About the Centre

Within today's business environment, health and well-being is an increasingly important issue for HR Directors and Occupational Health Support Services. Sickness absence, productivity, an ageing workforce, external lifestyle matters, pressure on costs and the rise of human capital accounting, represent only part of an increasingly complex strategic contribution, employee health makes to business, organizational and personal effectiveness. In addition, employers are increasingly recognising that apart from having a healthy workforce, they also need employees who are positively engaged, socially responsible and aligned with organizational goals.

The Centre for Organizational Health and Well-Being (COHWB) at Lancaster University was founded in 2008 under the leadership of Professor Susan Cartwright. In its initial phase of development (2008-2013) the Centre was partially funded by 13 leading employers including AstraZeneca, McDonalds, Manchester City Council, Nestle UK, RWE nPower, Tesco and Unilever. As the Centre has evolved, it has attracted a significant amount of grant income from traditional research funding bodies and charities. In 2011, it launched a highly successful and innovative Blended Learning Doctorate in Organizational Health and Well-Being.

The Centre is guided by the following aims:

• To enhance the profile of organizational health and psychological well-being in its widest sense;
• To conduct high quality leading edge research of relevance and utility to Employers, HR specialists, Health and Safety Managers and Allied Health Professionals as well as the academic community;
• To engage with and influence workplace policies at a national level;
• To educate, develop and support future researchers in the field of organizational health and well-being.

2014-17 Giga, S. I., Collins, A., Cartwright, S. and Cowlishaw, S.
"The Role of Army Reservists: An Analysis of their Experiences and the Attitudes and Perceptions of Civilian Employers, Regulars and Significant Others".
Funded by the ESRC (£236,895)

2014-20 Almeida S., Fernando, M., Dharmage, S. and Cartwright, S.
"Promoting Employee Engagement, Career Development, Well-Being and Retention of Health Professionals in the Illawarra".
A joint project with University of Wollongong Business School

2014-15 Wadeson, P., Simpson, J. and Giga, S. I.
"Comparison of group-based mindfulness training versus smartphone app training for NHS workers".
Funded by the NIHR Research Capability Fund (£10k)

2014 Bingley, A., Collins, A., Oaks, R and Varey, S.
"Woodland working: Intergenerational skills gained and shared in the volunteer workforce".
Funded by the British Academy (£9095)

2013-14 Hillage J, Bevan S, Cartwright S and Hollingsworth B
"Evidence review of workplace policies and management practices to improve employee well-being". A joint project with University of Sussex and colleagues at The Work Foundation.
Funded by National Institute for Clinical Excellence(£170K)

2010-12 Cartwright, S.
"The impact of Presenteeism on Employee Health and Performance".
Funded by the BUPA Foundation (£110K)

2010-2012 Cartwright, S.
"The Impact of physical activity on employee health and well being".
Funded by Global Corporate Challenge (£60K)