The Evolve Workplace Wellbeing Podcast

17 Episodes

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Line management matters - so ease the squeeze

2025-01-2731:33

In this episode of our regular Evolve podcast, Professor Sara Connolly of the University of Leicester speaks with Dr Zofia Bajorek - Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies - about the importance of line management. Zofia talks about her recently released book on line management and how it was inspired not only by all the projects of her professional working life but also as a tribute to the exemplary line management of her co-author Stephen Bevan, who died in 2024.&nbs...

Skills for resilience - for individuals and organisations

2024-12-0232:23

In this podcast, Professor Kevin Daniels speaks with Chris Tamdjidi, MD and business development director of Awaris, a multinational company that aims to strengthen the mental, emotional, and collaborative capabilities of people in companies. Kevin and Chris discuss how to cultivate resilient habits at individual and organisational level, drawing on insight drawn together in Chris' book: The Resilient Culture: How collective resilience leads to business success.

Curiosity and vulnerability: real world research for equity and inclusion

2024-10-2829:42

In this episode of the Evolve Workplace Wellbeing podcast, Dr Helen Fitzhugh of the University of East Anglia speaks with Dr Balissa Greene, an occupational psychologist working in Accenture’s Leadership and Culture practice. Balissa has a strong track record of driving impactful change in diversity, inclusion and wellbeing across the public and private sectors. In this conversation, Balissa shares her insights on how to do 'real world' impactful research and how to overcome resistance to pro...

The four day working week

2024-09-2329:56

In this podcast, Dr Helen Fitzhugh speaks with Professor Daiga Kamerāde (University of Salford) and Professor Brendan Burchell (University of Cambridge) about their research on the four day working week and other types of working time reduction. Daiga and Brendan share insight into the research trial carried out recently at South Cambridgeshire District Council which showed how the council was able to maintain or improve performance, according to many of its key performance indicators, during...

The health and wellbeing of high risk workers

2024-08-1232:32

In this edition of the Evolve Workplace Wellbeing podcast, Professor Kevin Daniels speaks with Professor Paula Brough from Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. She is the Director of the Research Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing (WOW) and an expert on the topic of occupational stress and coping. Here, she discusses her work on tackling stress and burnout in high risk occupations - those occupations where challenge and even danger are an integral part of the nature of the job...

Insights on relationship-building for wellbeing in small businesses

2024-07-0129:16

In this edition of the Evolve Workplace Wellbeing Podcast, Dr Helen Fitzhugh of the University of East Anglia speaks with Lisa Chamberlain, a doctoral candidate at the University of Liverpool working in the field of Human Resource Management research. Lisa's previous experience as a Sergeant in the US army and an HR manager in a small Liverpool business led her to PhD research on job quality in small businesses for hairdressers. Engaging and insightful throughout, Lisa shares examples of rela...

The importance of psychological flexibility

2024-05-2033:16

In this edition of the Evolve Workplace Wellbeing podcast, Helen Fitzhugh speaks with Rachael Skews, Chartered Psychologist, coach and founder of Cognus Consulting on the topic of psychological flexibility at work and its relationship with wellbeing and performance.

What is needed for better return to work?

2024-03-1132:57

In this edition of our regular podcast, Professor Kevin Daniels speaks to Dr Sema Etuknwa about her extensive work on improving return to work practices. Sema gives insights into good return to work from her Innovate UK part-funded knowledge transfer partnership between the University of Huddersfield and Swiss Re. She describes the toolkit she has been developing to support better communication between all the return to work stakeholders involved in each worker's absence and return jour...

The importance of good management - and how the UK is falling short

2024-01-2220:30

In this podcast, Dr Helen Fitzhugh of the Workplace Wellbeing Research Team at the University of East Anglia talks with Chloe Jepps of CMI about the importance of good management for wellbeing, performance, retention and more. With a focus on CMI's recent Better Managers Campaign (report freely downloadable here: https://www.managers.org.uk/knowledge-and-insights/research/better-management-report-take-responsibility-take-action/ ) the podcast also explores other pieces of research carri...

