Our perceptions and experience of work have changed dramatically over the past 25 years. Work gives us the money we need to support ourselves and our families. It also gives us purpose, status and friendship, all of which can have a profound effect on our mental health and sense of wellbeing. Yet as the pace and nature of work has altered – for example, through work intensification, greater flexibility, technological advances, and the blurring of what constitutes ‘work’ and ‘home’ life – so has our understanding of the impact that work has on our emotional and mental wellbeing.
Work may have become safer, with the introduction of health and safety legislation helping reduce the number of injuries and deaths, but it has also become more complex, with rising levels of stress and mental health problems increasingly attributed to working life. Whilst physical health and safety remains paramount in the debate on health at work, the emphasis has also shifted to take in the psychosocial aspects of our work life. Commentators increasingly link wellbeing at work with innovation, productivity, creativity, quality and reliability and ultimately to levels of growth at a national level, as well as our ability to compete on the global stage. A growing body of evidence also suggests that the key to making a positive connection between wellbeing, creativity and productivity is to recognise the value of ‘good work’ in people’s lives (Parker et al 2011). Black and MacLeod reviews have been instrumental in raising awareness at a public policy level of how the way we are treated at work and the nature of the work we do affects our wellbeing, and our levels of performance (Black 2008, MacLeod and Clarke 2009).
The economic and social cost of workplace absences is perhaps only now becoming fully realised. Notwithstanding this a recent LSE produced report also found that half of all physical illness is a direct consequence of psychological difficulties. Early detections of problems such as stress, depression, anxiety and physical ailments are key to preventing absenteeism and fostering happy working environments. Optimal treatments for work place mental health problems are CBT based therapies. Silicone Valley companies including Apple and Google, and many large financial institutions also use mindfulness programs. Our mindfulness course and employment psychological services provide a fantastic resource and can be accessed online, on site or at one of our three London locations. They enable peaceful coping strategies that enhance performance and staff satisfaction.
Our Team of Clinicians: All work undertaken by iRise Psychological Service is supervised in-house by our clinical service managers, who are Counselling Psychologists. We are a team of Counselling Psychologists and are chartered with the British Psychological Society (BPS) and registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). We have extensive experience in the area of personal injury and so offer a sensitive, safe and effective experience to those in treatment with us.
