Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
wellbeing assessment & Management of Stress
From June 2023, the Wellbeing Assessment supports the Stress Risk Assessment process. We are committed to investing in the wellbeing of colleagues and we want every colleague at LBU to have a say in how we do this.
We know – and research demonstrates – that prioritising good wellbeing in the workplace creates positive, productive working environments for individuals, teams, and organisations. The Wellbeing Assessment is one way of enabling us to make positive improvements together.
The new Wellbeing Assessment has a become a platform for genuine and fruitful discussion. We were able to candidly discuss the functioning and dynamics of our team in a very targeted way. This assessment gave space for us to take stock, talk openly about what works for us, and put into place tangible actions to improve our work environment and protect our wellbeing.
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What is it?
At LBU, schools and services are accountable for making sure that conversations about wellbeing at work and work-related stress take place, and for developing appropriate actions in response. The Wellbeing Assessment provides a simple structure for these conversations and enables us to proactively monitor and manage wellbeing and risk at a school, service, and organisational level.
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Wellbeing Assessment and Stress Risk Assessment
Many of you have told us that wellbeing has become more important since the pandemic and the language of mental health has shifted, so we spoke to a wide range of colleagues to find out specifically what was working well and what needed to change. As a result, the Wellbeing Assessment has been developed and piloted by a number of schools and services. Like the Stress Risk Assessment, it provides opportunities to look at how we can mitigate aspects of our work that have the potential to cause work-related stress; but importantly, it also allows us to identify and build on good practice which supports or enhances our wellbeing. The Wellbeing Assessment is the school/service and team conversations about wellbeing at work; and the Individual Stress Risk Assessment is available for individuals experiencing stress.
roles and responsibilities
How does the Wellbeing Assessment connect to existing wellbeing support?
Who is it for?
Teams and Schools / Service areas
Purpose
The Wellbeing Assessment supports how we assess organisational wellbeing at LBU. It provides a framework for Schools and Services to check in on what is happening to maintain or enhance wellbeing, and what is happening that poses a risk to colleague wellbeing, including work-related stressors.
Who is it for?
Teams
Purpose
Organisational change or workplace relocation risk assessments should be completed in conjunction with these changes, and in additional to the regular 6 monthly Wellbeing Assessments. All other risk assessments can be found in the Safety, Health & Wellbeing A-Z.’
Who is it for?
Teams and/or individuals
Purpose
Wellbeing Action Plans should be used on a team or an individual basis, where it is requested by the individual and/or where a manager wants to help improve wellbeing at work. They can be used both proactively to help maintain good levels of wellbeing across the team or individually, and also to support the team or an individual with declining levels of wellbeing.
Who is it for?
Individuals
Purpose
On occasions where a manager becomes aware that an individual is experiencing stress, the manager should engage with the individual to complete an Individual Stress Risk Assessment Checklist. The checklist is designed to help the manager in determining the exact nature of the issues, assess the individual’s role and working environment, and identify any reasonable additional measures that may help. Completion of the form may require support from Human Resources and in cases where there is an underlying or long-term condition, advice should be sought from Occupational Health. For more information about how to use the Individual Stress Risk Assessment, please take a look at the following guidance.
FAQ's
No, the intention is not for conversations to be duplicated. Instead, from June 2023 when an area would be due to undertake their next Stress Risk Assessment (six months after their previous SRA), instead they will undertake a Wellbeing Assessment.
Each Dean/Director remains responsible for ensuring Wellbeing Assessment conversations take place every six months. Organisationally we will report on Wellbeing Assessments annually, as part of the summer Health & Safety Committee (typically June each year). To enable us to produce this report, we will review the most recent Wellbeing Assessments conducted in each School/Service during the period November – April each year. We therefore continue to ask that all completed School/Service level Wellbeing Assessments are shared with HRBPs, and areas may also see a more concerted exercise to collect the most recent WA action plan around April time for the purpose of the H&S Committee.
The requirement is that all schools/services are required to complete a single form that captures and summarises feedback and actions for their area, and it is this that should be shared with HRBPs for organisational reporting purposes.
Local teams are not required by the wellbeing assessment policy to complete a form. However, the layout of the form should guide the team conversation and help manage actions which sit at an individual or team level. It could also help larger areas manage the process of collecting feedback, understanding themes and formulating the school/service summary.
If you choose not to complete a form within your team, you will need to agree mechanisms for ensuring that the team are kept up to date with related actions arising from the team conversations.
