Cognitive behavioural training improves employee well-being in all measurements:

ELSEVIER – PEER REVIEWED SCIENCE RESEARCH PAPER:

“Cognitive-behavioural training to change attributional style improves employee well-being, job satisfaction, productivity, and turnover”

‘Attributional style’, also known as explanatory style, is a psychological term for how we explain the world to ourselves, our ‘mindset’.

This post contains an introduction and a PDF download link to the acclaimed UK and Australian academic study that shows the concrete benefits of a best practice cognitive behavioural training workshop solution for organisations. Click the image below to download.

“We report, for the first time in the literature, a cognitive behavioural training waiting list controlled study that changed employees attributional style, reduced turnover, increased productivity, and improved a number of individual differences measures of well-being. 166 financial services agents (98% male, mean age 36.2 +/- 9 years) were randomly assigned… Significant improvements resulted in employees attributional style, job satisfaction, self-esteem, psychological well-being and general productivity. A significant reduction in employee turnover over a 4.5 month period was observed. The waiting list controlled group  replicated these results when they subsequently went through the same program. These findings demonstrate that work related attitudes and behaviours, especially in motivationally challenging occupations, can be changed with cognitive-behavioural training to improve attributional style. The study is also valuable for personality and individual differences research, because it shows how psychological variables can be changed by effective intervention in applied settings.”

MY QUICK SUMMARY OF THE STUDY: Psychological health and well-being is no longer an occasional HR issue – study after study offers evidence of the effect of negative workplace attitudes and behaviours on absenteeism, presenteeism, turnover, morale and productivity. And yet little is done in the area of practical psychological training. This study shows that Cognitive Behavioural training, based on best practice learning by discovery workshop models, improve employee ‘attributional style‘ (a psychological attribute that indicates how people explain the world to themselves, either positive or negative) – which leads to improvements in individual: job satisfaction self-esteem psychological well-being and general productivity. A significant reduction in employee turnover was also observed. And the waiting list subjects in the controlled study (the ‘placebo’ list), when moved to the same training after the first sample, replicated the results. Furthermore, benefits were shown to have stayed with the learners on follow ups. The study participants were an average sample of financial services agents (insurance salespeople specifically – a recognised ‘motivationally challenging’ occupation that reports a very high percentage of employee stress, and a very high staff burn-out and turnover.)  A CBT WORKSHOP SOLUTION Practical and effective Cognitive Behavioural Training is a ‘rational thinking skills’ psycho-educational model that is measured and proven to teach engaged learners real skills that stick for awareness and self-management of attributional styles and self sabotaging behaviours – with measurable ROIs. My training inlcudes neurobiology and the physiology of stress – and is fast fun and effective, using imagery presentations, and facilitated group models using an original workbook resource – see testimonials. Click the image to open a new window to a hi res newsletter of my seminars/workshops Or go to my website at www.CBTandFeelingGood.com   A new foundation for management skills: Most of the top executive ‘how-to’ management books and training assume that the executive is starting from a position of rationality and good psychological health, and indeed that the staff they manage are emotionally healthy too – this is an ERROR. Those books and training can have high value, but the value can only be accessed when there is a base of good psychological health and well being in the first place, and when rational thinking skills are being applied to general thinking and communications and behaviour to enable a positive and optimistic state of mind. Cognitive Behavioural training gives a great foundation to make the most out of other personal and practical professional and personal development training.   NOTES: this training is not group therapy, it is fast and fun and effective personal development training to teach practical and effective new skills in awareness and self management – I teach only best practice theory and application as used in the study, and my programmes are approved for inclusion in the National Register of Trainers by Enterprise Ireland (gov body). My free CBT guided self help online resource has had over half a million views, and the downloadable CBT worksheets and handouts are used by mental health professionals all over the world. The seminars are fast and fun and imagery driven. The workshops are multi-media experiential and includes an original workbook for attendees to further the learning themselves, and includes after-access to the online resource site. Benefits are reported to be immediate and ongoing. The training  incorporates accessible evolutionary-psychology and neurobiology theory. Value added: the training serves as a great team building and bonding exercise as it uses a facilitated learning by discovery groups models.

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Links to relevant reports and articles:

Why happiness matters in the workplace – an academic view: LINK

‘Notes and stats on mental health in the workplace’, my blog post. LINK

‘Companies on the Couch’, my article for the Dublin City Enterprise Board: LINK

‘Bringing CBT into the boardroom (tackling toxic cultures)’ my blog post. LINK

Irish Times feature article on one of my workshops: LINK

‘The OECD on mental health in the workplace in Davos 2014’, my video blog post, LINK

Herald feature article / interview with me on ‘Recession Anxiety’: LINK

CBTandFeelingGood testimonials: LINK

Free self help online resource: https://iveronicawalsh.wordpress.com/

Contact Veronica Walsh at veronica@CBTandFeelingGood.com or 086 8113031 for more info.

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