Lancaster is to lead a team of universities in a £1.8 million project, exploring how to promote sustainable work through healthy psychosocial work environments.
The psychosocial work environment refers to organising and managing work in a healthy and fair way, underpinned by a supportive social work environment. Sustainable work refers to developing workplaces and jobs that help people stay healthy throughout their working life.
The consortium of UK universities, including the University of Nottingham; Queen’s University Belfast; and Birkbeck, University of London, has received a Work and Health Research Award from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), designed to facilitate ambitious projects to tackle priorities in work and health research.
The UK is facing a crisis, with 2.78 million people out of work due to ill-health, at an estimated employer cost of £18.8 billion per year and additional NHS and welfare costs. The sharpest increase in the last decade has been driven by mental health conditions.
Research shows that poor mental health affects workers across all age groups and backgrounds, often combining with physical health conditions to make employment harder to sustain. The impact has been particularly pronounced among young people, with mental ill-health recognised as a contributing factor to the UK reaching a record one million young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET), costing the economy £125 billion per year.
This ambitious three-year research programme will support the development of updated prevention-oriented policies and metrics, which can then be translated into national, regional, sectoral, and organisational interventions, to promote sustainable work, and positive mental and physical health and wellbeing.
Building on previous work, the project team will:

• Assess existing processes and policies in the UK, comparing the data with other countries and identifying areas of good practice which prevent poor mental health. They will also suggest ways the UK could improve its policies.
• Find out which approaches to preventing poor mental health in the workplace work best, and which will indicate whether someone is more likely to experience good mental health and wellbeing.
• Give recommendations on how this new knowledge can inform the design of a fair and positive psychosocial work environment, and on how to promote sustainable work and reduce inequalities in health.
• Create a practical, evidence-based plan, to help turn this new knowledge into real changes in UK policies and workplace practices.

Stavroula Leka, Distinguished Professor of Organisations, Work and Health and Principal Investigator at Lancaster University said: “While more people are economically inactive due to mental ill-health in the UK than in other countries, this is not a uniquely British challenge. Similar trends can be seen in other countries including Finland and Norway, but what makes them different is how they are responding. These countries have worked to revamp their regulation, policies and support systems, putting a healthy psychosocial work environment and sustainable work at the heart of these initiatives.
“We are at a crossroads in the UK, and we need to be brave to take decisive action to tackle systemic, culture-driven challenges and reverse the negative trends that have emerged over the past years. Our research aims at shifting the focus from mere reaction and support to forecasting and prevention to develop healthy work and organisations and a healthier society. We are excited to be embarking on this endeavour and invite those who think alike to join us on this journey.”
Ben Harrison, Director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University said: “With millions of people affected and costs running into the tens of billions of pounds each year, the reward for getting this right is significant: a healthier workforce, more productive businesses, reduced pressure on the NHS and welfare system, and better outcomes for individuals, families and communities across the UK. Given the ongoing work of Sir Charlie Mayfield, this research will provide further insights and support to the growing number of employers that recognise the importance of healthy jobs, and want to take proactive action in their workplaces.”