Do individual-level mental health interventions improve employees’ wellbeing?

Many businesses are making efforts to promote workers’ wellbeing, and numerous interventions are available at the individual and organizational levels. New research published in the Industrial Relations Journal found no evidence that individual-level mental wellbeing interventions like mindfulness, resilience and stress management, relaxation classes, and wellbeing apps benefit employees.

The study was based on survey data from 46,336 workers in 233 organizations in the UK. Across multiple subjective wellbeing indicators, participants in individual-level mental wellbeing interventions appeared no better off than other workers.

The study’s author, William Fleming, PhD, of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, noted that organizational interventions—such as changes to scheduling, management practices, staff resources, performance review, or job design—may be more beneficial for improving wellbeing in the workplace.

“There's growing consensus that organizations have to change the workplace and not just the worker,” said Dr. Fleming. “This research investigates wellbeing interventions across hundreds of workplaces, supplementing trials that often take place in single organizations, and the lack of any benefit suggests we need more ambition when it comes to improving employee wellbeing. I hope these results can spur on further research and employer action.”

URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/irj.12418

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About the Journal
By focusing on the changing nature, forms, and regulation of the employment relationship, Industrial Relations Journal furthers understanding of industrial relations, labour markets, and the organization and future of work globally. We provide a contemporary analysis of state, capital, and labour relations in periods of crisis and institutional flux. 

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