CIPD 5CO01 – AC 2.1- A.C. 2.5 Practice Guide

When we start thinking about organisational culture and performance, it’s tempting to imagine something neat and measurable, like a dashboard of targets or KPIs. But, in reality, it’s far different. Take Edgar Schein’s model, for instance. It breaks culture into three layers, artifacts, espoused values, and underlying assumptions, which helps us see why people in the same company can behave so differently despite having the same rules or objectives. Alongside that, behaviour theories, like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, hint at why individuals act the way they do at work, reminding us that people aren’t just cogs in a machine.

Now, consider a familiar UK context, perhaps a mid-sized retail chain. Staff practices, how managers communicate, how team meetings run, even how break times are treated, subtly shape both the culture and behaviour across the store. And with change, as Peter Cheese notes, people professionals can’t just issue directives; we have to consider models like Lewin’s change theory or Kotter’s eight-step approach to understand how employees experience transitions. This also ties closely to wellbeing. For instance, surveys like CIPD’s 2022 Health and Wellbeing at Work show how shifts in management focus can ripple across performance and morale. CIPD 5CO01 – AC 2.1- A.C. 2.5 Practice Guide gives a better understanding of these threads which together forms the basis of this practice guide, linking theory and the lived reality of workplaces in the UK.

Task – Questions LO2

AC 2.1 Explain Edgar Schein’s model of organisational culture and explain one theory or model that examines human behaviour.

AC 2.1 wants two things in one answer:

1. Explain Edgar Schein’s model of organisational culture.
2. Explain one theory or model that looks at human behaviour.

Treat this as two linked mini-tasks inside one answer. You must show understanding of Schein, then explain a behaviour theory and, ideally, show how the two relate.

Step 1 – Brief introduction and what to include

• One or two sentences: Define culture in shared meanings and in ways of doing things.

Step 2 – Explain Schein in each paragraph

Schein’s model is three levels. Break your explanation into three short paragraphs.

1. Artifacts – physical layout, dress code, published rituals, observable behaviours, and symbols.
   • Say how these are easy to see but hard to interpret without deeper evidence.
   • Example sentence you can use: “Artifacts are the visible signs of culture for example, open plan offices, staff awards, or a formal uniform policy.”
   • Mention evidence sources: observation, photos, and documents.
2. Espoused values – declared principles and strategies which includes mission statements, policies, stated goals.
   • Note that these may differ from what people actually do.
   • Example: a company may state “we value staff wellbeing” on its website but internal practices may not match.
3. Basic underlying assumptions – deep, often unconscious beliefs that guide behaviour.
   • Explain these are taken-for-granted and shape how people interpret events.
   • Point out they are hardest to change and hardest to see directly.

Finish the Schein section with a short note on method e.g. how you would gather evidence for each level these would include documents and policies for espoused values; observations and interviews to probe assumptions

Step 3 – Critical points about Schein

• Say what Schein helps with.
• Offer limits such as the model can look static; it may not show sub-cultures or rapid change clearly. Be sure to both explanation and critique.

Step 4 – Choose and explain one human behaviour model

Pick one; do it well. Either Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs or if you prefer another model (Herzberg, McGregor), the same approach applies.

1. Describe the model
   • Five levels: physiological, safety, social (belonging), esteem, self-actualisation.
   • Explain the basic idea where people are motivated to meet lower-level needs before higher-level ones.
2. Give short workplace examples
   • Physiological – fair pay to meet living costs.
   • Safety – job security, safe working conditions.
   • Social – teamwork, supportive colleagues.
   • Esteem – recognition, promotion.
   • Self-actualisation – professional development, challenging tasks.
3. Critique the model
   • Useful as a heuristic, but not rigid.
   • Cultural differences and individual differences matter.
   • Suggest a short line on alternative views.

Sample Answer

Organisational culture can be described as the shared beliefs, assumptions, and ways of behaving that develop over time in a workplace. It shapes how people interact, make decisions, and respond to change. One widely used framework for understanding culture is Edgar Schein’s model, which divides culture into three levels.

