Ian Hesketh

Leaveism and public sector reform: will the practice continue?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine and report how the construct of “Well-being” is being recognised within the public services. Using research conducted in a northern provincial police force in the UK the paper explores the issues that may contribute to sickness absence, presenteeism and leaveism; a recently described manifestation of workload overload. As sweeping public sector reform results in reduced workforce and potentially static demand, the question asked here is, “how do organisations adapt to the shifting landscape and retain employee engagement in the workplace?” Design/methodology/approach – The study used A Short Stress Evaluation Tool to assess the risk of stress in the workforce. The questionnaire employed an online self-administered survey and collected data from 155 respondents on stress perceptions, health, attitude towards the organisation, job satisfaction and commitment to the organisation. Findings – Sickness absence figures receive detailed attention when it comes to ...

Well-being, austerity and policing Is it worth investing in resilience training?

The purpose of this paper is to deepen conceptual understanding of workplace well-being in policing, particularly personal resilience. This is a conceptual paper reviewing and discussing contemporary literature with a focus on themes congruent with personal resilience in a police setting. This paper considers well-being in the context of police work in the UK, how resilience factors impact on an individual’s working life and the implications for policing generally. People can be trained to improve their resilience by a host of activities and approaches. These skills can be used to assess their own levels of resilience, and inform how to manage others through a variety of techniques. Some resilience factors are completely out of an individual’s locus of control; but many are not. Organisations can contribute by providing training and creating environments where individuals can practice these approaches as part and parcel of their daily activity, and flourish from doing so.

Measuring the people fleet: general analysis, interventions and needs

Purpose n n n n nThe purpose of this paper is to deepen conceptual understanding of how employee wellbeing is identified and categorised in the workplace, and how management information is used to target workplace interventions. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nThis is a conceptual paper reviewing and discussing contemporary literature and practice, with a focus on themes congruent with employee needs and organisational intervention options in relation to wellbeing. This paper considers wellbeing in the context of police work in the UK, and how a framework can help those charged with leading to understand and act in the interest of both the employee and the organisation. n n n n nFindings n n n n nThis paper suggests that the use of an appropriate strategic HR model, such as the General Analysis, Interventions and Needs (GAIN) pyramid (Hesketh and Rhodes, 2015), can assist organisations to develop practical categories and metrics to illustrate employee status in relation to wellbeing. n n n n nPractical implications n n n n nThe arguments posed provide opportunities for practitioners to use workforce-modelling tools that assist in identifying, categorising and targeting wellbeing interventions in the workplace. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nThis paper highlights that identifying, categorising and prioritising wellbeing interventions in the workplace has hitherto received little academic attention. This paper contributes by providing a greater practical insight into what may work, which is important for leaders in all organisations, particularly those trying to maintain operational performance whilst undergoing programmes of change.

Developing understanding of the spiritual aspects to resilience

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to deepen conceptual understanding of the spiritual components of resilience. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual paper drawing on research the authors have been conducting on resilience within the police community for a combined period of over half-a-century. Findings – A more holistic conceptualisation of resilience and particularly a more detailed and accurate picture of the spiritual aspects to resilience which is applicable to a wide variety of public and private sector leadership situations, not just those within the police. Practical implications – The paper provides an increased appreciation of resilience which the authors hope will lead to more practical research in this area, with the longer term goal being to impact positively on practical workplace issues of major current concern in a wide variety of workplaces across the world. Originality/value – The papers contribution is to promote the importance of resilience, provide a greater theoretical un...