Workforce Wellbeing Strategy and Psychosocial Risk Management Training Course

Programme Summary

Workforce wellbeing strategy is the subject of this one-week training course for HR directors, heads of function and operations leaders, ending in a wellbeing strategy and action plan for one organisation. Wellbeing activity is often a set of separate initiatives, while the work design that causes strain goes unexamined. The programme moves from psychosocial risk assessment to job demands and control, leader behaviours, wellbeing measures and performance links, using examples from healthcare, logistics and professional services. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme on workforce wellbeing strategy to mixed-organisation cohorts.

The Business Case

Where wellbeing is treated as a benefits offer, strain from workload, role conflict and weak management keeps recurring and the offer reaches only those who ask. A strategy that finds the work-related causes, assigns owners and tracks measures lets senior leaders act on conditions rather than symptoms, and shows boards how wellbeing relates to the performance of teams.

• Absence and Turnover: Fall as work-related causes of strain are found and controlled.
• Team Performance: Improves as workload, role clarity and manager behaviours are managed deliberately.
• Risk Visibility: Improves as psychosocial hazards are recorded, rated and reviewed like other workplace risks.

Principles and Evidence Base

• ISO 45003 Psychological Health and Safety at Work Guidelines: Frame psychosocial risk management within an occupational health and safety system, applied in Sessions 1 and 2.
• WHO Guidelines on Mental Health at Work: Recommend organisational interventions, manager training and support for individuals, applied in Sessions 3 and 4.

Intended Participants

• HR directors who own the wellbeing strategy and must show what it changes.
• Heads of function who set workloads, targets and ways of working for their teams.
• Operations leaders who manage shift patterns, staffing and service pressure.
• Health and safety leaders who extend risk management to psychosocial hazards.
• Finance partners who test the cost of absence, turnover and lost output.

Typical functions include human resources, operations, health and safety, and finance.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to evaluate work design for psychosocial hazards using a structured assessment.
2. Participants will be able to diagnose how job demands, control and support combine to produce strain.
3. Participants will be able to construct a leader behaviour framework that managers can apply and be coached on.
4. Participants will be able to prioritise interventions at organisational, team and individual level.
5. Participants will be able to justify wellbeing measures that link to absence, turnover and team performance.
6. Participants will be able to design a wellbeing strategy and action plan that senior sponsors can approve and review.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Workforce Wellbeing Strategy and Psychosocial Risk

Which features of work create strain, and how are they rated?

• Psychosocial Hazard Inventory
• Work Context Mapping Sheet
• Risk Rating Matrix
• Existing Initiative Audit
• Standards Alignment Table

Day 2: Job Demands, Control and Work Design

How do workload, autonomy and support interact in a role or team?

• Role Demand Profile
• Control and Autonomy Review
• Workload and Staffing Analysis
• Role Clarity and Conflict Check
• Work Redesign Options Table

Day 3: Leader Behaviours and Interventions

Which manager behaviours and interventions reduce strain most reliably?

• Leader Behaviour Framework
• Manager Conversation Guide
• Intervention Level Comparison
• Support Pathway Map
• Manager Coaching Plan

Day 4: Wellbeing Measures and Performance Links

What should be measured, and how does it relate to performance?

• Wellbeing Indicator Set
• Pulse Survey Design Sheet
• Absence and Turnover Analysis
• Performance Link Model
• Board Reporting Dashboard

Day 5: Wellbeing Strategy and Action Plan for One Organisation

Do the risk ratings, work design, leader actions and measures support one plan?

• Applying the Session 1 Risk Rating Matrix
• Testing the Session 2 Work Redesign Options Table
• Reviewing the Session 3 Intervention Level Comparison
• Governance and Review Calendar
• Completing the Wellbeing Strategy and Action Plan

Methodology

The programme uses a data workshop method built on a shared case of an organisation with rising absence, heavy workloads and uneven management practice. Participants build each artefact from prepared survey, staffing and absence data, then adapt it to their own organisation and test it with peers.

• Suggested activity: Rating psychosocial hazards for two contrasting teams and comparing results.
• Suggested activity: Redesigning a role with excessive demands and low control.
• Suggested activity: Presenting a measure set and action plan to a mock executive committee.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes a wellbeing strategy and action plan for one organisation. It holds a hazard rating, work design changes, a leader behaviour framework, a measure set and a governance calendar. The plan is used at work to brief the executive team, assign owners to actions and report progress to the board.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is workforce wellbeing strategy training suitable for leaders without an HR or health background?

Yes. Workforce wellbeing strategy training assumes responsibility for people, operations or risk but no clinical knowledge, and builds each method through a shared case.

Which standards does workforce wellbeing strategy training rest on?

Workforce wellbeing strategy training rests on ISO 45003 guidance on psychosocial risk and the WHO Guidelines on mental health at work, applied across the sessions.

How is the plan from workforce wellbeing strategy training used at work?

You use the wellbeing strategy and action plan to brief the executive team, assign owners to actions and report progress on measures to the board.

How does workforce wellbeing strategy differ from mental health first aid training?

Workforce wellbeing strategy concerns work design, leadership and organisational measures, while mental health first aid training teaches individuals to recognise distress and offer initial support.