The first level is artifacts. These are the visible and tangible aspects of culture that an outsider might notice straight away. Examples include the dress code, office layout, or regular events such as award ceremonies. While these features are easy to observe, they can be misleading. A company might have an open plan office, for instance, but this does not automatically mean collaboration is strong.

The second level is espoused values. These are the stated beliefs and strategies that the organisation claims to hold. They can often be found in mission statements, staff handbooks, or formal communications. For example, an organisation may declare that staff wellbeing is central, but day-to-day practices might not always reflect this. This shows the gap that sometimes exists between what is said and what is lived.

The third and deepest level is basic underlying assumptions. These are the unconscious beliefs and taken-for-granted ways of thinking that truly guide behaviour. They are rarely discussed openly but influence decisions in powerful ways. For instance, if managers strongly believe that competition drives results, that belief will shape recruitment, performance reviews, and leadership style. This level is the hardest to identify and the most resistant to change.

Schein’s model is helpful because it shows that culture is not just what we see on the surface. Still, it has limitations. It can seem static, whereas in reality cultures can shift, and it does not always capture the existence of sub-cultures within large organisations.

Turning to behaviour, one theory that has been applied in workplaces is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow proposed that people are motivated by a series of needs, starting with physiological requirements such as food and shelter, then safety, belonging, esteem, and finally self-actualisation. In a workplace context, fair pay supports basic needs, health and safety policies meet security needs, teamwork addresses belonging, recognition supports esteem, and professional development links to self-actualisation.

Maslow’s model is useful for thinking about motivation, though it is not a fixed ladder. People may pursue different needs at the same time, and cultural or personal factors can shape what matters most.

Both Schein’s and Maslow’s models highlight that behaviour at work is influenced by visible practices, deeper assumptions, and human needs that are not always identified.

AC 2.2 Assess how people’s practices in your organisation (or one with which you are familiar) impact both organisational culture and behaviour, drawing on examples to support your arguments.

Step 1: Understand the question

The assessor is looking for two things here.

• First, they want to see if you understand what people practices are. That could mean recruitment, performance management, training, diversity initiatives, wellbeing policies, and so on.
• Second, they want you to judge how these practices shape both the culture of the NHS (the shared values, the way things are done) and the behaviours of staff (how individuals or groups act day to day).

Step 2: Link to the NHS

Think about the NHS. It’s huge, it’s under constant pressure, and it’s highly people-driven. That means staff practices have a direct impact on how the organisation feels and operates. For instance, the way the NHS handles training and professional development doesn’t just build skills, it signals to staff that learning is valued, which in turn influences how motivated people feel.

Step 3: Pick specific practices

Don’t try to cover everything. Choose maybe three practices you can talk about with some depth. For the NHS, common ones are:

1. Recruitment and selection – how people are brought in.
2. Wellbeing and mental health support – critical in a high-pressure environment.
3. Equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives – important in such a diverse workforce and patient population.

Step 4: Link practice to culture

Let’s use recruitment as an example. The NHS has campaigns to attract people from different cultural and professional backgrounds, sometimes internationally. This practice reinforces a culture of diversity and inclusivity. Staff see colleagues from many parts of the world, which shapes a culture of collaboration but also, at times, creates challenges in communication or differing expectations about work styles.

Step 5: Link practice to behaviour

Now think about wellbeing. The NHS has invested in employee assistance programmes, counselling, and more recently, mental health hubs. These practices can encourage staff to seek support, take leave when needed, or talk more openly about stress. In behaviour terms, you might see teams being more compassionate toward each other. But there’s another side, if workload remains overwhelming, staff may still push through without breaks, so behaviour doesn’t always align with the intention behind the practice.

Step 6: Make your assessment

The word “assess” means you should weigh things up. So you could say:

• Recruitment practices support cultural values like diversity and equality, but they can also create behavioural strains if international recruits struggle to adapt quickly.
• Wellbeing initiatives shape a more open and caring culture, but actual behaviours may not shift if staff believe there’s stigma or that taking time off is frowned upon.
• Training practices encourage a culture of learning, but sometimes behaviour shows resistance if staff feel training is rushed or irrelevant.

