Work and mental well-beingAHEAD

WorkshopProfessor Ivan Robertson

Robertson Cooper Ltd

&

Leeds University Business School

Develop managers to manage challenge

and support

1. Measure strategic baseline metrics

(e.g. customer satisfaction, sickness/absence)

2. Develop “brand” and communicate

internally.

3. Measure well-being levels and their drivers

4. Use results to develop action plans

5. Communicate and implement plans

Engage top leadership

Measure baseline metrics• Organisational outcomes

Sickness/absenceEmployee turnoverReferrals to occupational healthPerformance & productivityetc…

• External Customer/user/patient satisfactionComplaintsetc…

• Survey resultsEmployee engagementPhysical & mental well-beingetc…

BUSINESS & FINANCIAL

•Sickness Absence rates•Retention rates•No. of ill-health retirements •No. of stress-related referrals to Occupational Health•Overall financial performance•Productivity measures

INTERNAL PROCESS

•Stress levels•Levels of work-life balance •Stress risk assessment arrangements•Staff survey results (job sat., well-being, engagement, commitment & motivation)

•SERVICE QUALITY

Customer/user/patient satisfaction survey results•No. of complaints/accidents/near misses•No. of disciplinaries & grievances

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

•Feedback from training and development programmes•Innovations & ideas•No. of ‘Did not attends’ at training events

Well-being Performance Sickness-

absenceEmployee retention

Customer/User satisfaction

Attendance management

Performance management

Well-being

Outcome

Method

Develop the “Brand” and communicate internally (and

externally)

• Goals & purpose (link to metrics)

• Existing activities

• Benefits to different stakeholder groups

Stakeholder group AMiddle

management

Stakeholder group B

etc…

Stakeholder group C

etc…

Initiatives

Fast-track counselling

Benefits to stakeholder group A

etc… etc…

Awards ceremonies

etc… etc… etc…

Improved appraisal process

etc… etc… etc… etc…

GlaxoSmithKline’s “Branding”

• Cast a positive shadow – generate positive emotions in others

• Manage your energy – not your time• Downtime (respite) is productive time• Work in a series of sprints• Develop health rituals and habits

Measure well-being levels and their workplace drivers

• Well-being survey (even without follow-up)

€1 invested return of €2 (greater with follow-up) (Foresight Report)

• Focus groups

• Internal dialogues

Drivers of well-being and engagementResources & Communication Control and autonomyWork RelationshipsWork Life BalanceWork OverloadPay & rewards

Positive/negative psychological well-being (including Sense of purpose)

Engagement

Psychological and physical health

Productivity

ASSET survey measures (and benchmarks):

Psychological well-being: The concept

Life satisfaction Happiness Positive affect

Purposeful engagement Personal growth Autonomy

• Hedonic

• Eudaimonic

Measuring psychological well-being

• The affective state that people experience (hedonic)

• The extent to which people experience a positive sense of purpose in their work (eudaimonic)

Workplace factors and well-being

– Demands– Control– Relationships– Change– Role– Support

• Resources & Communication

• Control and autonomy

• Work relationships

• Work life balance• Work overload• Job security• Pay and benefits

- Demands- Control- Support - Change- Role- Reward & contribution

Resources and communication

Extent to which you feel informed – about changes and what they will mean for you

Whether positive feedback is provided – will need to remain focused on potentially shifting objectives

Level of training – important if have new roles and responsibilities

Lack of enabling resources, e.g. having the right equipment to meet new / changed demands

“The atmosphere during change is so ‘cloak & dagger’ – we’re left worrying & not knowing what the future holds. The rumour mill is working over time and it’s really affecting our performance. All we want is open and honest communication about what’s happening”

Control & autonomy Control of job / tasks

Influence in decision making related to changes – particularly if likely to affect your role

Influence on performance targets– important if roles and responsibilities are changing

Extent to which views are listened to, e.g. opinions regarding how changes are managed / implemented

“I wasn’t consulted at all prior to a major process change in my dept. – it turned out if my manager had just asked me, I could have given really valuable input that could have prevented the problems we’re having now”

Work relationships Relationship with line manager - important to feel can ask questions and give input regarding change

Colleague / peer relationships, e.g. supporting each other during change

Lack of support / Isolation

Attitudes towards others – will probably be working with new people in different contexts

“XXX works on his own a lot and has felt very isolated and uninvolved in the recent changes that have taken place – he has withdrawn further from his colleagues and doesn’t feel he has anyone to talk his concerns through with. It’s starting to make his working day a misery”

Work life balance Long working hours eating into home / family life – increased demands=greater pressure to work long / unsocial hours

