Key Summary
- RSPH joins the advisory board for a NIHR funded programme.
- The study focuses on organisations with fewer than 250 staff, including independent community pharmacies.
- Mental ill-health costs UK workplaces over £100 billion in 2023.
The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) has joined a major new research initiative designed to review and test the effectiveness of workplace health and wellbeing programmes.
The £3.7 million five-year study aims to investigate the effectiveness and implementation of ‘workplace health and wellbeing initiatives that are free at the point of use to workplaces’, known as WHISPAs.
These are health initiatives offered freely to employers by local government or voluntary organisations, often providing guidance on mental health support, musculoskeletal health, and flexible working policies.
Mental ill health alone cost UK workplaces more than £100 billion in 2023. The number of people out of work due to long-term sickness has been steadily rising over recent years and in 2024 it reached a record high. Over 60 local government regions provide free and subsidised support, but more is needed to develop their work.
The research, led by the University of Birmingham, will focus on small and medium-sized organisations (SMEs) with fewer than 250 staff - a category that encompasses the vast majority of the UK’s independent community pharmacies.
Other collaborators include Newcastle University, Teesside University, Imperial College London, University of Hertfordshire, University of Exeter, East Sussex County Council and the British Chambers of Commerce.
The advisory board also includes the Department for Work and Pensions, Society of Occupational Medicine, Health Foundation, Centre for Evidence and Implementation, Mindkind Projects and IPSOS UK.
“There are many initiatives that support workplace health and wellbeing, but we need to ensure support is accessible, effective, and appropriately tailored, especially for smaller and medium-sized organisations, which employ the majority of the UK workforce,” said Dr Laura Kudrna, Lead Applicant, Associate Professor in Health Research Methods, University of Birmingham.
Findings from the research will eventually be used to develop a national support package for local governments, focusing on mental, musculoskeletal, and lifestyle health to reduce employee absence and improve overall quality of life.