Sample Answer 2.2

The NHS is one of the largest employers in the UK, with a workforce that is both diverse and under constant pressure. People practices play a direct role in shaping not only how the organisation functions but also the culture that emerges and the way staff behave on a day-to-day basis.

One clear area is recruitment and selection. The NHS often recruits internationally to meet staffing shortages, particularly in nursing and specialist roles. This practice helps to create a culture that values diversity and draws on different experiences. Staff become used to working in multicultural teams, and in many hospitals this has shaped a sense of inclusivity. At the same time, it is not without strain. Differences in language, training backgrounds, or expectations about hierarchy can sometimes create friction. Behaviourally, this may be seen in miscommunication or a slower adjustment period, reminding us that the same practice can build culture in one direction while challenging it in another.

Another example is the NHS focus on wellbeing and mental health support. Initiatives such as employee assistance programmes, peer support groups, and mental health hubs have been rolled out in recent years. These are designed to encourage staff to look after themselves and to normalise discussions about stress and burnout. The impact on culture has been significant, with a shift towards openness and compassion. Behaviours, too, are affected Staff may be more willing to check in on colleagues or to seek support themselves. Yet, in practice, pressures such as long shifts and high patient numbers can lead staff to carry on without breaks or avoid using the support available, showing that behaviour does not always reflect the intended cultural shift.

Training and professional development are also central. The NHS invests heavily in continuous learning, from mandatory training to leadership pathways. This contributes to a culture that prizes growth and professional standards. It encourages behaviours such as commitment to learning and sharing knowledge with peers. On the other hand, if training is rushed, behaviour may turn more passive, with staff attending sessions without real engagement.

Overall, NHS people practices clearly shape both culture and behaviour, but the relationship is not simple. Practices encourage diversity, openness, and learning, yet the pressures of the environment mean behaviours do not always mirror these cultural intentions.

AC 2.3 Peter Cheese, current CEO of CIPD, asserts, ‘People professionals are a vital function in supporting businesses to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances’. Explain two different models or theories for managing change.

Step 1 – assessors expectation

1. The command word is explain, you must show understanding of two change models and make that understanding in your writing.
2. Make the link to the quote from Peter Cheese – he says people professionals play an essential role in helping businesses adapt quickly. Use that as your opening rationale, why change theory matters to a People Advisor.
3. Assessors look for three things, accurate theory, clear application to the case study, and some critical comment (strengths/limits).

Step 2 – Choose two models and provide reasons for you choice

Pick one simple, high-level model and one more detailed, stepwise model. That gives you contrast and shows judgement.

• Lewin’s three-step model – Unfreeze → Change → Refreeze – quick to explain, good for describing the broad process.
• Kotter’s eight-step model – longer, leadership-centred, good when you need to show practical actions and timelines.

Step 3 – Explain Lewin Model and apply to Inter Luxe

1. Describe Lewin briefly, in three short points:
   • Unfreeze: create awareness that the old way must change.
   • Change: introduce the new processes or behaviours.
   • Refreeze: make the new way stick in routines and policies.
2. Apply each Lewin stage to a realistic Inter Luxe change for example, rolling out a single property-management system (PMS) across the cluster to improve reservations and guest tracking. Practical mapping:
   • Unfreeze (Inter Luxe) – gather data showing inconsistent guest check-in experiences across coastal and city hotels; hold early meetings with hotel managers and union reps to explain reasons for change; set a short pilot in one hotel. You might run staff focus groups to surface worries about new IT and shift patterns.
   • Change (Inter Luxe) – run the pilot PMS at one hotel; schedule training sessions for reception and front-of-house teams; have a dedicated support contact during the first four weeks; collect feedback daily at first.
   • Refreeze (Inter Luxe) – update job descriptions, checklists and induction packs; include PMS competency in appraisals; publish quick reference guides; celebrate successes publicly to reinforce the new approach.
3. Strengths and limits
   • Strength: Lewin’s simplicity makes it easy to explain and to use when you need a clear story.
   • Limit: it’s a little broad; it doesn’t list the detailed tasks that managers will actually do.

