A Qualitative Study Exploring White-Collar Employee/Manager Experiences of Mental Health and Well-being Initiatives in Corporate Environments.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to explore white-collar corporate employee/manager experiences of current employer-led mental health and well-being initiatives. METHODS: Twenty-five participants took part in semistructured interviews yielding over 19 hours of data. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts was undertaken. Participants worked for organizations including investment banks, insurers, asset managers, consultants, public relations, marketing, and legal firms. RESULTS: Many participants were skeptical of the effectiveness of current company-led mental health and well-being initiatives against a backdrop of high job demands and unsupportive cultures. A commonly expressed view was that organizations were paying lip service to the issue. Participants communicated that more leadership role modeling on mental health and well-being, supportive job designs, and accessible skills-focused psychological support would be beneficial. CONCLUSIONS: Corporate white-collar employees/managers welcome mental health and well-being initiatives but are skeptical about their current effectiveness.

Can Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) and Mindfulness be Integrated Effectively within High Performance Settings?

Our critical commentary explores the overlaps and divergences between Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) and contemporary mindfulness practice and considers whether the approaches could be integrated and applied effectively within two high performance settings in particular: sport and business. It highlights how REBT and mindfulness share similar philosophical positions on the causes of emotional disturbance, on the importance of acceptance, and on cultivating self-awareness to respond healthily and adaptively to adverse events. It also acknowledges diverenges relating to REBT and mindfulness' respective positions on judgement of thoughts, an emphasis on the present moment, and meditative practice. We observe that by cultivating metacognitive awareness-a capacity to impartially observe thinking-mindfulness may help individuals in high performance settings to see more clearly how their beliefs influence their emotional, cognitive, and behavioural outcomes. Mindfulness could thus potentially aid an individual's transition from intellectual insight to emotional rational insight within an REBT framework. Moreover, appropriately integrated mindfulness practice alongside REBT-based work may help individuals within high performance settings, and beyond, to cultivate a mindset that is grounded in the present, less distracted and more task focused, potentially enhancing performance outcomes.

Flexibility: beyond the buzzword-practical findings from a systematic literature review.

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to identify practical, cost-effective, design-related strategies for "future-proofing" the buildings of a major Australian health department. BACKGROUND: Many health buildings become obsolete before the end of their effective physical lives, requiring extensive reconfiguration or replacement. This study sought to move beyond the oft-used buzzword flexibility to seek effective strategies to accommodate future change (future-proofing) that could be further explored in Australia and other developed countries. METHODS: A systematic literature review compiled definitions of flexibility and adaptability from a range of sources. Nineteen case studies were identified that illustrated various future-proofing strategies. A matrix was developed to classify different approaches to flexibility and then used to assess the case studies. RESULTS: Analysis was hampered by inconsistent use of terminology and limited availability of quantifiable methods for assessing the long-term success of approaches to future-proofing. Several key strategies were identified, classified, and discussed in terms of their relevance and application. CONCLUSIONS: More rigorous definitions of flexibility, adaptability, and related terms are needed to enable more useful comparisons of the strategies implemented to future-proof health projects. Local conditions often affect both the strategies adopted and the degree to which they can be considered successful. Many of the case studies analyzed in this research were not operational long enough to enable assessment of their claims of being future-proofed. Therefore, review of lifetime facility costs, including the service life periods of major facility components, should be considered, and some older projects should be evaluated in terms of these criteria.