The Problem
According to the Labour Force Survey, occupational stress has been at an all-time high for the past three years. Organisations seeking to improve the situation have piled resources into wellbeing interventions, yet things have not appeared to be progressing. The team at the Centre for Human Factors takes the view that the reason for a lack of improvement is the fact that employers seek to treat the symptoms, rather than the cause. What is really required to tackle the issue is a long hard look at work design; what it is about work that could be causing people harm, and informed intervention where it is needed most.
The Centre for Human Factors built on the Health & Safety Executive’s recommended approach to stress risk management, by developing an approach that includes qualitative exploration of organisational contextual issues, and measurement of health outcomes in relation to stress risk factors. However, the process for collecting, analysing and reporting data was cumbersome, time-consuming and needed to be streamlined in order to enable the team to be able to achieve more at a faster rate.
The Solution
Lampada worked with Learning Mate and the Centre for Human Factors (CHF), at the University of Hull, to create an online survey tool, known as EQUIP. A key current focus of the CHF is to support organisations to meet their legal duty of care, by undertaking bespoke Occupational Stress Risk Assessments (OSRA), led by a team of psychologists. Their approach provides an evidence-based assessment of stress risk, giving valuable insight into the relationship between organisational stressors and the stress, anxiety and depression experienced within the workforce. This analysis data is collected and analysed through the EQUIP platform. The team use this analysis to provide expert advice on the practicalities of stress risk management and interventions that get to the root of the problem, delivering lasting improvements in employee wellbeing.
We are Thrilled with the Outcome
“We have had fantastic outcomes from our work with the team at Lampada. The process was intellectually challenging and complex for all involved due to the nature of the project, but we maintained excellence in our relationships, communications and outputs. The team at Learning Mate were incredibly organised and had fantastic systems for project management and tracking of requirements and needs. The inevitable issues that arise in a project of this size were resolved professionally and amicably, and were supported by the excellent record-keeping provided by Lampada and Learning Mate. Lampada were highly supportive to our team throughout the process, ensuring that our needs were understood by the development team, and challenging them on the ‘how’ and ‘why’ when it was in our interests to do so. We as a team have learnt a lot through the process and have been grateful for Lampada and Learning Mate’s understanding that this was our first ever digital development project; we needed a lot of handholding and they did everything they could to support us in the process. We are thrilled with the outcome of the project.”