University Research Proposal: Mental Health and Workplace Wellbeing

This research proposal investigates the critical issue of mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. The proposal aims to explore how organizations can effectively support their employees in addressing mental health challenges and promoting a positive work environment. It examines the impact of mental illness on individuals, work performance, and overall organizational productivity. The research outlines specific objectives, including identifying ways to assist employees in managing work-related stress and maintaining their jobs, as well as understanding how to best support those with mental health problems. The proposal incorporates a detailed literature review, covering topics such as poor mental health in the workplace, the importance of a healthy work environment, and the role of managers in supporting employees. The methodology section describes the chosen research philosophy (Realist), approach (Deductive), and design, along with strategies for data collection and analysis. The proposal emphasizes the need for comprehensive solutions to address employee mental health issues, aiming to contribute to a healthier and more productive work environment.

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL 1
RESEARCH PROPOSAL 1
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Abstract............................................................................................................................................3
Title:.................................................................................................................................................4
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Overview......................................................................................................................................4
Aims and Objectives of the Research..............................................................................................4
Research Aim...............................................................................................................................4
Research Objectives.....................................................................................................................5
Research Question.......................................................................................................................5
Literature Review............................................................................................................................6
Overview......................................................................................................................................6
Poor Mental Health at the Workplace.........................................................................................6
The healthy Work environment at the workplace........................................................................7
The manner in which the manager can assist the individuals......................................................8
Research Methodology....................................................................................................................8
Research Philosophy....................................................................................................................8
Research Approach......................................................................................................................9
Research Design........................................................................................................................10
Research Strategy......................................................................................................................10
Data collection...........................................................................................................................11

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Data Analysis.............................................................................................................................11
Structure of the Paper....................................................................................................................12
Time frame.................................................................................................................................13
References......................................................................................................................................14

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Abstract
The poor mental health of the individuals has a rippling effect which generally tends to
harm various facets of the work-life like the performance of the employees, productivity of the
workplace and the overall ambience of the work environment. Hence, the different organisations
where the individuals are employed will be required to support the employees in the workplace.
The organisations need to come up with ways to deal with them. Hence, the primary aim of the
given research proposal can be understood to prescribe various ways in which the different
organisations can assist the employees with considerable health problems so that they can remain
in the employment and be able to contribute effectively to the workplace. Hence, this study is
aimed at providing a comprehensive analysis of how organisations will be able to devise
programs and processes which assist the employees in performing well and being productive for
the firm. In addition to this, the study has also aimed to find the overall impact of the mental
illness of the individuals and their lives in general in the workplace.
In addition to this, the researcher also proposes research in the manner in which the
employees can be assisted in their overall employment and additionally to understand how
people with mental health problems best can be supported in all aspects. It helps to deal with the
various work-related stressful situations. Hence, the research proposal seeks to present a
comprehensive overview of what the result will be about and how the different employees can be
assisted throughout the employment. The qualitative research approach and design has been
proposed to determine how the overall research objectives can be achieved adequately.

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Title: Organisational support contributing to support the mental health and wellbeing of their
employees
Introduction
Overview
The mental health of the population has been changing considerably, and regarding this,
the regular lifestyle of the community is being affected. This effect on the general lifestyle of the
population has brought about a considerable negative impact on the overall welfare of the
population at large and in relation to this, it has to be primarily understood that, in order to
ensure long term success, the organisations where these individuals are hired as the employees
are required to come up with a solution which would assist the different people with considerable
mental health problems which can be best supported by providing them with adequate support
and assistance. The reason why this is being proposed is that the poor mental health tends to
involve human cost not only to the individual himself or herself but also to the overall
productivity of the organisation where the individual is employed in. Additionally, according to
Veldman et al. (2018), the poor health care of the different individuals also tends to have an
impact on the society and tends to thereby have a severe effect on the overall working of the firm
as well which can even demoralise the different employees who do not have any such specific
mental problems.
Aims and Objectives of the Research
Research Aim
The primary aim of the given research can be understood to be to find ways and
procedures which shall go a long way in assisting the different organisations to find ways in

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which they will be able to help their employees to deal with such mental problems at the
workplace and due to the work pressure. Therefore, the particular research will remain as a
comprehensive manner in which, the different employees will be able to find ways in which they
can avoid office pressure and perform well in the long run.
Research Objectives
The research objectives which the research paper aims to meet can be understood to be as
follows;
1. To find the impact of the mental illness on the overall life of an individual concerning the
office pressures
2. To find the different ways in which the various organisations can adequately assist to
help them to maintain their job and general life
3. To understand how can people with mental health problems best by the organisations and
assist them in maintaining the overall wellbeing.
Research Question
The different research questions which the paper aims to answer can be understood to be as
follows:
1. What is the impact of the mental illness on the overall life of an individual concerning the
office pressures?
2. What are the different ways in which the various organisations can adequately assist to
help them to maintain their job and general life?
3. How can people with mental health problems best by the organisations and assist them in
maintaining the overall well being?

