Work, Health & Wellbeing
Occupational health often focuses on the threats posed by paid employment, yet evidence suggests that work is beneficial and that the unemployed are more likely to experience illness. If work has the potential to both damage or enhance health and wellbeing, then what constitutes a healthy workplace? This question is often answered in terms of risk avoidance and health education, leading to the development of individualised interventions. While this approach has brought benefits it overlooks the broader organisational influences on health.
Workplaces are complex sites of social interaction in which meanings and behaviour are negotiated. Perceptions of stress, workplace accidents, sickness absence and poor performance are all shaped by the organisational, cultural and emotional characteristics of the workplace. The Work, Health and Wellbeing research group adopts a multidisciplinary approach to exploring the relationship between organisational characteristics and health. Working closely with partners in the private and public sectors the group aims to develop new strategies for enhancing health and wellbeing in the workplace, focusing on the following key areas:
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Leadership, change management and organizational learning
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New approaches in Occupational Health & risk management
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Emotions and resilience
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Return to work and rehabilitation
Members |
Interests |
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Work stress; Psycho-social determinants of illness behaviour; Sickness absence and return to work from Incapacity Benefit
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Leadership; Organisational Learning; Emotions in the workplace
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Risk perception & risk communication; Safety culture/climate; Sickness absence
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Psychology of pain; Role of emotions in pain related behaviour; gender and pain
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Health of the Primary Care workforce and affects on patient care; statistical analysis of large datasets
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Zoe Eccleston
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Wellbeing in the workplace; Business in the Community; Chronic pain and rehabilitation
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| Fiona Gillison |
Organisational Psychology, behaviour change and exercise at work |
Doctoral Students |
Research topic |
| Elaine Heaver | Chronic pain, work absenteeism and sickness certification |
Current research projects
- Evaluation of 'Kent New Opportunities for Work Programme'
- Health of the General Practice workforce and affects on patient care
- Chronic pain, work absenteeism, and sickness certification: exploring the construction of acceptable pain-related work absence.
Research partners
- Verve, Finland - A third sector occupational health group engaged in practice and research