INWORK Workplace Mental Health, Wellbeing and Productivity Pilots
New pilot offers mental health and wellbeing support to employees in the Midlands
As well as providing support to those who take part, the purpose of this research is to measure what impact taking part has on participants’ wellbeing, and determine the potential for a wider rollout of the services being trialled. The research will measure the impact of taking part on participants’ wellbeing, and the feasibility of a wider roll-out. The research is being led by WMS at the University of Warwick, in partnership with the University of Birmingham and Mind, the mental health charity, and is funded by the Midlands Engine as part of the Mental Health Productivity Pilot programme (MHPP).
What are the aims of the pilot?
The first phase of the MHPP programme trialled three new ways to support wellbeing and good mental health in the workplace through helping employees to remain happy, healthy and engaged. We also hoped to see benefits for employers and the wider community in reduced time off work and improved productivity. A key part of the project is to understand how the trial services could be rolled out more widely, and how they may need adapting based on feedback from this first phase.
We have completed the main phase of intervention delivery and our academic teams are collecting long-term follow up measures that allow us to assess whether the intervention effects have been maintained, both short-term and long-term.
The three trials being piloted were:
*All trials are now closed*
REST
*Trial now full*
Online practical skills training in psychology and emotions focused on reducing stress and improving wellbeing. REST aims to improve recognition of emotions and their triggers, and develop resilience and healthy coping techniques to deal with low mood and stress.
No capacity limit.
8 weeks. 1 hour per week. This training is self-guided.
SLEEP
*Trial now full*
Online skills and psychology training accompanied by therapist appointments, focused on improving sleep quality and reducing insomnia and stress. SLEEP is structured around cognitive behavioural therapy for sleep (CBTi).
156 participants.
8 weeks. 1 hour per week, and 4 therapist appointments.
MENTOR
*Trial now full*
A mental health employment liaison worker will provide tailored support to employees who are dealing with a mental health condition and their managers, to enable the employee to remain happy, healthy and engaged at work.
365 participants.
12 weeks, includes 10 sessions with liaison worker.
Availability
Some trial services will not be available in all areas.
The pilot is only open to employees in the Midlands whose employers have signed up to participate. If your employer advertised the pilot to you, then they’re signed up and you can now sign up to take part. As part of the screening process, we will confirm that you work for one of our participating employers.
Who can take part in the pilot?
If your employer has signed up to take part and are usually based at a location in the Midlands Engine region then you will be able to complete the screening process to see if one of the trial services on offer is suitable for you. Taking part is completely voluntary.
The MENTOR trial provides support to both participant and their manager. If you are a manager and would like to take part please see information for managers for more information.
How can I take part?
If you decide to take part, you can express your interest now.
When you express your interest we will ask you for your name and e-mail address, and your usual working location (ignoring any new working arrangements resulting from the pandemic). Sign up to take part.
Screening and eligibility
Screening involves completing several questionnaires, taking around 15 minutes in total, and we will send you a link to complete the process. These questionnaires are designed to see if you are currently experiencing any symptoms of insomnia, depression or anxiety. We will also ask if you are currently receiving treatment for a mental health condition. Your responses to the screening questions will let us determine if our trial services will be suitable for you.
If the MENTOR trial is suitable for you based on the eligibility criteria, we will also ask you to provide your manager's e-mail address as part of the screening questionnaires. We won't contact your manager at this point, though we would encourage you to share your sign-up with them if you feel comfortable doing so. At the screening stage, we will also ask if you currently manage anyone, and if you would be interested in taking part if any of your team are selected for the MENTOR trial. Please see manager information to understand more about what this means.
As part of the selection process we will use the manager email you provided to make sure that we only select people to take part in MENTOR when both they and their manager want to take part. Your line manager will only be contacted if you are selected to take part in the MENTOR trial. The SLEEP and REST trials do not require manager input and participation will be anonymous. (However, please be aware that depending on your work environment, it may be clear that you're taking part when you're completing online training and appointments during working hours).
If your screening responses show that our trial services are not suitable for you, we will provide you with links to other resources that you may find useful to look after your mental health.
Delivery of the trials to the first participants is planned to begin on 5 July 2021 and we will continue to enrol new participants throughout the summer.
Will I get paid for taking part?
As a thank you for taking part, gift vouchers will be offered to participants at several points during the trials. The arrangement is different for each trial, and will be described in the Participant Information Leaflet for the trials. The Participant Information Leaflets will be made available on this site at a later date.
(Please note: We will never ask for your bank details. Vouchers will only be issued by email. If you have not received your voucher within 30 days, please contact the research team at wmg-MHPP@warwick.ac.uk).
Supporting documents
Access supporting documents and other information about the research project.