CIPD Level 5

Associate Diploma in
People Management
5OS07 Wellbeing at Work
Lesson 1:
Wellbeing: theories and
contemporary issues
Agenda
● Introduction to the module

● Contemporary issues relating to wellbeing at work (relates to AC 1.1)

● Key theories relating to wellbeing at work (relates to AC 1.1)

How each module is taught - reminder
● How is the programme delivered?
○ All teaching material for the module is on StaySharp

○ Webinars will explore some of this material as well as discussing the CIPD
assignment for the module

○ There is a discussion forum set up where you can talk about the module, and
the assignment requirements, with a CIPD tutor and your fellow students

● What is the programme assessed?

○ Formative (‘practice’ and optional) vs summative assignments (contribute to
final grade, look out for the assignment dates)
Introduction to 5OS07
At the end of this module, through the teaching material for the module on StaySharp, and the
webinars, you should:

1. Understand wellbeing and its relevance to workplaces.

2. Understand how wellbeing is shaped by the organisation’s internal and external context.

3. Be able to develop a wellbeing programme.

PART 1
CONTEMPORARY ISSUES RELATING TO WELLBEING AT
WORK

[Links to StaySharp module, Topic 1]

This Photo by Unknown Author is

licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
Discussion question
What does the term ‘wellbeing at work’ to you?
Wellbeing defined
Taylor & Woodhams (2022) point out that there is no one universally agreed definition of
the term ‘wellbeing’:

• The World Health Organisation equates wellbeing to happiness, motivation, physical

and psychological health and quality of life.

• Armstrong & Taylor (2023) define employee wellbeing as “concerned with what people
experience at work in terms of their physical, mental and financial situation at work,
work-life balance, relationships with their line manager and colleagues, and the extent to
which they have a sense of purpose and feel in control of what they do”.
Wellbeing defined (continued)
For Taylor & Woodhams (2022) themselves:

Wellbeing at work is a holistic term, including a dumber of distinct facets. Employers

should be aware of the following types, and take action to ensure / improve them:

• Physical wellbeing
• Emotional / psychological wellbeing
• Social wellbeing
• Financial wellbeing
• Career wellbeing
Discussion question
What factors – in your view – have made wellbeing a key issue for many
organisations today?
 Contemporary issues impacting on wellbeing might include…

• Changing nature of work, workers and workplaces?

• Presenteeism?

• Shift work?

• Organisational change?

• Workload?

• Individual factors such as stress, increasing prevalence of mental health conditions, care
responsibilities and financial concerns?
 Contemporary issues

Hesketh & Cooper (2019) argue that these factors are crucial in approaches to employee
wellbeing:

• Ageing workforce

• Technology

• Remote working
 Contemporary issues

Hesketh & Cooper (2019) argue that these factors are crucial in approaches to employee
wellbeing:

• Ageing workforce
Do you agree?

To what extent do each of these

• Technology
currently influence your own
organisation's approach to wellbeing?
• Remote working
PART 2
THEORIES RELATING TO WELLBEING

[Links to StaySharp module, Topic 1]

Discussion question
You may have come across the concept of psychological contract previously in
your reading, or just through your own general knowledge. From memory, what
would you say were the key elements to the psychological contract?
Psychological Contract defined
The psychological contract is the individual beliefs, shaped by the organisation, regarding terms of
an exchange between individuals and their organisation. (Rousseau, 1995)

• Beliefs? Recent emphasis on promises (implicit and explicit)

• Exchange? What employee gives and gets in return
• Organisation? Management, HR policies and practices, culture

Examples of employee beliefs:

• “If I work hard, I will be promoted”
• “If I complete this project successfully, I will receive more important projects in the future”
• “If I am caught stealing, then the organisation will dismiss me”
Employment vs Psychological Contracts
Employment Psychological

Written Unwritten

Explicit Implicit

Legally binding No legal status

Doesn’t tell us much about what people Tells us a huge amount about what people
actually do at work actually do at work

May exert only a small influence on Exerts a large influence on behaviour

behaviour

It’s only part of the deal It’s the real deal

Psychological Contracts: content?
Research suggests the following:

Employees promise to: Employers promise to:

Work hard Pay commensurate with performance (‘a fair day’s

pay for a fair day’s work’)
Uphold the organisation's reputation Provide opportunities for training and development

Work extra hours when required Provide opportunities for promotion

Develop new skills and update old ones Give recognition for innovation or new ideas
Be flexible e.g taking on a colleague’s work in Give feedback on performance
cases of absence or if there is a vacancy
Be courteous to clients and colleagues Provide interesting work or tasks
Come up with new ideas Provide an attractive benefits package
Provide reasonable job security
Discussion question
With this in mind, what role does the psychological contract play in employee
wellbeing?
Discussion question
With this in mind, what role does the psychological contract play in employee wellbeing?

