Explore every episode of the podcast The UK Psych Health and Safety Podcast

In this episode, Sheila Lord and Dr Jacqui Wilmshurst delve into the innovative implementation of a four-day working week at Grant Instruments, a company known for producing scientific equipment. With insights from Kevin Belgrove, who manages the R&D team, and Yasmin Mackay, who was instrumental in pushing for this change, we explore the motivations, challenges, and outcomes of transitioning to a shorter work week.

In this week’s episode, Sheila & Jacqui, delve into psychological health, safety, and approaches to wellbeing in the workplace. The conversation also poses the questions “what next?” and “how do we take employee health and wellbeing into a new era?”

In this episode, Sheila Lord and Dr Jacqui Wilmshurst talk to Mike Russell, the Chief Inspector of Greater Manchester Police, about his innovative approach to retention and well-being in the police force. Mike shares how he implemented stay interviews, and created a psychologically safe way to engage with officers who are considering leaving the job, and how this has resulted in significant savings and improved morale.

In this first episode of the new UK Psych Health and Safety podcast, hosts Sheila and Dr. Jacqui Wilmshurst introduce themselves and discuss the importance of psychological health and safety in the workplace. They also share their plans for future episodes!

In this episode of the UK Psych Health and Safety Podcast, Sheila is speaking to Dr Ines O’Donovan. Dr. O’Donovan is the CEO of Jeunessima, the world’s premier Lifestyle Company, helping women over 40 live longer, happier, and successful lives. She also has a PhD in Management Learning, Leadership & Employee Engagement and an MBA in Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Technology under her belt, and translates all her wisdom, research, and experiences into simple practical tips that women can easily integrate into their daily lives. In this episode they discuss how leadership has changed over time, leading virtual spaces, multigenerational virtual workplaces, dynamic employee engagement, ageing and mental health, and the immense cost of ignoring women’s health in the workplace.

For the 50th episode of the Workplace and Wellbeing Podcast, Sheila Lord is speaking to Roy Magara. Roy is an employment solicitor advocate for Magara Law which represents both employers and employees in cases surrounding mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. They discuss mental health and safety at work, case law surrounding harassment, constructive knowledge and foreseeability, and what companies can do to harbour a healthier workplace environment.

This week on the Workplace Health and Wellbeing podcast, Sheila Lord is joined by Lindsey Simpson from Spark Team communications. Lindsey is a Communications and Engagement specialist working on improving culture & approaches to workplace mental health. She is also the lead researcher on the Workforce State of Mind Survey. In this episode they talk about communication and discuss the importance of communication in terms of an organization's performance engagement and well-being.

In this special crossover episode Sheila Lord is speaking to Mindy Gibbins Klein about mental health in the workplace and how organisations can introduce mental health support programmes, all of which have a definitive return on investment.

In this week's episode Sheila Lord is speaking to Sharon Vibert, Director of Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace. They are discussing ways to support employers to becoming menopause friendly, by following best practice standards and embedding menopause into the culture of an organisation.. They also cover many of the myths that surround menopause and how managers can create a safe work environment for employees dealing with menopause

The well-being of the employees is the key to everything that an organisation stands for. Well-being of staff covers both physical and psychological health. We don’t function well without both. This week, in a special crossover episode, Sheila has been talking to Adam Clarke of Praxis42 about the benefits of investing in well-being, building skills, being a manager, communication, comfort zones, and much more.

This week on the UK Psych Health & Safety podcast, Sheila Lord is joined by Derek Mowbray, Director at The Management Advisory Service (MAS), and a charted psychologist who is passionate about building and sustaining positive work cultures. They are discussing how leaders and managers can build and sustain cultures and exhibit behaviours that lead to trust, commitment and engagement, and as a consequence produce high-level performance in individuals and their organisations.

In today's podcast, Sheila Lord has a fascinating conversation with Bob Cummins, Executive Director of Sodak, about how companies can create a safer, healthier, and more effective place of work through behavioural insights. They also discuss the meaning of “behaviour” and Bob outlines the elements that influence other people's behaviour Bob believes in using behavioural science to improve organisations through the behaviours of their people. In 2013 he formed SODAK, with the express aim of helping people understand people.

