The University of Warwick's Institute for Employment Research (IER) has been awarded £1.5 million by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to lead a major study on job quality and health.

This funding is part of NIHR’s £7 million initiative to address health-related economic inactivity in the UK. Long-term sickness now accounts for 30% of total economic inactivity, highlighting the urgency of research into improving job quality and worker well-being.

The Warwick-led project, Creating Healthy Jobs, will explore how job design affects workers' mental and physical well-being. Poor job quality has been linked to long-term sickness absence and economic inactivity.

Professor Chris Warhurst, Director of Warwick’s IER and lead researcher on the project, said: “Good job quality is essential not just for productivity, but for people’s well-being. This research will boost our understanding of how job design supports better health. A lot of current debate is about fixing the worker, our research will focus on what we can do to fix and improve jobs that can make people unhealthy in the first place.

“We’ll be working with employers, workers, policymakers, health organisations and others to create practical solutions that improve working lives and reduce economic inactivity.”

The Creating Healthy Jobs project builds on Warwick IER’s extensive expertise in employment research and its track record of influencing national employment policy. By identifying key factors that make jobs healthier, the study will contribute to long-term strategies for reducing work-related ill health and improving job sustainability.

This research is one of four projects funded under NIHR’s Work and Health Research Initiative, which aims to support the working-age population in remaining in, returning to, and leaving work in ways that enhance their overall well-being.

For details on the NIHR Work and Health Research Initiative, visit the NIHR website.

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

Stevie Connoll – Media & Communications Officer

stevie.connoll@warwick.ac.uk / +44 (0)7824 540791