Work and Health

We are focusing on the inter-relationship between work, health and wellbeing.  This includes: the study of people moving in and out of paid employment; the importance of technologies at work; management of health at work; the development of a broad public health response to promoting health and wellbeing in the workforce; and work as an aid to recovery. Our work also focuses on research into welfare to work and health-related support for benefit recipients, in particular the interventions that are delivered by occupational therapists.

There is a strong Vocational Rehabilitation focus within this research theme, which is concerned with enabling those with disabilities or impairments to overcome barriers to staying at work, alongside helping individuals with disabilities or impairments to return to work.  Of note the group focus on the importance of ‘good work’ as a contributor to positive health and wellbeing, e.g. getting fit through work, rather than fit to return to work, or the important role that good work has in extending working lives, and subsequently health and wellbeing in later life.