Stress testing workforce wellbeing
We’re measuring and helping to tackle occupational stress in frontline policing
Project summary
The Challenge
Humberside Police wanted a better understanding of the gaps and obstacles regarding workforce wellbeing.
The Approach
Working with Humberside Police, psychologists at the Centre for Human Factors produced a comprehensive report which encapsulated the key challenges.
The Outcome
The research highlighted the core themes linked to occupational stress in policing and will be used to inform and shape the force’s priorities.
Lead academics
Project Partners
Informing health and wellbeing practices
Our research ensures Humberside Police have the right training, resources and support for the future.
The Challenge
In 2018, an internal review was completed on Humberside Police’s Health and Wellbeing provision, which identified a number of challenges. This began a programme of improvements in this area, and as a result, the University of Hull’s expertise was employed to clarify these issues and to help identify appropriate interventions and solutions.
This research was intended to provide Humberside Police with timely information about staff experiences and perspectives of the organisation’s health and wellbeing provisions.
The specific challenge this project addresses is obtaining a better understanding of the gaps and obstacles regarding workforce wellbeing.
The Approach
The Centre for Human Factors team set out to really dig down into the detail of every area and understand difficulties and flaws in the way operations were currently functioning in relation to wellbeing.
The work aimed to achieve this through mapping what was already available and gathering data from across the workforce about how the existing provisions were ‘landing’ with staff and officers.
Our team undertook interviews and focus groups with staff across the force. During these sessions, it was reported that staff and senior leaders felt more information and support was needed to facilitate the identification of day-to-day stressors and preventative strategies, and that it was not always clear to the workforce what is available to support wellbeing and how to access those services.
The Impact
The team provided the academic rigour that sits behind the analysis of the extensive data obtained from the focus groups... the insights generated have helped raise the profile of the need to improve our approach to wellbeing with senior leaders.Clare Baggs
Head of Human Resources, Humberside Police
The findings and recommendations from the research have since been used to inform the design of health and wellbeing practices and to ensure the force has in place the kinds of resources, training, and support that staff and managers need to aid them in the future.
Humberside Police feedback:
- The research project provided findings and recommendations to help develop a Health and Wellbeing Functional Plan.
- The work brought to life the challenges around the health and well-being of staff in a way that they would never have been able to achieve alone.
- Significant insight was gained which challenged thinking and provided new perspectives and ideas.
