The Evolve Workplace Wellbeing Podcast

In this episode Professor Kevin Daniels of the Evolve team at the University of East Anglia speaks with Elizabeth Bachrad, Head of Programme Strategy for Business for Health. Business for Health is a Community Interest Company that focuses on the impact of business on health outcomes. Elizabeth describes findings from the process evaluation of a Trailblazer project supporting people with musculoskeletal conditions. She highlights that what makes the Trailblazer programme interesting is that it doesn't treat employment and health as separate problems.Business for Health led the process evaluation of the MSK Trailblazer programme, MSK for musculoskeletal conditions, in partnership with Unity Insights and with support from West and North London ICB and local government partners. www.businessforhealth.org 

In this episode of the Evolve Workplace Wellbeing Podcast, Dr Helen Fitzhugh of the University of East Anglia speaks with Dr Katie Elizabeth Green, Senior Lecturer in Leadership Development at Manchester Metropolitan University. Katie draws on her extensive research for the Good Employment Learning Lab to offer insights into the isolation line managers can feel, their wellbeing and the ripple effects of that for team wellbeing. She offers insight into the value of programmes to foster peer learning between managers.  You can find out more in this report and article: Developing collective leadership in an online peer learning community - Katie Elizabeth Green, 2025How_To_Develop_The_People_Management_Skills_of_Line_Managers_Good_Employment_Learning_Lab.pdf

In this edition of the Evolve podcast, Prof Sara Connolly of the University of Leicester speaks with Dr Chris van Stolk, Executive Vice President at RAND Europe, part of the original Evolve team. Chris was recently on the advisory group to the Keep Britain Working (Mayfield) review due to his longstanding experience on research and action to improve health and wellbeing at work. In this podcast he comments on the urgent need to make progress on maintaining and getting people into employment and highlights the importance of helping young people avoid long-term exclusion from the labour market. 

In this episode, Dr Helen Fitzhugh of the Evolve team speaks with Dr Laura Byrne, lecturer in Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour at the Leadership and Management department at Aston Business School, Aston University.  She wrote a PhD thesis on whole-organisation wellbeing strategies in context and shares here useful insights on what makes these successful (or not!) Laura's refreshing and hopeful take on workplace wellbeing includes paying attention to context and the future, as well as focussing on human connection.She is also carrying out a study on the wellbeing of people professionals and if you are interested, you can sign up to take part here: https://forms.office.com/e/QW0vZWjZiq  (Please note this link will only be live as long as the project is running, you may come across this podcast after the project has closed). 

In this podcast, Prof Kevin Daniels of the University of East Anglia talks with Dr Juliane Opel of the University of Kassel in Germany. They discuss the paradox of high satisfaction amongst entrepreneurs who face working conditions (stress, instability etc.) that are know to lower satisfaction in other types of employment. Juliane draws on her current postdoctoral and previous PhD work, outlining different ways in which entrepreneurs reach a point of satisfaction in face of overwhelming odds.

In this edition of our Evolve podcast, Dr Helen Fitzhugh of the University of East Anglia speaks with Professor Adam Whitworth, Professor of Employment Policy, Scottish Centre for Employment Research at Strathclyde Business School. The conversation covers Adam's research on policies that support people to move into or maintain good quality, well-matched paid work, particularly people with health conditions, disabilities or complex disadvantages. Adam is leading the WISHES project - potentially the largest ever trial of job crafting. More information can be found here for employers interested in finding out more about the trial: Employers – WISHES: Workplace Intervention for Sustainable Health and Employment Support

In this edition of the Evolve Workplace Wellbeing Podcast, Professor Sara Connolly from the University of Leicester speaks with Professor Ying Zhou from the University of Surrey, where she is Director of the Future of Work Research Centre. Her research is focused on job quality, occupation and employee wellbeing and in this podcast she shares findings from her latest work on the Skills and Employment Survey, focusing on meaning and purpose at work. She explains that when people are able to use their skills at work, take initiative and count on supportive managers, they are far more likely to think their work is meaningful. 

