As economic difficulties and strained public finances continue to dominate the headlines, demands for efficiency are ever more visible. In the US, Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been a disruptive and extraordinarily contentious example of this. In the UK, the public finances are also stretched thin, with government departments, councils, and police forces being asked to do more with less.
Yet, a singular focus on efficiency risks overlooking the other reforms needed to deliver sustainable improvements to key public services.
Take policing, for example. Officers are dealing with heavier workloads due to staff shortages, rising complexity of crime, and new responsibilities. Mental health-related absences have increased, with more than 14,500 officers signed-off work in 2023-24 due to stress, depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder. This is an annual 9% and a 130% increase since 2012-13. Similarly, long-term sick leave has increased from 1.7% of officers nationally in 2015 to 2.1% in 2024. Fewer officers on duty has put more pressure on those remaining, creating a cycle of stress and further absences.
So, while an efficiency focus is sensible, there’s a risk attached to it. Too often, wellbeing is seen as competing with performance, as if supporting employees comes at the cost of efficiency. But they go together. A physically, mentally, and emotionally supported and healthy workforce isn’t a ‘nice to have’; it’s essential for delivering on behalf of the public.
Wellbeing as a Performance Enabler
Prioritising wellbeing isn’t just good for staff; it strengthens service delivery in the long run. Research has consistently shown that investing in workforce wellbeing improves performance. For example, poorly managed shift patterns have been found to have a detrimental effect on wellbeing and the quality of service provided to the public across healthcare and policing. Employees who feel supported – both physically and mentally – are more resilient, make better decisions, and engage more effectively with the public.
Wellbeing initiatives often remain under-resourced, and operational pressures take priority, partly driven by a belief that wellbeing and performance are at odds. Neglecting workforce wellbeing can undermine long-term effectiveness. A well-supported workforce doesn’t just benefit employees; it’s an essential driver of resilience, productivity, and sustainable performance. When wellbeing programmes and mental health resources are not prioritised, employees lack the tools to manage the pressures of an increasingly demanding role, ultimately affecting their health and ability to serve the public.
4 Factors Driving Police Wellbeing
While awareness of wellbeing challenges is growing, strategic planning and communication are often overlooked as key drivers of workforce wellbeing.
We’ve been working across national and local policing organisations on this essential topic. Through our engagement with leaders, officers and staff, we find that a combination of four factors impacts wellbeing:
- Work support: It’s not only about having a manageable workload; you also need vital support from teams and line managers. It’s important that colleagues are clear about the expectations of their role, but in a context of high workloads, you also need to foster a sense of community, which helps people feel supported and valued.
- Resources and support services: Clear processes to access important organisational resources (from equipment and IT to operational support) are crucial to effectively doing one’s job. To have wellbeing support services to navigate mentally and emotionally demanding work.
- Organisational climate: Wellbeing is also crucially shaped by how well an organisation fosters a fair, inclusive and supportive environment – walks the talk to embed processes that maintain decency and organisational justice for all colleagues.
- Leadership: Good leadership is crucial to workplace wellbeing, and senior leaders play a key role in shaping the factors above, creating a strategic vision of organisational priorities, and leading by example. If strategic priorities or organisational processes shift frequently or aren’t communicated, colleagues may feel caught between political pressures, public expectations, and the day-to-day realities of public service.
Many different taxonomies outline what works to drive employee wellbeing (see, for example, Five key drivers of workplace wellbeing and the CIPD’s Wellbeing at work). Still, they all emphasise that it’s not just one but a combination of all these organisational factors that shape workplace wellbeing.
Embedding Wellbeing in Organisational Strategy
The UK policing sector has made strides in recognising and addressing workforce wellbeing. Nationally, the College of Policing launched the National Police Wellbeing Service in 2019 to help forces identify mental health risks, build resilience, and support officers after traumatic incidents. Many forces have expanded their wellbeing initiatives with peer support networks, mental health first aiders, and counselling services.
While these initiatives are valuable, they often operate alongside structural challenges like understaffing and heavy workloads – and in some areas, wellbeing support still feels like a tick-box exercise rather than meaningful change.
At Leapwise, we’re working on an exciting project to improve our understanding of police wellbeing across England and Wales. More details are coming in a blog in a few weeks.
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