Step 4 – Explain Kotter Model and apply to Inter Luxe

1. Summarise Kotter’s eight steps in a single list so the assessor sees you know them:
   • Create a sense of urgency
   • Form a guiding coalition
   • Develop a vision and strategy
   • Communicate the vision
   • Empower broad-based action
   • Generate short-term wins
   • Consolidate gains and produce more change
   • Anchor new approaches in the culture
2. Apply selected steps to Inter Luxe, Concrete examples:
   • Create urgency – show booking data (seasonal dips, guest complaints) that justify a central PMS to reduce double-bookings and complaints. Use short internal reports for managers.
   • Form a guiding coalition – bring together the cluster People Advisor, the head of operations for hotels, a tech lead, and a senior city hotel manager. Put this group in charge of the roll-out.
   • Develop a vision – a simple statement like “one reservations system, consistent guest welcome, quicker check-ins.” Keep it short, and repeat it.
   • Communicate – town halls, manager briefings, and daily shift huddles in the pilot hotel. Use emails plus face-to-face for those who prefer it.
   • Short-term wins – measure time-to-check-in in pilot hotel, report an improvement after two weeks, and publicise the result. That builds local confidence.
   • Anchor in the culture – ensure regional managers include the new standard in monthly performance reviews.
3. Strengths and limits
   • Strength: Kotter shows what leaders actually do; it’s practical and helps structure a programme.
   • Limit: it can feel prescriptive and time-heavy; smaller sites may find it resource-intensive.

Step 5 – Compare the two models and recommend what a People Advisor should do

Key comparison points:

• Level of detail: Lewin gives the big picture. Kotter lists many practical actions.
• Speed vs thoroughness: Lewin is quicker to describe; Kotter is better when leadership buy-in and communications matter.
• Use in Inter Luxe: For a quick justification and to explain the logic to senior leaders use Lewin. For day-to-day roll-out tasks and staff communications use Kotter.

Sample Answer 2.3

Peter Cheese has suggested that people professionals help organisations adjust to fast-changing circumstances. To show how this can be done, I will explain two recognised models of managing change and apply them to the Inter Luxe Hotel Group, where the cluster of eight hotels faces pressures from guest expectations and technology gaps.

The first model is Lewin’s three-step framework. It breaks change into unfreeze, change, and refreeze. In the context of Inter Luxe, the unfreeze stage would involve creating awareness that current guest check-in practices are inconsistent. A People Advisor might present data on delays or negative reviews to local managers, opening space for staff to see why a new property management system is required. The change stage then focuses on trying out the new system. One hotel could be used as a pilot site, with front-of-house teams trained and supported by a technical lead. Staff feedback during the first few weeks would be key. Finally, the refreeze stage would involve embedding the new way of working. Job descriptions would be updated, new standards written into induction packs, and managers encouraged to praise staff who show confidence with the system. Lewin’s model gives clarity, though it can feel quite broad and light on detail.

The second model is Kotter’s eight-step approach. This begins with creating urgency, perhaps by showing senior leaders the cost of repeated booking errors. A guiding coalition would then be formed, involving the cluster People Advisor, a city hotel manager, and operational heads. The vision would be a simple message, one reservations system for all hotels, leading to faster check-ins. Communication would be constant through staff briefings and quick email updates. Empowering action could mean removing barriers such as limited computer access in some resorts. Short-term wins might be recorded improvements in check-in speed at the pilot hotel, shared widely to build confidence. Longer-term, the new system would be included in performance appraisals and new staff inductions, anchoring it into the culture. Kotter’s model gives managers a practical sequence, though it may feel heavy for smaller hotels with fewer resources.

Taken together, Lewin helps senior leaders see the overall flow of change, while Kotter offers practical steps for the People Advisor to manage staff reactions and communications. For Inter Luxe, a blend of both would work well, use Lewin to frame the story of change across the cluster, and Kotter to plan the day-to-day activities that make the change succeed.

AC 2.4. A variety of models have been developed to explain how change is experienced. Discuss one model that explains how change is experienced.

Step 1 – what the assessor wants

1. Key verb: “Discuss” – you must describe the model, show understanding, and offer analysis (not just definition).
2. Focus: “how change is experienced” – emphasise the individual and emotional side of change rather than the technical project plan.
3. Use the case study: apply the model to the Inter Luxe scenario and show judgement about usefulness and limits.

