ReWAGE is fortunate in having some of the UK’s foremost thinkers on its Expert Group, drawn from leading universities and research organisations from across the UK. Between them they have a huge breadth of knowledge, covering such subjects as the labour market, job quality, employment relations and the changing nature of work.

This week we are pointing the spotlight onto ReWAGE expert Mike Brewer, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Economist of the Resolution Foundation, who is ReWAGE’s expert on welfare reform and labour market policy. The Resolution Foundation is an independent think-tank focused on improving the living standards of those on low-to-middle incomes.

Research shows that poor management damages organisational and economic performance, and an inevitable consequence of managerial failure is workplace conflict. More than 1 in 3 workers experience conflict at work at a cost of £28.5bn per year in the UK as a whole – an average of around £1000 for every UK worker. ReWAGE's new publication: The cost of conflict at work and its impact on productivity uses CIPD research and Acas analysis to break down the costs and explains why early intervention and investment in managerial skills are the key to bringing them down.

Evidence shows that working age common mental health problems in the UK, such as anxiety, stress and depression, are persistent and may be even increasing. In 2020/21 these conditions accounted for around 48% of workers experiencing work-related illnesses.

ReWAGE's new report: Work, jobs and common mental health problems - what guidance should employers receive? outlines actions that employers can take – both to prevent common employee mental health problems and to create workplaces conducive to recovery for those employees affected return to work at full capacity. It also makes the case for current guidance for employers issued by Government departments and others to be supplemented and extended. The report is supported by a short policy brief.