How do we know what works for workplace health and wellbeing?

This is the big question at the heart of a new national research project that East Sussex Public Health is involved in.

In East Sussex, we know from annual surveys and evaluations that Wellbeing at Work is making a real difference to how workplaces support their staff. We are often told that organisations value the recognition of the awards. But we also know that health problems are growing most among the working age population across England, and that many workplaces want to do more to help keep staff healthy and in work.

Led by a team from the University of Birmingham, the research project aims to improve programmes like Wellbeing at Work. It will do this by:

• looking at what evidence exists for workplace health and wellbeing activities
• learning from local authorities, employers and employees about how programmes like Wellbeing at Work are implemented, and
• evaluating a set of recommendations and tools for workplace health and wellbeing programmes.

The research will focus on gaps in current information and guidance. These gaps include what works for small and medium-sized businesses, and for local authorities that provide workplace health and wellbeing programmes for free.

In England, there are no national standards or guidance about workplace health and wellbeing programmes. This can make it difficult for local authorities and employers to know where to start or how to make sure they are doing the best for employees. This research project will run alongside central government initiatives to improve work and health. It will help test whether national standards or guidance could make a positive difference to the number of sick days people take off work and to their overall health and wellbeing.

In my role as an Embedded Researcher, I will be working closely with the Wellbeing at Work team as well as researchers from Birmingham and other universities over the next five years. We will collaborate with local authorities around the country that provide programmes like Wellbeing at Work. Together, we will create a set of recommendations and tools and recruit workplaces to be part of an evaluation of these.

This is the first research project about workplace health and wellbeing programmes at this scale and using an evaluation method known as a Randomised Controlled Trial. This method is widely seen as the ‘gold standard’ for evaluations, and so it is a great opportunity for East Sussex to be involved in. At the end of the project, we hope to publish results and share the learning with a wide audience of organisations who have a role in improving workplace health and wellbeing.

We will soon be inviting East Sussex workplaces to join the research project – please contact the team if you would like to learn more. You can also sign up to the research network to receive updates about the project and information about events. Look out for more information through the Wellbeing at Work newsletter and LinkedIn page.

Written by:

Ruth Simister

Public Health Embedded Researcher

East Sussex County Council Public Health Team.