Supporting Healthy Working Behaviours

Providing insights into how to support staff wellbeing, including mental, physical and occupational health

Research, commentary, and events

  • Young woman suffering from back pain in office. Photo by New Africa/AdobeStock

    Project

    Understanding the evidence on the impacts of COVID-19 on work-related musculoskeletal disorders

    Changes to working practices and environments due to the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected exposure to known work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WRMSD) risk factors. Researchers studied this changing world of work, its effect on WRMSDs and post-pandemic considerations for WRMSDs.

    26 Jul 2023

  • High angle portrait of two business people wearing hardhats, inspecting production workshop, photo by

    Project

    Occupational safety and health: understanding decision making and the role of evidence

    To help make working environments safer, it can help to use evidence to inform guidelines, regulations and decision making. Researchers investigated the availability and use of evidence in decision making and recommend several next steps.

    23 Nov 2022

  • Woman talking to workmates on online conference, photo by Dragos Condrea/Adobe Stock

    Project

    Understanding employee wellbeing, work behaviours and work outcomes in a hybrid work context

    Analysis of employee data from one employer, Vitality, suggest that workplace behaviours are associated with wellbeing, that employees can be clustered based on their work behaviours and that improving employee wellbeing is associated with better work and performance outcomes.

    14 Oct 2022

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    Project

    Helping NHS staff to evaluate health and wellbeing interventions within the NHS

    To equip wellbeing practitioners within the NHS with the tools and knowledge to enable them to effectively evaluate their wellbeing programmes, and to ensure that they are achieving their objectives, RAND Europe designed and delivered a set of presentational workshops, in partnership with NHS Employers, to each of the five NHS England regions.

    21 Sep 2022

  • Man having panic attack in office, photo by Pixel-Shot/Adobe Stock

    Project

    Reviewing the work and health research landscape

    Researchers mapped the funding landscape for work and health research in the UK for the first time. They examined how much has been spent in the area since 2015, what types of research topic are funded and what the priorities for future work and health research should be.

    29 Oct 2021

  • Young people in the city running together, photo by Halfpoint/Adobe Stock

    Project

    Insights into the health and wellbeing of Canadian workers

    RAND Europe researchers analysed data from 70 Canadian organisations and 7,251 employees that participated in Wellness Report surveys on employee lifestyle, mental health and other areas of concern. The reports assess the associated impact these areas have on health and productivity.

    04 Jun 2021

  • A construction worker drags a trolley down a tunnel at the site for the new Crossrail station in Tottenham Court Road, in London, Britain, November 16, 2016

    Commentary

    Mental Health Challenges in the Construction Industry

    Employers looking to address mental health problems among staff must recognize the causes and understand mental health challenges within the organization. Construction workers could face greater risk than workers in other sectors, but awareness of support and help remains low.

    11 Jan 2018

  • Desktop with 'Mental Health' on notepad

    Project

    Understanding Mental Health in the Research Environment

    Burnout and stress can be a challenge for university research staff and postgraduates. An exploration of the strengths and limitations of the existing evidence base on mental health in the research environment found that more work is needed to understand both the needs of researchers and how they can be addressed.

    22 Aug 2017

  • Woman with insomnia, and alarm clock on night table showing 3 a.m.

    Project

    The Costs of Insufficient Sleep

    Sleep deprivation is associated with economic losses to five of the world’s largest economies, due to higher mortality risk and productivity losses at work. Economic modelling showed nations can lose up to 3 per cent of their GDP from insufficient sleep.

    30 Nov 2016

  • Coworkers taking a break in the office to stretch

    Commentary

    Measuring What Works: Workplace Well-Being

    The link between productivity and well-being is recognized and increasingly accepted as a prerequisite of strong employer and employee performance. HR professionals and CEOs believe that high employee well-being means high staff engagement and a real intention to do well for the workforce.

    28 Nov 2016

  • Businessman looking at mobile phone

    Project

    Computerised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (cCBT) Has Positive Impact

    Studies of cCBT tools indicate that they have a positive effect on many mental health outcomes, particularly for those with depression, anxiety disorders and insomnia. Fewer studies examined work-related effects, but those were also positive.

    19 Oct 2016