This week on the UK Psych Health & Safety podcast, Sheila Lord and Peter Kelly are speaking to Richard Heron. Richard has worked as the chief medical officer and the global head of health for BP the last 16 years. He’s a member of the national forum for health and safety, the National Health Service expert advisory group for health and wellbeing, and also an Honorary Fellow at Nottingham University. Throughout this episode, they dive into numerous aspects of well-being in the workplace, and what organisations can do to improve well-being in the workplace.

In this week's episode Sheila Lord and Peter Kelly are speaking to Dr Christian Van Stolk - Executive Vice President at RAND Europe. He has worked broadly on health and well-being. His work in the past has focused on working on the health and well-being of staff in the National Health Service in the UK and looking at the connection between productivity, health, and well-being outcomes.

In this episode, Sheila Lord and Peter Kelly are talking to Kevin Daniels, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the University of East Anglia about how, as employers, we go about prioritising the business case for wellbeing. Kevin also tells us about a recent project he has been involved in Evolve Workplace Wellbeing which launched May 16th Kevin has a background in occupational psychology and is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society, Academy of Social Sciences and Royal Society of Arts. Kevin has led many projects funded by Economic and Social Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Health and Safety Executive amongst others. He has held or holds editorial positions at the scientific journals: European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Human Relations and British Journal of Management.

In this cross-over episode Sheila Lord and Lisa LLoyd, Chartered Psychologist & Psychotherapist and Founder of It's Time for Change, explore the ISO 45003 and how it can benefit employee experience.

This week Sheila joins James MacPherson Managing Director and Chief Operational Risk Consultant @ RiskFluent on his Rebranding Safety podcast. Amongst over things they are discussing where mental health sits within an organisation and who has responsibility for it, ISO’s (how and who), behaviour and culture change and they give their thoughts on how mental health is currently being dealt with.

In this special edition of the UK Psych Health and Safety Podcast, to mark Men's Health Week 2022, Sheila Lord has been speaking to Emily Pearson, Co-founder & Managing Director of Our Mind's Work and Paul Bannister, Director at ManHealth. Emily is the founding manager of Our Minds Work & Paul is the founder of Man's Health and both work together to tackle male-specific stigma and normalize help-seeking behavior among men for ultimate mental wellness. Amongst other things, they are discussing how we go about engaging with men on mental health when a lot of well-being initiatives are not male-focused and also talk about their Manbassador program.

In this episode Sheila Lord is speaking to Peter Cheese, CEO of the CIPD the professional body for HR and a fellow of the Australian HR Institute, about the role of HR in workplace well-being and the development into more cross-functional working with other disciplines such as wellbeing, H&S and Leadership. Since January 2019, Peter has been co-chair of The Flexible Working Task Force, a partnership across government departments, business groups, trade unions and charities, to increase the uptake of flexible working. He is also Chair of Engage for Success and the What Works Centre for Wellbeing. Peter writes and speaks widely on the development of HR, the future of work, and the key issues of leadership, culture and organisation, people and skills. In 2021, his book ‘The New World of Work’ was published, exploring the many factors shaping work, workplaces, workforces and our working lives, and the principles around which we can build a future that is good for people, for business and for societies.

In this episode, Sheila Lord and Peter Kelly are speaking to Kevin Lyons, Senior HR Manager at Pearson Group about the role and value of mental health first aiders as part of an organisation's approach to wellbeing, and the structure and support needed for MHFA’s in the context of the changing nature of work. Kevin drives many projects across the business including the global Mental Health First Aider Community and MHFA training programme within Pearson. Kevin is also involved in many diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and he is passionate about wellbeing at work.

Peter Sanders, Co-Founder and Group MD of identifi Global, speaks to Sheila Lord, Director at BMR Health and Wellbeing about what makes a happy, thriving work environment in 2022. They discuss important topics around workplace happiness, mental health while working remotely, how to empower employees, and what makes a great manager. As we’ve completely changed the way we work over the past two years, taking a long hard look at what makes a positive working environment is crucial.

In August 2020 the Lived Experience Wellbeing Project surveyed over 2,000 safety-critical aviation workers, and examined levels of psychological distress and the supports being provided to and availed of by these workers. One year on, we want to see how things have changed. Is it better? Is it worse?

In this episode Lucy Tallon, Head of Mental Health and Wellbeing at The Film & TV Charity, joins us today to talk about how the Film & TV industry can improve the mental health of the massive workforce that enables the artistic work that we enjoy. Lucy started her career at The Economist as an editorial assistant. Throughout the years, Lucy has worked at several well-known organisations, and she has worked in media & mental health-related positions for more than fifteen years. We start the conversation with her career journey and her leadership at The Film & TV Charity.

