WORKFORCE WELL-BEING RESEARCH PROJECT WORK WITH CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE September 2015

Research Aims Purpose To determine the causes and effects of youth worker stress in Lincolnshire Specific objectives To identify the pressures and challenges being faced by staff, volunteers and managers working with young people in the voluntary and community sectors To determine the impact these pressures and challenges have on their health and wellbeing, the quality of the services being delivered and the relationships staff and volunteers have with young people To identify the support needs of staff, volunteers and managers and how these support needs would be best met

Research Model It is widely known that work settings can have positive and negative impacts of workers well- being. As such, a groups of ten psychosocial risks have been identified in the literature as those aspects of the design and management of work, and its social and organisational contexts that have the potential for causing psychological or physical harm (Cox and Griffiths, 2005). The management of these psychosocial risks is key to promote well-being at work. A badly managed work environment can result in instant stress reactions. If nothing is done to reduce these reactions, long term consequences can affect not only workers but also the organization itself. Psychosocial risks for work- related stress Job content Workload & work pace Work schedule Control Environment & equipment Organizational culture Interpersonal relationships Role in organisation Career development Home-work interface Stress reactions Physiological Behavioural Emotional reactions Cognitive reactions Long term consequences On the worker Psychological and social  Mental health  Cognitive impairments  Social and behavioural health Physiological and physical  Musculoskeletal disorders  Cardiovascular disease For organisations Increased absenteeism Tardiness Increased turnover Reduced performance and productivity etc. Individual characteristics Gender Age Education Competitiveness Over commitment Self-confidence etc. Adapted from Kompier & Marcelissen (1990)

Methodology A systematic combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques are being used: Quantitative Online survey Qualitative Theme-based focus groups Semi-structured telephone interviews

Online Survey Characteristics The survey is composed by 3 sections: Section 1: Psychosocial hazards An adapted version of the HSE’s Management Standards Indicator Tool is being used. The original version included 35-item relating to the six primary stressors identified in the Management Standards approach to tackling Work Related Stress. In the version used in this study, 5 dimensions are being considered: a)Control: how much say the person has in the way they do their work b)Support: which includes the encouragement and resources provided by the organisation, line management and colleagues c)Relationships at work: which includes promoting positive working practices to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour d)Role: whether people understand their role within the organization and whether the organisation ensures that the person does not have conflicting roles e)Change: how organizational change is managed and communicated Additionally, 3 questions where added from the dimension “Possibilities for development” included in the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II (COPSOQ II) to measure training opportunities at work.

Online Survey Characteristics Section 2: Stress Reactions Four dimensions from the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II (COPSOQ II) are being used to identify the participant well-being perception. The four dimensions are: a)Burnout reactions b)General Stress reactions c)Somatic stress reactions d)Cognitive stress reactions Section 3: Individual Characteristics Questions relevant to classify participants and enrich the analysis are included answers are included in this section. Additionally, contact information is requested to share the overall report with participants.

Qualitative Techniques The questions included in the theme-based focus groups and the semi-structured telephone interviews will be based on our research model and dimensions included in the online survey

Ethics Ethical issues relevant to the proposed study are outlined and discussed below according to the British Psychological Society’s Code of Ethics and Conduct (2009), Code of Human Research Ethics (2010), Ethics Guidelines for Internet-mediated Research (2013), as well as the Data Protection Act (1998): Data Protection: Research data will be handled and stored according to the Data Protection Act (1998). All information collected will be kept strictly confidential. It will be stored on a password protected computer and will only be viewed by the researchers. After the completion of the study, the data will be kept on an encrypted database for one year. During this time all precautions will be taken by all those involved to safeguard confidentiality and after this time the data will be disposed of securely. Privacy: Participants will be protected against abuses of their personal information. They will be asked to supply only the information that is necessary for the present study. Any report will include overall and integrated results without identifying the name of the participant unless they explicitly authorize it. Presentations and publications on the basis of the findings will not identify individuals. Self-determination: It will be made clear to the participants that their participation will be entirely voluntary. There will exist no link between the researcher and their organisation. They will be in no way obliged to participate in it in favour of anybody in positions of power over them. It is not expected that the research will cause any distress. Nevertheless, in case participants wish to withdraw from the study when starting the survey, they will be able to do so. Transparency: All the information about this research and the ethical issues is accessible to participant at any time by contacting Maureen O’Callaghan or Luis D. Torres

WORKFORCE WELL-BEING RESEARCH PROJECT WORK WITH CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE September 2015