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Award winning wellbeing and resilience training providers. Founded by two Clinical Psychologists, Dr Jo Burrell and Dr Felicity Baker who with many years' experience in the NHS and privately, are experts in the fields of mental health, resilience and wellbeing. With their own peer-reviewed and published model, The Skills-based Model of Personal Resilience, they bring all the tools and techniques needed to build resilience and maintain wellbeing over the longer term. Their resilience training, coaching and supervision draws on this model to enhance the lives of their clients, supporting them to manage challenge and change, to rebuild confidence, to manage stress and minimise overwhelm and burnout. Their aim is to prevent the emergence of mental health problems by intervening with evidence-based tools and strategies at an early stage, allowing their clients to increase self-awareness of early warning signs and triggers, understand their stress responses and develop the skills they need to banish stress, recover and bounce back.

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(SM) Dr Felicity Baker (2) photo by and copyright of Ursula Kelly Photography @ursulakphoto on social meida copy 2.jpg

Dr Felicity Baker Photo Credit Ursula Kelly Photogrpahy @ursulakphoto copy 2.jpg

Dr Joanna Burrell & Dr Felicity Baker Photo Credit Ursula Kelly Photogrpahy @ursulakphoto copy.jpg

(SM) Dr Jo Burrell (1) photo by and copyright of Ursula Kelly Photography @ursulakphoto on social meida copy.jpg

Dr Felicity Baker

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Now is the time for employers to prioritise staff mental health and wellbeing. The impact of COVID, the cost of living crisis, amongst other factors, have pushed wellbeing up the agenda like never before. Employers have realised that they can no longer ignore the impact of stress on employee functioning and retention. With this explosion of interest in supporting employee wellbeing, we discuss how to build lasting workplace wellbeing and achieve sustainable cultural change. Wellbeing and work engagement are related Recent data by Gallup indicate the highly reciprocal nature of the relationship between employee wellbeing and engagement. When employees have great wellbeing they are also highly engaged in work and vice versa. So when employers take the right approach to workplace wellbeing the benefit to both the business and employees is phenomenal. Improving employee wellbeing positively impacts workforce productivity, reduces sick days, cuts the cost of absenteeism and improves retention. Less obviously, employees who are emotionally fit for work communicate better, are more innovative and creative and are better able to problem-solve and work together to manage challenges. The challenge of supporting workplace wellbeing Disappointingly, despite increasing awareness of the importance of workplace wellbeing, data from the CIPD’s annual report on health and wellbeing at work (April, 2022) shows a reduction in HR respondents agreeing that employee wellbeing is on senior leaders’ agendas, down from 75% last year to seven in ten (70%) this year. And just 60% of HR respondents believe that line managers have bought into the importance of wellbeing in the workplace compared with 67% last year. Further McKinsey research shows that whilst 96% of employers globally have introduced additional resources to support employee wellbeing since the pandemic, only 1 in 6 employees actually report feeling supported. This research points to the complexity of supporting workplace wellbeing and highlights that there is no magic bullet. Investment may need to be made in many areas of the organisation to respond to the different needs of diverse employee groups. Creating a culture of workplace wellbeing is an important step relies on firstly understanding those needs and developing a strategy to address them. Developing a workplace wellbeing strategy A workplace wellbeing strategy has at its core a deep understanding of the key sources of workplace stress and the wider impact of organisational culture on mental health and wellbeing. These inform a targeted programme of interventions.&nbsp; Gathering information for a targeted approach Creating a workplace wellbeing strategy takes sustained effort and investment requiring an initial evaluation to identify the main sources of stress within the organisation and what employees need for improved wellbeing at work. This evaluation may be done across the whole organisation or within a single team. It might involve a full staff survey, focus groups, 1-1 meetings or regular review sessions. The data should be collected over a limited time period to provide a snapshot that can be used as a benchmark against which to measure subsequent evaluations. This may be from 1 day to several weeks depending on the scale and design of the project. Conducting an evaluation importantly gives employees a voice and communicates that the organisation truly supports their mental health and wellbeing.&nbsp; Putting the information to work The information gathered during the assessment directly informs the content of the wellbeing strategy. Ideally this will involve a tiered approach providing interventions of varying intensity dependent on level of need. This will include organisation-wide approaches, such as enhanced access to information about mental health and wellbeing for all employees; approaches focusing on the needs of sub-groups or sections of the workforce who may be at risk of stress or burnout; and targeted approaches offered to employees who are already struggling with mental health, wellbeing or personal issues affecting their work functioning. Creating and maintaining a culture of workplace wellbeing is an ongoing process. It will involve the evaluation and revision of the strategy at regular 6 monthly or annual intervals to ensure the desired change is achieved and to embed workplace wellbeing within the wider organisational culture. &nbsp;<blockquote>Making a real difference to employee wellbeing is complex and there is no magic bullet. Changing workplace culture is key to unlocking the benefits both to the individual and the wider organisation</blockquote>