In this episode Peter Griffiths, CEO and Co-Founder of the Mind Take Away and host of the Mind Take Away Podcast, is speaking to Sheila Lord, Director of BMR - Health and Wellbeing, about the importance of listening to your employees and why we need to take a systemic approach when it comes to workplace mental health and wellbeing. We often hear leaders saying we do not need to implement a workplace wellbeing initiative because things are good in the company, and they don't have any issues with mental health. The challenge with this is that it's just the perspective from the leadership team, and quite often, it is not a reflection of the employees' day-to-day reality.

The management of the overall organisational Mental Health & Wellbeing function within a Health, Safety & Wellbeing team and the importance of support from senior leadership

Today we are talking to Laura Thomas, Barrister, Safety Strategist and Risk Leader about the legal obligations for employers when it comes to health and safety and why taking a risk-based approach to workplace mental health is crucial.

This week Peter Kelly and I have been chatting with Nick Pahl who is the CEO at the Society of Occupational Health. We spoke about the role of occupational health in organisational wellbeing and how it is vitally important to look at a preventative approach to avoiding workplace-related issues and the processes that can be put in place to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of all employees in the workplace.

This week Peter Kelly and I have been chatting with Amy McKeown who is an Award-Winning, Health, Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategist and an advocate for women’s health. We spoke about how having an end-to-end workplace mental health strategy is so important. This requires businesses to assess the root causes of the issues that are contributing to workplace stress and address these rather than being reactive in their approach and purely treating the symptoms.

This week we have been chatting with Hayley Farrell from Emcor this has been a real treat as Emcor are the first company in the UK to have been awarded the ISO45003 certification. The commitment Emcor has to creating a psychologically safe work environment is fantastic and the fact that they have managed to achieve accreditation for a standard that was only released in June 2021 is testament to that.

What if your job was good for you? This is the topic we are talking to Louise about this week A new report sets out how business leaders can create an environment in which employees feel supported to do their best work. It also outlines how to achieve good jobs for all, that drive sustainable positive mental health outcomes. A link to the report is below: https://www.bitc.org.uk/report/what-if-your-job-was-good-for-you/

In this episode Sheila and Peter chat with Nicki Eyre Founder and Managing Director of Conduct Change who is an anti-bullying advocate. Nicki has experienced both opportunity and adversity during her career, including her own experience of feeling bullied at work. She recognises the scale of the problem at both an organisational and individual level and is able to bring her wealth of experience to her role as a consultant, coach, speaker and trainer.

In this episode, Sheila welcomes Karl Robinson, manager of Oxford United Football Club. Karl talks about the mental health issues in the football world and his experience dealing with them during his career.

In this episode of the Podcast, host Sheila Lord is welcoming special guest Andrew Clements who is an occupational psychologist, specialising in wellbeing and at work and careers. Andrew speaks about what an occupational psychologist do to benefit the well-being of a business.

In this episode, co-hosts Sheila and Peter welcome Dr Jacqui Wilmshurst, director of Safety in Mind and Consulting Psychologist. Jacqui’s career has seen her supporting individuals and teams towards effective psychosocial risk management, with a focus on highly specialised and challenging roles including; social media content moderation, social work, humanitarian aid, emergency services, broadcast media, journalism in 'hostile environments, and the military. In this experience, she speaks about her experience and about her feedback on the ISO 45003 standard.

In this episode, Sheila and Peter are joined by Prof. Dr Tim Marsh, Founder of Anker & Marsh. Tim is very much considered a world authority on the subject of behavioural safety, safety leadership and organisational culture and he is the author of many books.

In this episode, Sheila and Peter are joined by Emily Pearson, managing director and co-founder of Our Mind's Work. Emily comes from a health and social care background, and in this episode, she shares her thoughts and experiences in Mental-ill health.

This is a special episode aired on World Suicide Prevention day where Sheila Lord and co-hosts Peter Kelly and Ann Robinson are welcoming special guest Richard Barker, Assistant Manager of Rotherham United Football Club. Richard will share the story of his brother’s suicide and the impact this has had on his life and the life of his family and why it is important to speak and spread awareness on this topic.