In this podcast Dr Helen Fitzhugh of the Evolve team speaks with Prof Alan Felstead, Emeritus Professor of the Welsh Institute of Social and Economic Research Methods and Data (WISERD) at Cardiff University. Alan offers insight into the changing location of work (remote, hybrid and more) and job quality. He draws on personal stories and almost 40 years of research in this area, as well as recently published research from the Skills and Employment Survey: a nationally representative sample surveys of individuals in employment aged 20-65 years old. You can find the How Good is my Job quiz here: How Good Is Your Job | Take the QuizRead Alan's work at:https://wiserd.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/8.-Is-the-Office-Dying.pdf Is job quality better or worse? Insights from quiz data collected before and after the pandemic  https://routledge.pub/RemoteWorking 

In this edition of the Evolve Workplace Wellbeing podcast, Dr Helen Fitzhugh from the University of East Anglia is in conversation with Nigel Lloyd, a Senior Research Fellow within the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) funded Public Health Intervention Responsiveness Studies Team (PHIRST) at the University of Hertfordshire. Nigel has been working on a project exploring take up of local authority support for SMEs on the topic of wellbeing and shares findings from that work. He kindly invited Helen to find parallels in Evolve's own work to enrich the discussion so the podcast session covers quite a lot of ground!The PHIRST website with project outputs is here:  https://phirst.nihr.ac.uk/evaluations/an-evaluation-of-workplace-health-and-wellbeing-support-in-walsall-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises-smes/  

In this shorter podcast to mark Evolve's third anniversary, Prof Sara Connolly turns the tables on regular Evolve Podcast host Dr Helen Fitzhugh, getting her to answer our usual questions: we find out what led her to the team and what she is working on for Evolve's next steps. May 2025 (only) office hours with Dr Helen Fitzhugh: Book time with Helen Fitzhugh (NBS - Staff) 22nd May 2025 - Register for Evolve third anniversary showcase online: https://forms.office.com/e/0ZLN5T7RMa The normal length and style of podcast will return in a couple of weeks. 

In this episode, Dr Helen Fitzhugh of the University of East Anglia speaks with Michael Whitmore, Research Leader at RAND Europe, specialising in health, work and wellbeing. RAND Europe is a not-for-profit research organization and Michael's team were involved in the programme of research that led us to establish the Evolve Workplace Wellbeing toolkit. Michael talks about the issues in workplace wellbeing he has seen recur during his years of experience in this area - but also highlights the new challenges to come as the world of work continues to change. 

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.  

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. 

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 projects that are necessary.  

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 four day week trial.  

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. 

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 relationship-building that will be of interest to any HR manager.  

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. 

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 journey. 

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 carried out by CMI (see below). The findings build to give a rounded picture of the importance we in the UK should be placing on training and supporting managers - for happier workers and smoother-running companies. The podcast also references:- NHS report: https://www.managers.org.uk/knowledge-and-insights/research/a-picture-of-health/- Education report: https://www.managers.org.uk/knowledge-and-insights/research/the-state-of-leadership-and-management-in-education-report/- Insecurity report: https://www.managers.org.uk/knowledge-and-insights/research/managing-insecurity-report/

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 Team at the University of East Anglia.- Mention of the 'Hackathon' refers to a day event put on by the PrOPEL Hub (www.propelhub.org) in 2022 where Kevin Daniels and Helen Fitzhugh facilitated workshops on workplace wellbeing. - Mention of the '4 boosts' refers to a project carried out at UEA to define 4 boosts for frontline workers (e.g. in retail, hospitality and care) which resulted in evidence-based resources that are free to download at: https://evolveworkplacewellbeing.org/4-boosts-for-frontline-workers/ 

 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 podcasts like to offer that evidence to you. However, imagining how the future could be different is also important - it helps organisations prepare and potentially shape the future they want to operate in. 

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 open access review article in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology: https://doi-org.uea.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/joop.12462 Find more resources drawn from Emma's research here: https://digit-research.org/research/related-projects/understanding-email-incivility/  

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 found here: New report highlights the need for investment in NHS staff wellbeing - evolveworkplacewellbeing.orgThe full report can be downloaded here: IPPO NHS Staff Wellbeing report_LO160622-1849.pdf (ioe.ac.uk) 

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.   This podcast is part of a toolkit of free, evidence-informed workplace wellbeing resources provided by the Workplace Wellbeing Research Team based at the University of East Anglia, in the UK. You can find the checklist to read and download at: Checklist offers pro-active approach to managing hybrid workers - evolveworkplacewellbeing.org

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 the barriers and enablers of more agile, hybrid or remote approaches to work post-pandemic. This podcast is part of a toolkit of free, evidence-informed workplace wellbeing resources provided by the Workplace Wellbeing Research Team based at the University of East Anglia, in the UK. You can find the checklist to read and download at: Checklist offers pro-active approach to managing hybrid workers - evolveworkplacewellbeing.org

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 and Andrea James. This podcast is part of a toolkit of free, evidence-informed workplace wellbeing resources provided by the Workplace Wellbeing Research Team based at the University of East Anglia, in the UK. You can find the resources (including the '4 boosts' infographic, video, handbook and FAQ) on www.evolveworkplacewellbeing.org 

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 resources provided by the Workplace Wellbeing Research Team based at the University of East Anglia, in the UK. You can find the resources on www.evolveworkplacewellbeing.org