Step 2 – Choose, Describe and justify the model

Typical adapted stages used in organisations:

• Shock / Denial – people feel surprised, dismiss the change.
• Anger / Resistance – frustration, blame, vocal opposition.
• Bargaining / Negotiation – attempts to reduce personal impact, ask for concessions.
• Depression / Low morale – withdrawal, reduced effort, absenteeism.
• Acceptance / Recovery – people begin to engage, learn, and work with the new reality.

Step 3 – Apply the model to Inter Luxe

Pick a specific change at Inter Luxe. Example scenario: the group introduces a single central reservations system and revised front-of-house role descriptions across the eight-hotel cluster, with some posts regraded and tasks shifted.

Map the stages to realistic staff reactions and HR actions:

1. Shock / Denial
   • What staff do, receptionists and managers hear the announcement and say “that won’t affect me.” Some assume the pilot will fail.
   • What you HR/People Advisor record – immediate drop in tone during briefings, questions left unanswered.
   • Practical step to report such us hold short follow-up briefings and publish a clear summary of the change so rumours reduce.
2. Anger / Resistance
   • What staff do – strong comments in team meetings, union rep raises concerns about hours and grading, some negative social media posts.
   • What you record – spike in grievances or sharp questions during 1:1s.
   • Practical step – arrange listening sessions, manager coaching, and a named contact for staff concerns.
3. Bargaining
   • What staff do – ask for retraining, try to protect roles, propose partial pilots, and request compensatory measures.
   • What you record – suggestions logged in an interim feedback form.
   • Practical step – evaluate feasible adjustments, publish a timetable for retraining, set realistic promises.
4. Depression / Low morale
   • What staff do – reduced discretionary effort, short-term absences, and quiet quitting signals.
   • What you record – attendance metrics, pulse surveys show morale dip.
   • Practical step – offer wellbeing support, keep two-way communication frequent, provide small wins (early training sessions, visible senior support).
5. Acceptance / Recovery
   • What staff do – staff start using the new system, champions appear, customer feedback stabilises.
   • What you record – improved booking turnaround, positive comments in customer satisfaction scores.
   • Practical step – celebrate early successes, capture lessons, update job descriptions and appraisal criteria.

Step 4 – Evidence you should include

• Local data from the case (if given) – brief quotes, staff survey results, absence/turnover figures.
• Practical indicators – number of grievances, training uptake, customer satisfaction before/after.

Step 5 – Critically evaluate the model

Points you can make:

• Strengths – easy to understand; useful for planning people-centred interventions; helps managers anticipate emotional reactions.
• Limits – it can seem linear and neat, but real staff may skip stages or return to earlier ones; it focuses on individuals and may not explain organisational-level systems or power dynamics; cultural differences affect how people show emotions.

Sample Answer 2.4

One model that explains how people experience change is the Kübler-Ross Change Curve. Although originally connected to grief, it has been adapted in workplace settings to describe the stages individuals often go through emotionally when faced with change. The model is especially useful for understanding the human side of change rather than the technical design of projects.

The stages usually start with shock and denial, move into anger or resistance, then bargaining, followed by a phase of low morale or withdrawal, and finally towards acceptance and engagement. These stages are not always experienced in a neat order, and people can move back and forth depending on how the change affects them personally. This flexibility is worth keeping in mind when applying it in organisations.

At Inter Luxe Hotel Group, a major change has been the introduction of a single central reservations system across its eight hotels. In the early stages, some front-of-house staff reacted with denial, suggesting the system would never take hold or that it was only a passing idea. As the plans became more concrete, anger surfaced. Reception staff worried about job security and loss of familiar processes. Union representatives raised concerns over working hours and grading of roles. The bargaining stage followed, where staff sought concessions, such as phased training or partial use of the old system alongside the new. A period of lowered morale also became evident, with some staff taking more sick days and displaying less enthusiasm in customer service. Over time, with consistent training, open briefings, and clear communication from managers, more employees began to accept the system. A few even stepped forward to become champions who trained others.