In this episode, Sheila is joined by co-host Jason Van Scie from FlourishDx. Sheila and Jason speak with special guest Kate Field, Global Head Health, Safety and Wellbeing at British Standards Institution. Kate speaks initially about the standard ISO 45001 and then she explains why it was necessary to write the new ISO 45003 as a supporting standard and how it was developed. She then speaks about the benefits of the new standard and how it helps organizations to put in place psychological health and safety at work. In conclusion, Kate speaks about the certification of ISO 45003 and gives a valuable piece of advice to business leaders and HR managers.

Today, Sheila and Peter are going to talk to Jason Anker, who is an MBE and founder of Proud to be Safe. Jason talks about the impact that life outside work can have on safety and performance in the workplace. Many organisations still say that employees need to leave their problems at home and that this is not a work issue. Jason tells about his journey past and present as we focus this episode on the lived experience of what can happen when we are not focused on the psychological health, safety and welfare of our employees.

In this episode, Sheila and Peter talk with Su Chantry, Occupational Health Nurse Manager at Williams Racing. Su explains the role of occupational health services in psychosocial risk management and the promotion of mental health and wellbeing at work. Lastly, Su talks about the release of the new ISO 45003 standard.

In this episode, our hosts Sheila Lord and Peter Kelly speak with Dr Michael Drayton, an Executive Coach, Organisational Consultant and Clinical Psychologist, and author of the book Anti-burnout. Michael speaks about what is Burnout at the workplace and how that impacts our life. He defines Burnout as an occupational phenomenon caused by chronic stress. If you're interested in purchasing Michael's book on Amazon, click here: https://www.amazon.com/Anti-burnout-Create-Psychologically-High-performance-Organisation-ebook/dp/B08PKNC9K9 To get a copy of the free preview click here: https://www.bmrhealthandwellbeing.co.uk/resource-library

In this episode, Peter and Sheila talk with Claire Farrow, Global Director of Content, MADWorldSummit & makeadifference.media. Claire speaks about the work that she does and how she contributes to mental health wellbeing. She says that it is important for business leaders to train their staff and put in place programmes within their organisations for mental health wellbeing.

Our partners over at FlourishDx ran a fantastic live event a couple of weeks ago and we are happy to be able to share this content with you as a podcast if you didn’t get the chance to catch up with it. A great event with lots of fantastic insights from co-host Jason Van Schie, Peter Kelly and Mary Ann Baynton. Peter and Mary Ann share the history of the development of the UK and Canadian standards, and we chat about ISO 45003, the new standard for workplace psychological health and safety.

In this episode, Peter and Sheila talk with Gerard Forlin. He is a health & safety and corporate governance specialist with a global client base in over 65 countries. Industries worked in include transport, aviation, mining and fire among others. Gerard’s broad practice covers civil, criminal and commercial litigation. In this episode, we discuss with Gerard regarding: - Work he does in H&S - His thoughts around the global impact on mental health as a result of the pandemic as people transition back into the workplace - His work on ISO 45001 - His thoughts on ISO 45003 - Corporate responsibility and the use of the guidance standards - His new book.

In this episode, Peter and Sheila talk with Sally Swingewood, lead standards development manager, BSI. Sally has been involved in the development of the new ISO 45003 standard (with Peter of course). The standard has just been released and in this episode, Sally and Peter will talk about the development of the standard and the potential impact of this for businesses wanting to step up their workplace wellbeing strategy.

In this episode, we chat with Dr Gilda Scarfe, CEO and founder of positive ED. Gilda tells us about positive psychology models -PERMA and SCARFE, and the narrative around negative mental health language. Gilda speaks about the impact of covid on teachers/students and how to keep staff and students positive and well. Finally, we have a chat about how to maintain positive psychological health in schools and advice for teachers and students.

In this episode, our hosts speak with Joelle Mitchell who is head of Psychological Health and Safety, Organisational psychologist, Podcaster and FlourishDx enthusiast. The topics covered in this episode are: - How to implement systemic programs for psych health - Importance of leadership commitment - Key factors for success - Common pitfalls The closing question is: What would be your advice to business leaders, H&S professionals regarding psychological health? Thanks for listening

Sheila and Peter are joined with special guest Paul Cullen, an aviation wellbeing consultant. Paul shares his experience and role during what has been the toughest year ever for the aviation industry. Paul also talks about the common mental health issues in the industry.