Line manager training and organizational approaches to supporting well-being

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Organizational Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Employee mental health and well-being (MH&WB) are crucial for organizational success.
• Training line managers (LMs) in mental health is vital for employee well-being.
• The relationship between LM training and other MH&WB practices requires further research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare MH&WB intervention adoption in organizations with and without LM mental health training.
• To examine workplace- (primary) and worker-directed (secondary/tertiary) intervention differences.
• To explore changes in intervention proportions over a four-year period.

Main Methods:

• Secondary analysis of enterprise data from computer-assisted telephone interview surveys.
• Inclusion of data from 1900 to 1904 organizations in England across four years (2020-2023).
• Comparative analysis of organizations offering LM mental health training versus those not.

Main Results:

• LM mental health training was associated with increased adoption of primary, secondary, and tertiary MH&WB activities.
• The proportion of organizations offering all intervention levels rose over the four years.
• Tertiary interventions were most adopted (80-84%), followed by primary (66-73%) and secondary (60-67%).

Conclusions:

• Organizations offering LM mental health training also adopt broader MH&WB practices.
• Commitment to mental health encourages a holistic approach, integrating worker and workplace strategies.
• LM training is likely part of a wider organizational commitment to workforce mental health.