Dr Laville Wellbeing Strategy 2019

Dr Laville Wellbeing Strategy 2019

Dr Allán Laville

5 STEPS TO AN EFFECTIVE WELLBEING STRATEGY

Addressing the importance of mental health wellbeing in the workplace and its effect on business

EFFECTIVE WELL BEING

In any fast-paced business, it can be difficult to take time to sit back and consider wellbeing. It is also all too easy to lose sight of a work-life balance and continue to have a strong focus on achieving work-based goals. This intense approach to work can be effective for a certain period of time however, over time, there can be accumulative levels of stress caused by work-based tasks and in turn, this could result in burnout and/or experiencing a mental health problem.

As illustrated below in Figure 1.

Optimal arousal Optimal performance

Strong

Impaired Performance because of strong anxiety

Increasing attention and interest

Weak

Low High

Figure 1. Yerkes Dodson Law (1908)

MENTAL HEALTH We know that 1 in 6 people will experience a Common Mental Health Problem (CMHP; Mc Manus et al., 2016) across their lifetime. The most common problems are Generalised Anxiety Disorder (5.9%) and Depression (3.3%). In relation to sickness and according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2018), 56% of long-term absence is due to a mental health problem.

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EFFECTIVE WELL BEING

IMPLICATIONS Businesses need to consider the impact of long-term absence due to mental health. For example, some implications might be: Costs of sick leave e.g. financial costs as well as lost hours. Costs for covering sick leave by allocating hours to another member of staff. Costs associated with presenteeism and the attendant lack of productivity. If the above support is not possible, impact on other team members and costs of having sufficient support structures in place for remaining team members. It is also worth considering that the longer an individual is on sick leave, there is often a reduced likelihood to return to work. Furthermore, a decision not to return to work could be based on whether wellbeing is well considered/supported in the workplace. If not, staff on long-term absence may not wish to return, which results in higher staff turnover and related costs of recruitment and training. FINANCIAL

IMPLICATIONS AND NEXT STEPS According to Parsonage and Saini (2017), the estimated annual cost to UK employers of mental health was £25.9 billion when considering absenteeism, presenteeism, and turnover of staff. Considering the information above, it is of the upmost importance to have appropriate wellbeing strategies embedded within an organisation. This ranges from policy level to the behaviours seen and observed within the organisation. On pages 3 and 4, the aims and principles of the ‘5 steps to an effective wellbeing strategy’ are discussed. On page 5, a case study is presented to illustrate the relevance and importance of wellbeing approaches within the workplace. In addition to this, we discuss the relevance of the Mind Workplace Wellness Index to the ‘5 steps to an effective wellbeing strategy’.

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EFFECTIVE WELL BEING AIMS

AIM 1: To increase awareness for the importance of considering mental wellbeing within the workplace. The above aim will be tailored for the following members of staff: junior staff, senior staff, directors, senior managers. AIM 2: To improve the level of mental wellbeing support within the organisation. This is in order to better support employees and reduce costs associated with sick leave.

AIM 3: To improve retention.

This aim will reduce recruitment and training costs as well as providing a greater level of stability to the team. This in turn should support effective and consistent team working.

Aim 4: To support those within work, to stay well. This aim is central to the third step of the programme.

Aim 5: To support those who are currently on sick leave to return to work. This aim is also key to the third step of the programme.

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5 STEPS TO AN EFFECTIVE WELLBEING STRATEGY

STEP 1 Research – Part 1 This step will include questionnaires to ascertain employee’s current levels of wellbeing. This will then lead to focus groups to explore what is required within the organisation to improve initial ratings.

STEP 2 Research – Part 2 This step will include selecting baseline questionnaires to allow for effective measurement of employees’ wellbeing. These measures will be selected on the basis of the findings from Step 1.

STEP 3 Intervention This step will include various levels of wellbeing strategies based on the needs of the organisation. These will range from information leaflets, to wellbeing groups and lastly, the consideration of psychological input.

STEP 4 Review A This step will include a mid-point review of all wellbeing strategies. This will also include employees completing the measures that they completed in Step 2 to monitor effectiveness of the current strategies

STEP 5 Review B This step will include an end-point review of all wellbeing strategies. This will also include employees completing the measures that they completed in Step 2 and 4 to monitor effectiveness of the current strategies and to implement any changes.

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EFFECTIVE WELL BEING

CASE STUDY “Across the country 526,000 people suffer from work-related stress, anxiety or depression but many are afraid to talk about it, fearing that it will be seen as weakness by their managers.” Coutts in 2017 implemented a wellbeing strategy to support employees with mental health problems. The strategy included key elements to implementing change such as an online wellbeing hub and mental health awareness training for line managers. The measurement used here was to ask employees if they felt that their wellbeing was effectively supported at work. Before the strategy, 61% of employees stated yes, however, this rose to 85% when asked 9 months later. This example of good practice can be implemented following the ‘5 steps to an effective wellbeing strategy’ as well as including a wider range of support structures and a more empirical analysis of changes in employee’s wellbeing.

MIND WORKPLACE WELLNESS INDEX A key driver for the ‘5 steps to an effective wellbeing strategy’ is to support your organisation to take part in the Mind Workplace Wellness Index. This Index has been running since 2016/17 and currently has 105 organisations taking part. There are three levels of award: BRONZE - The Bronze award is given to employers who have started their journey to better mental health at work by developing and implementing initiatives that promote positive mental health for staff. SILVER - The Silver award is given to employers who have made demonstrable achievements in promoting staff mental health, demonstrating progress and impact over time. GOLD - The Gold award is given to employers who have successfully embedded mental health into their policies and practices, demonstrating a long-term and in-depth commitment to staff mental health.

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Dr Allán Laville

Dr Allán Laville has worked in psychological wellbeing since 2009. Upon qualifying as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) in 2010, Allán then went into training PWPs at the University of Reading from 2011. Allán’s practice and training involves using validated measures to assess one’s wellbeing. This includes measures of anxiety and depression as well as measures of wellbeing. To date, he has trained approximately 300 individuals in the principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for anxiety and depression and in 2018, he completed a postgraduate course in High Intensity CBT to develop his knowledge and practice further. Allán is very passionate about wellbeing across all areas of life, with a particular focus on workplace wellbeing. This has been a key feature of his training role as the PWP role is very fast paced and practitioners need to be aware of how to keep themselves well. This is combined with his research interests and skills, which are evidenced by his PhD. He has recently supervised students in using the wellbeing measures and applying them to empirical research. - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Psychology - Reading, 2017 - Master of Science (MSc) in Developmental Psychopathology - Reading, 2009 - Postgraduate Certificate in Evidence-Based Psychological Treatments - Reading, 2018 - Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice - Reading, 2014 - Postgraduate Certificate in Low Intensity Psychological Interventions - Surrey, 2010 - Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Psychology - Surrey, 2008 - A Levels in Psychology, History and Communication Studies - Collingwood College, 2004 AWARDS Reading University Student Union Award for Diverse and Inclusive Teaching Excellence, RUSU University of Reading (March 2019) Celebrating Success Award: Professional Behaviour of Demonstrating Excellence, University of Reading (February 2019) QUALIFICATIONS

Celebrating Success Award: Professional Behaviour of Achieving Results, University of Reading (December 2012)

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Presentation delivered by Dr Allán Laville to Nationwide Building Society 2019