Evaluation of Thrive at Work West of England programme

The Thrive at Work West of England programme has arisen from a collaboration between employers and partners to provide small to medium enterprises (SMEs) with tools and training resources for the management of mental health and wellbeing at work. The aim has been to embed good mental health practice in business and support employees.

A Covid-19 Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce group was established to coordinate support for the local workforce and help mitigate some potential mental health problems arising from Covid-19 in the WECA region. This group is a partnership of the local authorities (Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Bath & North East Somerset), West of England Combined Authority, Business West, Federation of Small Business, Mind and organisations in the Thrive at Work regional network. The unions have also played a key role in representing workers across the region.

The group developed evaluation objectives in order to answer the question: ‘What impact has the Thrive at Work West of England programme had on the mental health and wellbeing of the workforce in the region?. An earlier report described findings from a baseline survey which represented the first stage in quantifying the impact of the Thrive at Work Programme.

This report focuses on the impact of Thrive at Work on the management of mental health (MH) and well-being at three case study organisations in the South-West of England and presents findings from structured interviews led by Gapsquare researchers, with contribution from IES. The report also includes findings from surveys administered to 582 participants who completed Mind’s online training for line managers.