The Evolve Workplace Wellbeing Podcast

In this shorter podcast to mark Evolve's third anniversary, Prof Sara Connolly turns the tables on regular Evolve Podcast host Dr Helen Fitzhugh, getting her to answer our usual questions: we find out what led her to the team and what she is working on for Evolve's next steps. May 2025 (only) office hours with Dr Helen Fitzhugh: Book time with Helen Fitzhugh (NBS - Staff) 22nd May 2025 - Register for Evolve third anniversary showcase online: https://forms.office.com/e/0ZLN5T7RMa The normal length and style of podcast will return in a couple of weeks. 

In this episode, Dr Helen Fitzhugh of the University of East Anglia speaks with Michael Whitmore, Research Leader at RAND Europe, specialising in health, work and wellbeing. RAND Europe is a not-for-profit research organization and Michael's team were involved in the programme of research that led us to establish the Evolve Workplace Wellbeing toolkit. Michael talks about the issues in workplace wellbeing he has seen recur during his years of experience in this area - but also highlights the new challenges to come as the world of work continues to change. 

Zofia Bajorek, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies and author dedicated to her late co-author Stephen Bevan, discusses the vital role of line management in workplace well-being. She highlights how effective line managers can significantly boost employee health and job satisfaction, while poor management can lead to high turnover. Zofia also emphasizes the need for training and resources to empower line managers, especially in navigating the evolving challenges of workplace health and inclusivity.

In this podcast, Professor Kevin Daniels speaks with Chris Tamdjidi, MD and business development director of Awaris, a multinational company that aims to strengthen the mental, emotional, and collaborative capabilities of people in companies. Kevin and Chris discuss how to cultivate resilient habits at individual and organisational level, drawing on insight drawn together in Chris' book: The Resilient Culture: How collective resilience leads to business success. 

In this episode of the Evolve Workplace Wellbeing podcast, Dr Helen Fitzhugh of the University of East Anglia speaks with Dr Balissa Greene, an occupational psychologist working in Accenture’s Leadership and Culture practice. Balissa has a strong track record of driving impactful change in diversity, inclusion and wellbeing across the public and private sectors. In this conversation, Balissa shares her insights on how to do 'real world' impactful research and how to overcome resistance to projects that are necessary.  

In this podcast, Dr Helen Fitzhugh speaks with Professor Daiga Kamerāde (University of Salford) and Professor Brendan Burchell (University of Cambridge) about their research on the four day working week and other types of working time reduction. Daiga and Brendan share insight into the research trial carried out recently at South Cambridgeshire District Council which showed how the council was able to maintain or improve performance, according to many of its key performance indicators, during the four day week trial.  

In this edition of the Evolve Workplace Wellbeing podcast, Professor Kevin Daniels speaks with Professor Paula Brough from Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. She is the Director of the Research Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing (WOW) and an expert on the topic of occupational stress and coping. Here, she discusses her work on tackling stress and burnout in high risk occupations - those occupations where challenge and even danger are an integral part of the nature of the job. 

In this edition of the Evolve Workplace Wellbeing Podcast, Dr Helen Fitzhugh of the University of East Anglia speaks with Lisa Chamberlain, a doctoral candidate at the University of Liverpool working in the field of Human Resource Management research. Lisa's previous experience as a Sergeant in the US army and an HR manager in a small Liverpool business led her to PhD research on job quality in small businesses for hairdressers. Engaging and insightful throughout, Lisa shares examples of relationship-building that will be of interest to any HR manager.  

In this edition of the Evolve Workplace Wellbeing podcast, Helen Fitzhugh speaks with Rachael Skews, Chartered Psychologist, coach and founder of Cognus Consulting on the topic of psychological flexibility at work and its relationship with wellbeing and performance. 

In this edition of our regular podcast, Professor Kevin Daniels speaks to Dr Sema Etuknwa about her extensive work on improving return to work practices. Sema gives insights into good return to work from her Innovate UK part-funded knowledge transfer partnership between the University of Huddersfield and Swiss Re. She  describes the toolkit she has been developing to support better communication between all the return to work stakeholders involved in each worker's absence and return journey.