Workplace Wellbeing: time for culture change

With work changed irreversibly by the pandemic and companies seeking novel ways to attract and retain scarce talent, many are now looking to implement measures that enhance wellbeing and quality of life. Of particular interest and increasing popularity are measures that allow a more flexible working pattern or reduced hours, such as moving to a 4-day working week (4DW). But how can we know that these new ways of working are bringing tangible benefits to companies and their staff?&nbsp; Measuring the impact of the 4DW In March 2022 we began working with Highgate IT Solutions to evaluate their 4DW trial. Over a period of six months, they piloted reducing staff working hours to 4 days per week with no loss of pay.&nbsp; Sales Director at Highgate IT, Bob Sahota explained why they took this step: “Having just come off the back of a few difficult years with the pandemic, it became evident that as human beings ‘time’ was our most valuable non-renewable resource and if we could find a way to give our employees some of that precious time back, it will go a long way in supporting their work/life balance, mental health and overall wellbeing.” Why evaluate? Given the high stakes involved in making this type of change, the company needed to know whether the new working pattern was achieving their overall goal of improving staff work-life experience and wellbeing. Stuart Marginson, Founder and MD at Highgate IT knew that a systematic evaluation would be the most effective way to gain objective insights into employee experience of the 4DW.&nbsp; In commissioning Ultimate Resilience, an independent company, to conduct this evaluation, Stuart chose to take a gold standard approach: “We felt a change of this magnitude needed external professional eyes on our methods and process, in order to ensure our results were accurately and independently assessed”. &nbsp; Bob Sahota added they were also keen to share project insights with their professional community too, noting “If we wanted the findings of our trial to be useful to the wider industry and beyond, they had to be impartial and from a trusted third-party that specialises in this space.” What did we do? We developed a bespoke staff survey aimed at assessing employee work-life experience, emotional exhaustion and included measures of wellbeing and resilience. Highgate employees completed the survey at the start and end of the trial. Additional survey questions focusing on employee experience of the 4DW and its impact on their personal and professional lives, were included in the second survey. What were the results? There was an excellent response rate, with 88% of employees completing the survey at the outset and 96% at the close of the trial. Wellbeing, resilience and work-life experience Responses at the first time-point in March 2022 showed high levels of job satisfaction, resilience and wellbeing, and low levels of emotional exhaustion, demonstrating that Highgate IT already had effective staff support practices in place. However, at the end of the trial, the overall picture was even more positive, with increases in wellbeing and resilience, as well as further improvements in work-life experience and reductions in emotional exhaustion. Personal benefits Highgate employees reported that the switch to a 4DW provided multiple benefits to their personal lives. These included having more time to connect with friends and family, engage in hobbies and interests and to complete life admin tasks. Being able to attend appointments and complete household tasks during the week also freed up time at the weekend for rest and relaxation. Professional benefits&nbsp; Many respondents reported professional growth and development through the trial period. They described learning new skills, working more efficiently, organising and planning their time more effectively. There were also reports of improved focus, concentration and motivation for work. Challenges of the 4DW The majority of responses indicated that there were either no challenges or just some initial challenges which resolved by the end of the trail. Most commonly these related to adapting to a new buddy system which was designed to support the trial by providing cover when staff were off.&nbsp; Outcome Overall, the findings of our trial evaluation indicated that the impact of switching to the 4DW pattern was a hugely positive development for Highgate IT employees. The results showed that the new working pattern provided increased opportunity for staff to engage in activities that are known to enhance personal resilience and wellbeing. In addition, the 4DW led to improved workplace resilience through the development of new skills, enhanced flexibility and adaptability to future challenges. This was borne out in data collected using standardised measures, which showed increases in scores for resilience and wellbeing over the course of the trial.&nbsp; Having conducted a robust evaluation of their 4DW trial, the Highgate IT team were able to make an informed decision about whether continuing with the new working pattern was right for them and for their business. Following completion of the trial, the company has now moved to the 4DW permanently.<blockquote>With so many organisations dipping their toe into the water of the 4 day week, our story presents the key personal and professional benefits they can expect from doing so, how they can know if their objectives have been achieved and what may be some of the challenges they may face along the way</blockquote>

Dr Jo Burrell

Demystifying the benefits of the 4 day week

Award winning wellbeing and resilience training providers. Founded by two Clinical Psychologists, Dr Jo Burrell and Dr Felicity Baker who with many years' experience in the NHS and privately, are experts in the fields of mental health, resilience and wellbeing. With their own peer-reviewed and published model, The Skills-based Model of Personal Resilience, they bring all the tools and techniques needed to build resilience and maintain wellbeing over the longer term. Their resilience training,…

Co-Founder/ Clinical Psychologist

Ultimate Resilience Ltd

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Dr Felicity Baker

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Media Coverage

Mental health referrals up 33% in 2023: “Mental health is too important to be left unregulated.”

UK losing £22bn a year by not investing in soft skills development, research finds

Latest ONS report shows cost of living crisis leading to high anxiety for many – finance experts and psychologists react

Measuring the impact of the four-day week

Is ‘Blue Monday’ really the most depressing day of the year?

Experts’ Advice To Help Beat The January Blues - My Weekly

Beating the January Blues — Helpful advice from clinical psychologists, GPs, wellness providers to beat those blues!

How to mentally prepare for ‘living with Covid’ as the rules are set to change

How to mentally prepare for ‘living with Covid’ as the rules are set to change

People stuck in jobs that don’t bring them joy should QUIT, says Harry

Ultimate Resilience - the United Kingdom 2021

Employee wellbeing: how to make peer-led staff support safe and sustainable

Taking care of HR: Bringing supportive supervision to those who need it most