisation and its employees

Experimental research studies

Experimental research involves testing the effects of specific interventions on workplace outcomes by manipulating variables and comparing results across control and experimental groups

Randomised Controlled Trials (RCT’s)

• Assigning participants randomly to intervention or control groups

Pre-post test designs

• Measuring outcomes before and after the intervention

Control groups

• Essential to determine whether the intervention caused changes, compared to a group that does not recieve the intervention

Key outcomes

Employee well-being

• Psychological wellbeing

• Mental health

• Burnout reduction

Productivity

• Task performance

• Efficiency

• Output

Job satisfaction

• Employee engagement

• Motivation

• Job commitment

Organisational outcomes

• Turnover rates

• Absenteeism

• Overall team performance

Examples of interventions

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)

• Studies showing reduced stress and improved employee well-being in high pressure environments

Leadership training programmes

• Studies testing the impect of leadership styles on employee engagement and performance

Flexible work arrangements

• Studies on remote or hybride work impacting jobs satisfaction and productivity

Challenges in experimental workplace research

Ethical considerations

• Ensure informed consent

• Balancing organisational and employee needs

Practical constraints

• Difficulties with random assignment

• Controlling for external factors

• Maintaining participant engagement over time

Generalisability

• Ensuring findings from one workplace are applicable to others

Benefits of experimental research

Causal relationships

• Establishing direct links between interventions and outcomes

Evidence-based practice

• Providing strong, actionable insights for improving workplace policies

Implications of future directions

Adopt multidisciplinary approaches that integrate theories of mental health

Examine moderators of relationships between work variables and mental health / illness variables

Develop and evaluate primary intervention strategies that promote mental health

Identify boundary conditions of mental health intervention strategies

Conduct research using theory-driven and application-focused approaches to derive implication for both research and practice

Legal and ethical considerations

Antidiscrimination law (Equality Act 2010)

• Requirements for reasonable accommodations

Ethical considerations

• Balancing organisational needs with employee wellbeing, maintaining confidentiality

Implications for practice

Evidence based

• Organisations should adopt interventions that have been proven effective

• Such as CBT, mindfulness programs & resillience training

Organisational recommendations

• Mental health climate

• Supportive supervision

• Meaningful work opportunities