The model is valuable because it helps HR and line managers anticipate and respond to emotional reactions. For instance, recognising the resistance stage meant Inter Luxe could arrange listening sessions, ensuring staff concerns were at least heard, even if not all demands could be met. It also reminded managers to expect a temporary dip in morale, rather than assuming immediate cooperation. That said, the model has limitations. It can oversimplify by suggesting that all individuals pass through the same sequence, when in reality people react differently. It also says little about wider organisational factors such as the clarity of role design or the adequacy of resources.

Overall, the Kübler-Ross Change Curve provides a useful lens for Inter Luxe to understand the emotional journey of staff. On its own it is not enough, but alongside practical planning and support, it gives managers a clearer sense of how change is experienced day to day.

AC 2.5 The CIPD’s Health and Wellbeing at Work survey 2022 found, ‘There is less management focus on health and wellbeing compared with the first year of the pandemic’, and goes on to remark that this is disappointing. Assess the importance of well-being at work and factors that impact well-being. 

Step 1 – Understand Key Term

• Key verbs: assess means judge and weigh evidence, not just describe.
• Key content: “importance of well-being” (ask: important to whom? individual, team, employer, public?) and “factors that impact well-being” (identify, explain, evaluate).

You need to show evidence of understanding, use of theory, critical evaluation, links to the case example, practical recommendations and measurable ways to check whether things have improved.

Step 2 – Gather theory and evidence you should use

Pick two or three theoretical frames and use them to structure your analysis and apply each to the case. For example:

• Job Demands-Resources model explains how high demands and low resources raise risk of stress and burnout.
• Burnout concepts (emotional exhaustion, cynicism, reduced professional efficacy) is useful for explaining individual outcomes.
• HSE (Management Standards) ideas about demands, control, support, relationships, role and change quite good for practical assessment of workplace hazards.

Remember to show your understanding that you are abreast with UK legal duties where employers are required to provide a safe working environment and to make reasonable adjustments where needed; this gives a legal angle to the importance argument.

Step 3 – what “assess the importance” looks means

Don’t merely list benefits. Weigh trade-offs, show evidence of impact, and reflect on competing explanations:

• Moral / duty: worker welfare matters for its own sake, show why that should guide decisions.
• Legal: point to employer duty and to potential risk of claims or regulatory action if neglected.
• Organisational outcomes: discuss links with staff retention, levels of sickness absence, performance and quality of service. Provide numbers where possible (sickness days, turnover rates).
• Cost implications: estimate costs of high absence and turnover versus modest spending on staff support. Give a short worked example, even a back-of-envelope figure helps the assessor see you can think practically.

Step 4 – list the key factors that commonly affect well-being

For each factor, say what it is, how it operates, and how you would evidence it in your case.

• Workload and pace – sustained overload leads to stress and sickness evidence by staff rosters, overtime hours, calls on agency staff.
• Control and job design – low autonomy tends to reduce well-being evidence by staff surveys on decision-making, absence after rota changes.
• Line management and leadership behaviour – supportive managers reduce stress, poor managers increase it evidence by staff feedback, exit interviews, frequency of 1:1s.
• Relationships at work – conflict, bullying or poor team cohesion harms mental health evidence by grievance records, informal reports.
• Physical environment – noise, temperature, lighting and safety hazards affect comfort and health evidence by incident reports, occupational health referrals.
• Working patterns – shift work, long hours, on-call duties affect sleep and social life evidence by sickness patterns by shift, survey on fatigue.
• Job security and pay – insecurity and insufficient pay raise stress evidence by turnover spikes during restructuring, push for agency staff.
• Organisational change – poorly managed change is a major stressor evidence by correlation between change events and absence.
• External factors – commuting difficulties, family caring responsibilities, and broader economic pressures evidence by local transport strikes, staff reporting caregiving.

Step 5 – apply the CIPD 2022 observation in the case

Use the quote as a starting claim such as management attention dropped. Ask these questions in your analysis and answer them with case evidence:

• Has managerial contact or visible support decreased? (look for fewer 1:1s, cancelled team meetings)
• Are there data showing a change in well-being indicators since the pandemic peak? (sickness, morale survey scores)
• If management attention did drop, what else changed at the same time? (budgets, staff numbers, workload)
  That approach shows you’re not taking the survey line at face value; you’re testing it against the case facts.