Using evidence to support organisational development

2023-12-0131:15

In this podcast, Professor Kevin Daniels of the Workplace Wellbeing team at the University of East Anglia speaks with Valarie Williams-Foy, Senior Organisational Development Consultant at Imperial College London. They talk about how evidence can be used to support organisational development. A note for those who may be coming in fresh to listening to our podcasts...- Mention of 'Helen' refers to Dr Helen Fitzhugh, producer of this podcast and another member of the Workplace Wellbeing Tea...

Universal Basic Income - what implications for the future of work?

2023-10-1026:21

In this podcast we will look at an issue which could influence workplaces and workplace wellbeing in the future: Universal Basic Income. Dr Mark Bryan from the University of Sheffield joins us to explain what UBI is, who is thinking about it and the potential implications for organisations, managers and HR leads. Usually on our podcast we catch-up retrospectively with ways research has been used to influence workplace wellbeing. It’s important to base action on evidence and our pod...

Four actions to beat problematic email behaviours

2023-08-3028:05

In this podcast Dr Emma Russell of the University of Sussex joins Dr Helen Fitzhugh from the Evolve Workplace Wellbeing Team. Emma is an expert in understanding email behaviours at work - those which support workplace wellbeing and better performance - and those which are problematic and should be avoided. In this podcast she explains four 'super actions' to beat problematic email behaviours and in doing so, improve wellbeing and performance. With colleagues she has just published an op...

NHS staff wellbeing - unpacking the IPPO review

2023-07-2732:56

We are delighted to host a takeover of the Evolve Workplace Wellbeing Podcast by the IPPO (The International Public Policy Observatory) to mark the publication of the IPPO's rapid evidence review on NHS staff wellbeing. Professor Kevin Daniels from our UEA team offers an overview of the report's findings first, then Sarah O'Meara of the IPPO asks questions of report authors Professor Sara Connolly (UEA), Dr Christian van Stolk (RAND Europe) and Professor Kevin Fong (UCL).A summary can be foun...

Using the remote worker management checklist in practice

2023-06-1217:41

In this follow-up podcast to the conversation with Chief Inspector Steve Kerridge, Dr Helen Fitzhugh speaks with Matt Blowers from NatWest. Where the previous conversation talked about the creation and police application of the UEA / PrOPEL Hub 'Checklist for the Pro-active Management of Remote Workers', this follow-up sees Matt describe how he has used the checklist with his team in practice and what benefits he sees from using evidence-based resources on workplace wellbeing. Thi...

Moving to agile working in policing

2023-04-2322:52

In this podcast, Professor Sara Connolly speaks with Chief Inspector Steve Kerridge from Cambridgeshire Constabulary. They discuss the constabulary's move to more agile working during the COVID-19 pandemic and how a research collaboration with the Workplace Wellbeing Research team at the University of East Anglia fed into the team's creation of the 'Checklist for the Pro-active Management of Remote Workers'. Steve explains the benefits of using this evidence-based tool and explores some of th...

Creating a good experience of work for frontline (public-facing) workers

2023-03-1320:24

This month Dr Helen Fitzhugh speaks with George Challouma from the Marina Bay Cafe in Gorleston (near Great Yarmouth). They discuss ways in which any business - large or small - can create a great experience at work for public-facing workers and benefit as a business from doing so. Their conversation calls upon George's experience and the '4 boosts for frontline workers' model, developed during the Good Jobs Project at the University of East Anglia, by Helen and her colleagues Ritchie Woodard...

Supporting people with disabling long-term health conditions to sustain work

2023-01-3131:59

This month Professor Kevin Daniels, who leads the University of East Anglia's Workplace Wellbeing Research team, kicks off the Evolve Workplace Wellbeing podcast series by talking with Emma Mitchell, Talent Director at EY. They discuss what works in supporting people with disabling long-term health conditions to stay in work, based on recent research by Helen Musgrove and Emma's personal experience.This podcast is part of a toolkit of free, evidence-informed workplace wellbeing resource...

#box-pro-ellipsis-173885052343059{-webkit-line-clamp:2;}The Evolve Workplace Wellbeing Podcast