From 5 to 8 July, the Slovenian Psychological Association, the Department of Psychology at the University of Ljubljana and the EFPA will hold the 17th European Congress of Psychology in Ljubljana, one of the most important European psychology events of the year. The ECP is a great moment for scientists, researchers and professionals from all over Europe to meet and share new findings, knowledge and results. There will be renowned speakers from all fields of psychology, bilateral meetings, networking sessions and an open forum.
Project H- WORK is very pleased to be able to participate in this event. “Building a Strong and Healthy Workplace in Europe: Psychological perspectives and insights from the H2020-funded sister projects” is the title of the symposium organised by EFPA, which will take place on Friday 8 July from 8:00 am. The five EU-funded projects EMPOWER, H- WORK, MAGNET4EUROPE, MENTUPP and MINDBOT will participate in a roundtable discussion on the role of psychology as a driving force in Europe to pave the way for a healthier workplace. Representatives from each project will report on the experiences to date, the critical organisational mechanisms and processes that have been put in place, taking into account the cultural background and mental health issues, and finally the potential opportunities and impact of psychology in the face of ongoing changes in the (digitised) world of work.
Here you will find a brief description of each of the sister projects. If you want to know more, visit the respective websites.
The aim of the EU Horizon 2020 funded project EMPOWER is to develop, test and evaluate an integrative eHealth intervention based on the most feasible, shortest and cost-effective interventions currently available in Europe. The final scope is to promote wellbeing, reduce the impact of mental health issues on productivity in the workplace, support a return to work of those with sickness absences, and prevent common mental disorders.
Ms Carlota de Miquel is the representative of EMPOWER. She is a PhD student in medicine and translational research at the University of Barcelona and a researcher in the European Platform to Promote Wellbeing and Health in the workplace (EMPOWER) project.
The overall objective of the MENTUPP project is to design, develop, implement and evaluate a multi-level intervention for SMEs in the construction, healthcare, and ICT sectors across Europe and Australia to improve mental health in the workplace. The MENTUPP intervention is delivered through an online platform, the MENTUPP Hub, in which tailored materials are available for employees, managers and the entire workplace. All users can follow a progress journey to improve both non-clinical aspects – job stress, wellbeing and burnout – and clinical aspects of mental health – depression and anxiety disorders – while learning how to communicate with one another about mental health difficulties. They can anonymously access all materials in the MENTUPP Hub in their local language and can do an exercise, take a quiz, watch a video or read a session as many times as they like.
Prof. Ella Arensman is representative of MENTUPP. She is the coordinator of the Mental Health Promotion and Intervention in Occupational Settings project, a research professor at the School of Public Health, University of Medicine and Health at UCC and a senior researcher at the National Suicide Research Foundation. She is Vice-President of the European Alliance Against Depression (EAAD), Visiting Professor at the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention, Griffith University, Brisbane, and Expert Advisor to WHO.
The overall aim of the Mindbot project is to design workplaces where the level of challenge and difficulty of tasks matches workers’ abilities in order to enhance their motivation and engagement through flexible and personalised interaction with cobots. Baseline data is currently being collected in two European companies that have introduced cobots, and a laboratory experiment is underway. The results of the experimental tests will guide the project’s future technological solutions.
Dr Luca Negri is the representative of MINDBOT. He is a clinical psychologist, a cognitive psychotherapist and a research fellow at the University of Milano for the MINDBOT project. His interests mainly focus, on mental health, psychological resources and well-being indicators, as well as research methodology and psychometrics.
Magnet4Europe aims to redesign the clinical work environment in more than 60 European hospitals by applying the Magnet® model for organisational redesign to improve the mental health and well-being of nurses and doctors. In the US, Magnet® model has been associated with improved mental health, reduced burnout, lower turnover and better patient outcomes. An innovative, multi-faceted implementation will be applied to facilitate organisational redesign in participating hospitals in six European countries (Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and England) between 2020 and 2023.
Ms Dorothea Kohnen is the representative of Magnet4Europe. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Psychology and a Master’s degree in Industrial, Organisational and Personnel Psychology. After working as an HR expert at PwC Germany, she joined Steinbeis University (Germany) as a Research Fellow in 2018. She is now doing her PhD at KU Leuven and works as a project coordinator in the Magnet4Europe project. Her research focuses on the “impact of the hospital work environment on the well-being of doctors and nurses”.