Supporting those who support us
The Centre for Human Factors is addressing stress risk in the Humberside Police Control Room and other high-pressure teams
Project summary
The Challenge
Humberside Police’s Control Room faced challenges that are increasingly prevalent in the emergency services sector: high stress levels, low morale and rising absences .
The Approach
A tailored, evidence‑based assessment of stress risks was developed to identify key drivers of stress and co‑design actionable improvements.
The Outcome
The insights delivered by the project led to major changes in Control Room leadership and culture, driving measurable wellbeing benefits for staff in these critical roles.
Lead academics
Project funded by
Project Partners
Reducing stress where it matters most
We’re transforming organisational culture and wellbeing in high-pressure environments.
The Challenge
Humberside Police were facing persistent challenges around staff absence, retention and morale in their large, high‑intensity Control Room at Melton. They wished to understand and address the unique pressures faced by the team of around 200 staff, who handle 999 emergency calls and dispatch operations, undertaking roles that can be challenging, emotional and stressful.
Despite wider organisational investment in wellbeing, Humberside Police felt that the issues faced by Control Room staff had only been addressed at a surface-level. They required a tailored, evidence‑based assessment of stress risks specific to the Control Room environment.
The Approach
Humberside Police’s Deputy Chief Officer worked with the Centre for Human Factors, part of Lampada, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University of Hull.
Professor Fiona Earle designed a multi‑stage programme grounded in best‑practice organisational psychology. The aim was to understand the impact of previous initiatives, gain deeper insight into the stressors affecting Control Room staff and develop an action plan to improve staff wellbeing.
The project began with a programme of staff engagement and qualitative focus groups to surface lived experience and explore contextual challenges within the Control Room. Issues raised fed into the development of a bespoke stress risk assessment survey, aligned with the HSE Stress Indicator Tool, to quantify patterns of stress risk and identify which factors were most predictive of mental health concerns.
Control Room staff welcomed the opportunity to voice their concerns and share their experiences of their workplace.
The Centre for Human Factors created a safe, structured space for honest conversations, enabling our people to step away from their roles and openly explore the realities of working in a highly controlled, demanding environment.Luke Shaw
Force Control Room Deputy Head, Humberside Police
The team undertook an analysis of risk patterns to determine priority areas where interventions would have the greatest impact on wellbeing and performance. Four key themes emerged: managing change, relationships, support and control.
Working collaboratively with staff, these findings were translated into a practical action plan – Humberside Police’s new ‘People Plan’. This resulted in 60 recommended actions, with 59 being cost‑neutral, making the programme both impactful and highly accessible for the organisation. This structured, participatory approach ensured that recommendations were grounded in real operational experience and owned by the workforce.
The staff really bought into the principles of the work, supported it and ensured that the insight and evidence provided had meaningful impact.Professor Fiona Earle
Director, Centre for Human Factors
The research team
Professor Fiona Earle, Centre for Human Factors
Dr Léa Fréour, Centre for Human Factors
The Impact
The collaborative project allowed us to finally understand what was really driving stress within our workforce… not only transformed our control room, but reshaped how we think about leadership, wellbeing and performance for the long term.Luke Shaw
Force Control Room Deputy Head, Humberside Police
60 recommended actions were implemented, of which 59 required no additional budget. The project resulted in significant impact for Humberside Police, leading to an increase in staff wellbeing, with early indications of a reduction in absences and staff turnover. Between 2024 and 2025, there was a 10.2% reduction in stress related sickness and within 18 months of the project, the staff attrition rate had fallen to 2.6%.
Adjustments to internal communication and to staff support and engagement were said to have had a profound impact. Staff involvement in the process helped to rebuild trust and give people a real sense of ownership and control.
The cultural impact has been extraordinary. The role itself has not changed – what has changed is our understanding of stress and our commitment to removing unnecessary barriers.Luke Shaw
Force Control Room Deputy Head, Humberside Police
Since the onset of the Humberside Police project, the methodology has been applied in other sectors – including energy (wind and gas), construction, higher education and local authorities – with organisations reporting meaningful improvements. One local authority reported a reduction in average sickness days lost of 2 days per person in those directorates with the highest sickness rates, which they attributed to the research.