Taylor & Woodhams (2022) suggest that the key psychological contract expectations related
to wellbeing at work are examples such as:

• safe working environment

• reasonable working hours
• flexibility
• autonomy
• respectful treatment
• collegiate and supportive working relationships
• having a voice
Positive psychology
Positive psychology is a scientific approach to studying human thoughts, feelings, and behavior,
with a focus on strengths instead of weaknesses, building the good in life instead of repairing the
bad, and taking the lives of average people up to “great” instead of focusing solely on moving
those who are struggling up to “normal” (Peterson, 2008).

Positive psychology focuses on the positive events and influences in life, including:
1. Positive experiences (like happiness, joy, inspiration, and love).
2. Positive states and traits (like gratitude, resilience, and compassion).
3. Positive institutions (applying positive principles within entire organizations and institutions).

https://positivepsychology.com/what-is-positive-psychology-definition/
Positive psychology

Positive organisational psychology is “the scientific study of positive subjective experiences and traits
in the workplace and positive organisations, and its application to improve the effectiveness and quality
of life in organisations”, according to Donaldson and Ko.

This is an approach that differs from traditional organisational behavior modification methods, in that it
aims to develop and emphasize positive behaviours in organizations rather than prevent harmful
ones.

https://eletive.com/blog/positive-psychology-in-the-workplace-benefits-and-examples/
Discussion question
To what extent have you seen (or read about) positive psychology principles built
into values or approaches to wellbeing in organisations?
Discussion question
On a less positive note, another concept in wellbeing is of course ‘burnout’. How
would you define this term?
Discussion question
On a less positive note, another concept in wellbeing is of course ‘burnout’. How would
you define this term?

Taylor & Woodhams (2022):

Burnout is a metaphor commonly used to describe a state of mental weariness:
exhaustion, cynicism, distance from one’s job and lack of self-belief.
Discussion question
Which industries are typically seen as high risk, in terms of employee burnout, do
you think?
Discussion question
Which industries are typically seen as high risk, in terms of employee burnout, do you think?

Reports and surveys will of course vary on this, but this one from Ivy Exec is fairly typical in
terms of high-risk occupations:

1. Social work
2. Emergency response
3. Design
4. Business development and sales
5. Retail
6. Medicine
7. Law

https://ivyexec.com/career-advice/2019/the-industries-where-people-experience-burnout-the-fastest/
The Job Demands-Resources model
• The Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model (Bakker and Demerouti, 2017) is a popular framework
to examine the association between job features and employee wellbeing.

• It assumes that the characteristics of a job can usually be classified in terms of job demands or job
resources, and that these have an impact on wellbeing outcomes.

• This can be positive (engagement) or negative (burnout).

• Job demands = aspects of the job that require sustained physical or mental effort and are therefore
associated with certain physical or mental costs.

• Demands include time pressures, workload, emotional input and work-home conflict. While most
studies focus on job demands as negatives, some demands can be positive, for example providing
challenge.
The Job Demands-Resources model (continued)

• Job resources = the aspects of the job that may help us achieve work goals, reduce job demands
and the associated costs and stimulate personal growth, learning and development.

• Job resources may be at the:

o organisational level, for example policies and benefits
o workgroup level, for example supervisor and co-worker support
o work level, for example role clarity
o task level, for example performance feedback
The Job Demands-Resources model (continued)

• For HR professionals: consider the model when considering the consequences of any significant
change in their organisation and how this might impact employee wellbeing.

• Relevant questions might include:

o What are the new or increased job demands for specific employee groups?
o Have any demands reduced?
o How have job resources been affected?
PART 4
ASSIGNMENT
This lesson has discussed the following assessment criteria:

AC 1.1: Evaluate issues and key theories in wellbeing at work