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Psychology at Work: Improving Wellbeing and Productivity in the Workplace

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Psychology at Work: Improving Wellbeing and Productivity in the Workplace Psychology at work: Improving wellbeing and productivity in the workplace The British Psychological Society St Andrews House, 48 Princess Road East, Leicester LE1 7DR, UK Tel: 0116 254 9568 Fax 0116 247 0787 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.bps.org.uk 9 781854 337542 Incorporated by Royal Charter Registered Charity No 229642 INF287/10.17 October 2017 This report was written by Dr Ashley Weinberg, CPsychol., AFBPsS, and Nancy Doyle CPsychol., AFBPsS. It was edited by Kathryn Scott (Director of Policy and Communications) and Dr Lisa Morrison Coulthard CPsychol AFBPsS (Acting Director of Policy). The authors would like to thank all the members of the British Psychological Society who contributed to the consultation on this report, as well as the representatives from several charities representing neurodiverse people. We would also like to thank the neurodiverse people who contributed their opinions via various surveys conducted by the BPS. © The British Psychological Society 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Enquiries in this regard should be directed to the British Psychological Society. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1-85433-754-2 Printed and published by The British Psychological Society St Andrews House 48 Princess Road East Leicester LE1 7DR www.bps.org.uk If you have problems reading this document and would like it in a different format, please contact us with your specific requirements. Tel: 0116 252 9523; E-mail: [email protected]. Contents Executive summary Overview ................................................................................................................................................................. 3 1. A psychologically healthy workplace ...................................................................................................5 Identity and engagement ................................................................................................................................... 5 Framework for a psychologically healthy workplace ................................................................................. 5 Job insecurity and the changing face of work ........................................................................................... 6 Control and learned helplessness ..................................................................................................................... 6 Management and leadership ............................................................................................................................ 7 Best practice ......................................................................................................................................................... 7 2. Focus on strengths: Supporting people who experience difficulties at work ......................... 10 What is neurodiversity? .....................................................................................................................................10 Focus on strengths ............................................................................................................................................. 11 Neurodiversity and disability ........................................................................................................................... 11 Workplace adjustments for neurodiversity .................................................................................................12 3. Supporting people into appropriate work ....................................................................................... 15 Four key psychological principles .................................................................................................................15 Chapter 1: A psychologically healthy workplace The meaning of work .........................................................................................................................................19 Employee engagement, wellbeing and productivity ................................................................................21 Developing a psychological framework .......................................................................................................22 Summarising factors at play in designing good work .............................................................................28 Zero hours contracts, insecurity and wage under-cutting ...................................................................28 Leadership and management ...........................................................................................................................33 Best practice .......................................................................................................................................................36 Chapter 2: Focus on strengths: Supporting people who experience difficulties at work What is neurodiversity? .....................................................................................................................................44 The prevalence and workplace impact of neurodiversity .......................................................................48 Making workplace disability adjustments ...................................................................................................53 Tackling stigma, prejudice and discrimination ...........................................................................................56 Policy change .......................................................................................................................................................57 1 Chapter 3: Supporting people into appropriate work The government’s approach to welfare: A change in direction? .........................................................63 A psychological understanding of unemployment and being .............................................................65 out of work The relationship between work and health is not straightforward .....................................................66 Understanding the full biological, psychological and social picture of ...........................................66 unemployment Designing a psychologically informed welfare and benefits system ..................................................68 Framing work as a health outcome sets people up to fail .....................................................................70 A holistic biopsychosocial approach to assessment .................................................................................70 Coercion, conditionality and contingency ..................................................................................................75 Methodology Chapter 1 ...............................................................................................................................................................81 Chapter 2 ...............................................................................................................................................................81 Chapter 3 ...............................................................................................................................................................81 Glossary References 2 Executive summary ‘What’s your name? And what do you do?’ A large part of how people define who they are is by what they do. Work can be a key part of our social identity, we use our membership of a group, organisation or profession to build our sense of self and find meaning. Working can be good for our health – being engaged and absorbed in a good job can promote psychological wellbeing. People who are employed have lower rates of psychological health problems.1 But work is not a universally positive experience. Poorly designed jobs, work that is not organised well, difficult work environments, poorly trained managers and a lack of understanding of human behaviour in the workplace can create or exacerbate mental health conditions. For some people with physical or mental health conditions or disabilities, a lack of the right support at the right time from employers can make finding and keeping a meaningful job difficult. For many people who are unemployed, the experience of navigating the current welfare system in order to find work, claim benefits or seek suitable support has been extremely negative. Successive UK governments have attempted to address issues around work, health and disability. In November 2016, Damian Green, the previous Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health, committed to halving the disability employment gap. They recognised the role of work in providing positive psychological and social support and that unemployment can mean a ‘downward spiral’ that affects not just the individual and their family, but also employers, who lose valuable skills, and the health service that must cover additional demand. Following the 2017 snap election, there has been a change in leadership at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It is vital that the government maintains positive progress on this agenda and ensures that nuanced positions, particularly around understanding how to measure
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