Work carrying over into home life – uncertainty and worry about changes taking place can affect personal relationships

Travelling lengthening the working day – may be an issues if relocation occurs during change

“I’ve been so worried and troubled about what’s happening with all these changes and the additional workload that’s piling on, that I’ve been distant and irritable with my family which is causing problems at home”

Overload

Unmanageable workload – possibly due to increasing / shifting demands and new responsibilities

Unrealistic deadlines – may be driven by time critical issues during change

Feeling of never having enough time to the job properly

“XXX was given so many additional responsibilities following a major change in her organisation that she barely had time to get through the tasks core to her role – this started to impact on other areas of her working life such as relationships with colleagues and how valued she felt by her organisation”

Job Security Feeling of insecurity – not being informed about changes and

uncertainty are likely to be the key drivers of feelings of insecurity

Threatened by job change –job change can be just as challenging as

Worry about skill redundancy

“Since hearing about the changes that will take place in her department, XXX has been really worried about whether her skills will still be of value and the extent to which her job will change. She’s been used to doing the same job for 15 years and is only trained in a specific skill set and now feels very insecure”

Use results to develop action plan

• CompositionDifferent people (e.g. select or deploy for engagement & well-being using resilience profiles)

• DevelopmentTrain/develop/influence the existing people(e.g. support people in dealing with their job demands)

• Situational engineeringChange the situation (including management, supervision, job and work design, structure of organisation, working conditions)

Note: the higher the score the greater the extent to which the area is troubling people – compared to

general working population

Use results to develop action plan

Use results to develop action plan

The higher the score, the more the area is considered to be a source of pressure

Dept A Dept B

Use results to develop action planComposition Development Situational

engineering

Resources & communication

Control & autonomy

Work relationships

Work life balance

Work overload

Pay & benefits

Sense of purpose

Implement action plan

Key driver Division “A”Composition Development Situational

EngineeringBalanced Workload

- Review selection procedures to focus on better predictors of full engagement

- Redeploy staff

- Recruit key types of staff

- Use engagement scores to attract better recruits

- Develop leaders to balance challenge and support more effectively

- Review and revise the appraisal and performance management processes

- Resilience training for employees and managers

- Review and improve work planning and distribution mechanisms

- Reduce workload

- Adapt technology & resources

Organisational outcomes Productivity Low Sickness absence Low Turnover Attractive to recruits User/patient satisfaction

Organisational outcomes Productivity Low Sickness absence Low Turnover Attractive to recruits User/patient satisfaction

Individual outcomes Productivity &

satisfaction Good citizenship Health & well-being

Individual outcomes Productivity &

satisfaction Good citizenship Health & well-being

Key workplace factors•Sense of purpose•Resources & Communication •Control and autonomy•Work Relationships•Work Life Balance•Work Overload

•Psychological well-being (& Employee engagement)

Leaders & managers

• Frequently cited reason for people leaving an organisation

• The key players in productivity well-being and performance

• Can learn to generate challenge, well-being and sustainable high performance

Sickness-absence (Psychological health-related)

Causes Main cause (%)

Workloads 34

Management style (also - Lack of support from line manager 3%)

17

Organisational change 14

Relationships at work 13

CIPD 2007: Increase – 40% Decrease – 9%

Five steps to positive leadership

1. Develop personal resilience

2. Develop the resilience of your workgroup

3. Understand how people experience the key workplace factors

4. Understand your (natural) impact on the key workplace factors

5. Control your impact on the key workplace factors

Five steps to positive leadership1. Build my personal resilienceIndividual ASSETPersonal Resilience Profile

Sense of Purpose Positive emotions

Resources & Communication Control and autonomy

Work RelationshipsWork Life Balance

Work Overload

2. Build my Workgroup’s resiliencePersonal Resilience ProfilesResilience TrainingStress management training

3. Understand my workgroup’s well-being and engagementGroup ASSET

4. Understand my (natural) impactLeadership Impact Report

5. Control my Impact

“Vector” process

Improving full engagementSituational engineering - Management & leadership

development (“Vector” process)

1. Leadership Impact report

2. Full engagement survey results for work group

Work group’s actual scores on:Sense of purposeResources & Communication Control and autonomyWork RelationshipsWork Life BalanceWork Overload

Leader’s likely impact on:Sense of purposeResources & Communication Control and autonomyWork RelationshipsWork Life BalanceWork Overload

(Some) issues for discussion

• Top management commitment

• Line management skills and training

• Employee training – (e.g. Resilience training)

• Opportunities for individual placement

• Interface with GP and health/employment professionals