National Research Programme on WHISPAs - workplace health and wellbeing initiatives that are free at the point of use to workplaces

Background Work and working environments are linked to people s health, wellbeing, and inequalities in health and wellbeing. The cost of mental ill health alone to the UK economy, estimated from the combined costs of absenteeism, presenteeism, and turnover, was over £100billion in 2023. In 2024, the number of people who were inactive in the labour market due to long-term sickness reached a record high of 7% of the working-age population in the UK. Economic inactivity due to long-term sickness has been rising in the UK since 2019, and Britain is the only Group of Seven Economy where the share of working-age people outside the workforce is higher than at the start of the pandemic in 2020. Despite the need to improve workplace health and wellbeing, the implementation of workplace health and wellbeing support is not always optimal. Many providers impose fees, potentially widening inequalities. In response to this challenge, local government offers workplace health and wellbeing initiatives that are free at the point of use to workplaces (WHISPAs – www.whispas.co.uk). These initiatives are delivered regionally to local workplaces operating in a variety of sectors, including manufacturing, social care, transport, and retail. Local workplaces receive cascading levels of support ranging from lighter-touch self-help resources to referrals to higher-intensity job coaching programmes. Topics include staff health needs assessments, flexible working policies, mental and musculoskeletal health support, and line manager training. Aims and objectives The primary aim of our research programme is to prevent ill health by improving the limited evidence base about local government WHISPAs and promoting evidence-based workplace health practices. There are four objectives: Assemble best practice evidence by updating existing evidence reviews. Understand and address implementation processes to promote evidence uptake. Protocolise local government workplace support including a guide, training, implementation recommendations, and costing tools. Develop the effectiveness and cost effectiveness evidence in a trial with workplaces receiving support from local government. We collaboratively identified these aims with our 12 public contributors, underscoring our commitment to co-produce the project as a cross-cutting objective underpinning all our work. Our other cross-cutting objectives relate to implementation science, aligning employee and employer perspectives, and equality, diversity, and inclusion. Methods The mixed method study has four phases. First, we update and add to our existing scoping review of WHISPAs. Second, we conduct qualitative interviews and focus groups about implementation processes. Third, we protocolise the support provided by local government, employing a planning checklist, iterative testing, decision aids, and costing tools. Finally, a mixed methods hybrid implementation effectiveness cluster randomised trial identifies the causal- and cost-effectiveness of the protocolised support package, as well as optimal implementation strategies. Timelines for delivery Funding runs from 1 May 2026 – 30 April 2031. Anticipated impact and dissemination The impact and dissemination strategy includes early buy-in from key stakeholders, influencing guidelines, peer-reviewed papers, a website, webinar series, videos, and policy reports. We will share findings through policy and business networks and run public engagement events. New evidence about WHISPAs will improve staff and community health, wellbeing, and productivity.