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Literature Review
Overview
To understand the particular problem comprehensively, it becomes considerably crucial
to get to the background of the research which can be primarily carried out with the assistance of
a profound and detailed Review of Literature. Hence, it is regarding this, and the given section
will present a list of domains that can be researched to ensure that a solution to the problem can
be determined accordingly.
Poor Mental Health at the Workplace
According to Cortès-Franch et al. (2018), Poor Mental Health can be understood to be the
issue where the mental health of the individual is not how it should be, and people often find
considerable difficulties with the manner in which they think, feel, act or tend to manage the
daily stress as present in the workplace. When an individual tends to have a consistent episode of
poor mental health, then this can be primarily understood to be a sign of reduced mental illness.
It becomes critically important to gain an understanding that the poor mental health as problems
at the workplace is primarily widespread, and it does not mean that an individual is considered
ill. It merely means that the person requires adequate assistance. According to Veldman et al.
(2018), mental health problems tend to have a considerable impact on the overall productivity
and performance of the organisation where these employees are involved. This is because, they
are not able to concentrate well in the global workplace, and hence, their mental stress has a
considerable impact on how they perform. It can be understood that while some groups are

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more exposed to the particular illness, whereas the specific issue does not explicitly accept other
groups. The different mental health problems generally tend to be characterised by the alterations
in thinking, mood issues, behavioural and other such changes (Clement et al., 2015). Common
themes in the workplace related to the health of the employees can be understood to be anxiety,
Obsessive-compulsive disorder and excess stress, which takes place at the workplace.
The commonly associated mental health problems can be understood to be varying types,
and the common ones can be assumed to be the ones related to, mood disorders, anxiety
disorders, personality disorders, trauma-related disorders, psychotic disorders and others (Mental
Health at work Report, 2017). Very often, the different workplaces do not have justified
solutions for the problems which are generally being faced by different employees. However,
significant organisations around the globe regularly come up with techniques as well as solutions
which help them to deal with employee mental issues. Various seminars and offhand help
sessions are promoted which assists the different employees to perform considerably well
(Veldman et al., 2018)
The healthy Work environment at the workplace
Very often the employees are made to work for extra working hours, and it is about this
that these employees may lag a considerate work-life balance and this lack of balance may lead
to considerable loss of productivity from the perspective of the organisation and additionally
may disrupt the overall motivational level of the employees as well. Concerning the content of
the work, there are aspects like the lack of the employee competency and related issues which
may then have considerations and lead to a loss on the side of the employee time and employer
investments as well (Schnall et al., 2018). The points which were discussed previously can be
understood to be associated with the job content and job context however, according to mental

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health and palliative care: Literature review (2008), there are some issues which are not related
to the context of the workplace at all. These issues can be stated to be bullying and psychological
harassment, which is commonly reported in the workplace due to the causes of work-related
stress and thereby pose a considerable threat to the overall employee wellbeing. Not only do
these issues have an impact on the workplace-related tasks but it also has to be understood that
these issues affect the whole family and social interactions of the employees as well which may
then spoil their overall wellbeing.
The manner in which the manager can assist the individuals
One of the most profound mannerisms in which the different individuals with mental
illness can be facilitated is with the help of employment rehabilitation programs. The
employment rehabilitation programs generally tend to assist the different individuals by
providing them with various coping mechanisms which can then be used by them to deal with
the different scenarios which exist in the organisation (Quinlan et al., 2019). These programs
help various individuals to deal with mental issues profoundly. However, in line of this, it needs
to be necessarily understood that the different mental diseases tend to vary from type to type, and
it is because of this, the identification of a particular kind of a mental illness and its treatment can
be taken to be considerably tricky (Cortès-Franch et al., 2018). However, as the organisations
have the ulterior motive of ensuring that they can deal with the employees and related parties in
the right manner. Additionally, as the productivity of the firm is significantly related to that of
the wellbeing of the different employees, it is the responsibility of the firm to ensure that they
can look after the employees in the right manner (Clement et al., 2015).

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Research Methodology
Research Philosophy
The research philosophy can be understood to be a belief about how the data about a
phenomenon is collected, generated and used. The research philosophy which will be applied for
the study can be understood to be the Realist research philosophy which means that, the data
analysis and collection procedure will follow the suitability of the research objective and aim
(Ledford & Gast, 2018).
Justification for the chosen Research Philosophy
The research philosophy tends to form a significant determiner of the overall manner in
which the particular research is carried out. Hence, it is with respect to this that for the purpose
of the paper and for the achievement of the objective which is to find the manner in which the
organisations will support the employees, the realist Research philosophy will be chosen for the
purpose of the paper as it will allow the researcher to follow a flexible approach to the study and
use a method which is suitable for the research aim.
Research Approach
The research approach can be identified as how the entire research work is planned and
how associated set of broad assumptions are generally undertaken. In line with this, the Research
approach helps in describing the manner of data collection and data analysis as well (Katikireddi,
Niedzwiedz & Popham, 2016). The research approach which will be adopted for the particular
study can be understood to be the Deductive research approach as specific data can related
details shall be collected, and the information will be deduced from it.
Justification for the chosen Research Approach