Step 6 – practical steps and how to measure whether they work

When you recommend action, be concrete and measurable. A short sequence for the case might be:

1. Rapid assessment: short staff survey, review of absence trends for the last 12 months, team interviews.
2. Prioritise two or three problems (e.g. high night shift absence, poor manager contact) and set small tests – pilot a weekly 20-minute team check, change one rota pattern for a month.
3. Monitor defined metrics such as days lost per FTE, turnover rate in the team, staff survey scores on support and workload, patient/service quality markers if relevant.
4. Review and adjust: use data after a set period (say 8–12 weeks) and report back.

This shows a pragmatic and evidence-based approach through small tests, metrics, and review.

Sample Answer AC 2.5

The CIPD Health and Wellbeing at Work survey (2022) reported that management focus on staff well-being has reduced compared with the first year of the pandemic, a finding described as disappointing. The importance of workplace well-being cannot be overstated, both in moral and practical terms. Employees are entitled to safe and healthy conditions, and organisations depend on engaged and capable people to deliver consistent results. When attention to well-being slips, the consequences usually appear quickly in rising absence, lower morale, and eventually higher turnover.

Well-being carries several layers of significance. From a legal perspective, employers in the UK have a duty of care. If stress, poor working patterns or unsafe environments are ignored, there is not only the risk of claims but also reputational damage. From an organisational angle, the economic case is persuasive. Lost working days linked to stress or mental health problems have grown steadily, and this is costly. Replacing staff who leave due to burnout is even more expensive. On a human level, there is also the question of fairness. A workforce that feels looked after is far more likely to remain committed and to deliver quality service.

The factors that influence well-being are varied. Workload is often the most visible, prolonged high demands without sufficient resources increase the risk of stress. Control over work matters too, when people feel they have no say in how tasks are arranged, their motivation and resilience drop. Line management behaviour is another strong influence. A supportive manager who holds regular one-to-one conversations often prevents issues from escalating, whereas neglect or poor treatment can amplify problems. The physical environment, including temperature, lighting, or safety risks, has a quieter but real impact. Beyond this, patterns such as shift work, job security, and the way change is handled all play their part.

In a case I studied, the organisation reduced regular check-ins once pandemic restrictions eased, believing staff no longer required close monitoring. Within six months, short-term absence had increased noticeably. This suggests that even small changes in management attention can alter outcomes. Simple measures such as reintroducing structured team meetings, reviewing absence data, or testing new rota patterns could make a difference.

In assessing well-being, it is not only about introducing initiatives but about measuring their effect. Metrics such as sickness absence, staff turnover, and survey responses provide clear evidence of whether interventions are working. Without this, well-being risks being a slogan rather than a practice.

CIPD 5CO01 – AC 2.1- A.C. 2.5 Practice Guide

Reflecting on these ideas, it becomes clear that organisational performance and culture are not simply about rules or processes they live in the interactions, the small choices, and sometimes the contradictions within a team. Schein’s layers remind us that what we see on the surface may not always reflect deeper assumptions, and behaviour models help explain why people sometimes resist change even when it seems sensible. In practice, using examples from a UK retail or service context, you can notice how everyday practices, from how staff are recognised to how flexible hours are handled, either reinforce or weaken cultural norms. Change theories, like Lewin’s or Kotter’s, offer frameworks to navigate transitions, but they never capture the messiness entirely; employees will interpret, question, or even ignore steps based on their own experiences, and that is part of the reality we, as HR or people professionals, need to accept.

Wellbeing sits at the heart of this discussion. CIPD’s findings show that when management attention drifts, it affects engagement and performance, often more subtly than formal metrics reveal. Factors like workload, recognition, autonomy, and communication play into both the culture and how people behave daily. So, in practice, supporting wellbeing is as much about understanding human behaviour as it is about policy. Bringing all of these perspectives together culture, behaviour, change, and wellbeing gives a more rounded view of organisational performance. It isn’t tidy; it’s iterative, sometimes contradictory, but ultimately, it is where the theory meets the everyday realities of UK workplaces, and where people professionals can make a tangible difference.