Work, Well-Being and Performance

The Work, Wellbeing and Performance Research Group (WWP-RG) focuses on wellbeing and performance in the world of work. The group constitutes a body of researchers, knowledge creators and practitioners whose work surrounds people at work in the contemporary global landscape and informs teaching and learning, supports the university’s student employability agenda and demonstrates policy and research impact at national and international levels. The WWP-RG’s work is strategic for NTU Psychology, the School of Social Sciences and wider university.

WWP-RG is interlinked with the overall research theme of Health and Wellbeing at NTU, which focuses on bringing healthcare to the forefront of national and international policy, and on improving health and wellbeing for all. The group is well positioned to support the increasing demand for evidence surrounding health and wellbeing of workers in healthcare, emergency services, educational, and other occupational settings, including following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The role of digital technology at work and its effect on the home-work interface is also a component of the research interests of the group.

The WWP-RG has historically had interface with the School of Social Sciences Work Futures Research Group given its instrumental contribution to common areas of inquiry relating to the changing nature of work and the future of work.

The synergy between WWP-RG and other groups within the Centre for Policy Citizenship and Society (CPCS) will continue to support practice and provide diverse and extensive opportunities for research, collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Research Group Aims

The Work, Well-Being and Performance research group undertakes rigorous and impactful research that aims to:

• develop and advance knowledge on a diverse range of working populations with varied characteristics, including those that may be related to age group, genders, cultural, economic and geopolitical contextual factors, and giving recognition to human intersectionality
• explore the changing nature of work and its effect on wellbeing and performance, including experiences peculiar to specific occupations
• improve the health and well-being, working lives, and productivity of individuals, teams, occupational groups and organisations
• attract internal and external funding and provide return on investment through research that makes a difference in the lives of working populations.

Scope

WWP-RG’s research is designed in collaboration with those who will benefit from the research insights. Our research is interdisciplinary; drawing and applying knowledge from a range of areas within psychology, including personality, health, community, social, developmental and biological psychology, as well as cognate areas such as business and management, occupational health, sports science, human factors and ergonomics.

Specific research interests cover: work-related stress - its antecedents and consequences and ways of coping; health and well-being; organisational interventions and intervention evaluation; diversity at work; coaching; work-related trauma and organisational support; organisational resilience and recovery; work behaviours (e.g., presenteeism, absenteeism, workaholism, counterproductive behaviours, aggression and violence at work, bullying, suicidal ideation and suicide prevention); organisational climate and culture; organisational development and change; human error and safety; shift work occupations and sleep; ageing and work; (in)equality at work; leadership and teamwork; performance, engagement and motivation; commuting and working away from home, work-life balance; affect (nostalgia) and individual differences; mindfulness; managing work and chronic health conditions; creativity at work, job design and job crafting; the psychological contract; risky work; acceptable behaviours in SMEs among others. The list continues to grow.

Our work is carried out in a range of work and organisational settings, including in healthcare, in higher education, local government, manufacturing, the emergency services - police, fire and rescue, emergency medicine - and within the armed forces (all the way up to their transition back to civilian life post-retirement).

Our research has been funded by the European Commission, research councils, charities, and industry and intends to continue in this tradition.

• Laval University, Canada
• Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
• Technical University of Denmark
• Manchester Business School
• Stoke on Trent City Council
• Southern Health and Social Care Trust
• South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
• TNO, Netherlands
• Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
• Tilburg University, Netherlands
• European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
• University of Nottingham, Division of Primary Care

• Whysall, Z., Bowden, J., and Hewitt, M. (2018). Sickness presenteeism: measurement and management challenges. Ergonomics, 61(3), 341-354.
• Werner-de-Sondberg, C.R.M., Karanika-Murray, M., Baguley, T., & Blagden, N. (2017). Sector well-being differences among UK police custody staff. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology (online fist), 1-13.
• Betts, L. R., Hill, R., & Gardner, S. E. (2017). “There’s not enough knowledge out there”: Examining older adults’ perceptions of digital technology. Journal of Applied Gerontology.
• Kendrick, D., Dhiman, P., Kellezi, B., Coupland, C., Whitehead, J., Beckett, K., ... & Morriss, R. (2017). Psychological morbidity and return to work after injury: Findings from a multicentre cohort study.
• Gkiontsi, D., & Karanika-Murray, M. (2016). Dealing with economic and demographic challenges: Workplace innovation practices as a timely and effective response to older workers' needs. European Journal of Workplace Innovation, 2(1), 25-42.
• Karanika-Murray, M., Duncan, N., Pontes, H. M., & Griffiths, M. D. (2015). Organizational identification, work engagement, and job satisfaction. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 30(8), 1019-1033.
• Karanika-Murray, M., Pontes, H., Griffiths, M., & Biron, C. (2015). Sickness presenteeism determines job satisfaction via affective-motivational states. Social Science & Medicine, 139, 100-106.
• Karanika-Murray, M., Bartholomew, K., Williams, G., & Cox, T. (2015). LMX across levels of leadership: Concurrent influences of line managers and senior management on work characteristics and employee psychological health. Work & Stress, 29(1), 57-74.
• Robertson, I., Cooper, C. L., Sarkar, M., & Curran, T. (2015). Resilience training in the workplace from 2003-2014: A systematic review. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 88, 533-562.
• Brunsden, V., Hill, R. and Maguire, K. (2014). Putting Fire & Rescue Service Stress Management into context: a UK informed perspective. International Fire Service Journal of Leadership and Management. 7, 27-39.
• Hill, R., Betts, L.R. and Gardner, S.E. (2015). Older adults' experiences and perceptions of digital technology: (dis)empowerment, wellbeing, and inclusion. Computers in Human Behavior.48, 415-423.
• Sarkar, M., & Fletcher, D. (2014). Ordinary magic, extraordinary performance: Psychological resilience and thriving in high achievers. Sport, Exercise, & Performance Psychology, 3, 46-60.