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The reason why the Deductive research approach will be adopted for the overall purpose
of the paper can be understood to be because it will align with the global research topic which
seeks to identify how Organisations can assist the different employees and help them to ensure
their overall wellbeing. The examples of the other companies will be chosen, and from there, the
relevant aspects shall be deduced accordingly.
Research Design
The research design followed for the study can be understood to be a descriptive research
design. The research design generally tends to define the study type in which the research
problem, hypothesis and the different dependent and independent variables are applicable
(Kumar, 2019). In the descriptive research design, the researcher generally describes explicitly
what data is collected.
Justification for the chosen Research Design
The primary reason why the descriptive research design will be adopted for the study can
be understood to be because various solutions in the form of the recommendations will be
provided to the organisations which will be discussed theoretical and in an informative manner.
Research Strategy
For the study, the qualitative research strategy is being adopted. In line of this, it becomes
considerably crucial for the researcher to collect the data qualitatively and analyse the same way
by making use of thematic analysis (Fletcher, 2017). The qualitative study approach and design
shall be fundamentally useful as it shall assist in finding the reason for the lack of jobs for the
mentally affected and shall also assist in finding a solution to the same.
Justification for the chosen Research Strategy

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The reason why the qualitative research strategy is being adopted for the study can be
stated to because, the case of the different organisations will be permanently approved and in line
of this, the qualitative analysis will contribute to a better understanding of how the organisation
will benefit from these strategies.
Data collection
Hence, as mentioned earlier, the data will be collected using the qualitative approach,
whereby both the secondary and the primary method will be adopted (Mackey & Gass, 2015).
The secondary qualitative purpose of data collection will make use of various journals and
articles, whereas the primary qualitative method of data collection will make use of interviews to
collect the data (Flick, 2015). This method will be necessarily suitable as it will be able to serve
the objective of the study. The interviewees shall be eminent psychologists in the field.
Justification for the chosen Data collection method
The reason why the qualitative approach and primary, as well as the secondary medium,
will be adopted for the paper can be understood to be because it shall help the researcher in
gaining ideas from these various journals and research papers in matters of the manner in which
the organisations tend to manage their mentally unstable employees and the interview will help
in gaining expert advice in the field.
Data Analysis
The data shall be analysed by way of qualitative analysis itself (Bresler & Stake, 2017).
The thematic approach will be followed for the research whereby the study will be divided into
various themes, and each subject will explicitly discuss each aspect of the mental illness and how
they can be helped with the jobs and other related issues.

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Justification for the chosen Data analysis method
The thematic analysis can be understood to be a better approach from the descriptive
analysis as it will help in dividing the topic in various themes and discussing each of them to
know how the organisation shall benefit from the procedure.
Structure of the Paper
The structure of the paper can be understood to be as follows:
Chapter Content
Introduction Will focus on the overview of the study and
will define the research aims, objectives and
questions.
Literature Review Will give an explicit detail and related study
in the field of mental illness.
Research Methodology Will derive the research techniques adopted
for the research
Findings and Analysis Will present then results and analyse the same
with the help of the thematic approach
Conclusions Will summarise the study.

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Time frame

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References
Bresler, L., & Stake, R. E. (2017). Qualitative research methodology in music education.
In Critical Essays in Music Education (pp. 113-128). Routledge.
Clement, S., Schauman, O., Graham, T., Maggioni, F., Evans-Lacko, S., Bezborodovs, N., ... &
Thornicroft, G. (2015). What is the impact of mental health-related stigma on help-
seeking? A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies. Psychological
medicine, 45(1), 11-27.
Cortès-Franch, I., Escribà-Agüir, V., Benach, J., & Artazcoz, L. (2018). Employment stability
and mental health in Spain: towards understanding the influence of gender and
partner/marital status. BMC public health, 18(1), 425.
Fletcher, A. J. (2017). Applying critical realism in qualitative research: methodology meets
method. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 20(2), 181-194.
Flick, U. (2015). Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research
project. Sage.
Katikireddi, S. V., Niedzwiedz, C. L., & Popham, F. (2016). Employment status and income as
potential mediators of educational inequalities in population mental health. The
European Journal of Public Health, 26(5), 814-816.
Kumar, R. (2019). Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. Sage Publications
Limited.
Ledford, J. R., & Gast, D. L. (2018). Single case research methodology: Applications in special
education and behavioral sciences. Routledge.

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Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2015). Second language research: Methodology and design.
Routledge.
Mental Health at work Report (2017). Business in the Community. Available at
https://wellbeing.bitc.org.uk/system/files/research/bitcmental_health_at_work_report-
2017.pdf
Quinlan, C., Babin, B., Carr, J., & Griffin, M. (2019). Business research methods. South Western
Cengage.
Veldman, K., Reijneveld, S., Verhulst, F., Ortiz, J. A., & Bültmann, U. (2017). A life course
perspective on mental health problems, employment, and work outcomes. Scandinavian
Journal of Work, Environment and Health, 43(4), 316-325.