CIPD Level 7OS06 Well-Being at Work AC1.2 and AC1.2 Guide

CIPD Level 7OS06 Well-Being at Work AC1.2 and AC1.2 Guide

Sometimes we forget that CIPD isn’t just theory, it’s actually quite grounded in reality. What sets it apart is how it presents real-world, workplace-based scenarios, not abstract textbook ideas. CIPD Level 7OS06 Well-Being at Work AC1.2 and AC1.2 Guide touches on questions that don’t just exist in academic writing, they crop up in actual people management challenges.

This isn’t about giving you all the answers. It’s more like a conversation about how to think through a question before writing. Our take here leans on case examples, some invented, some borrowed from practice, to explain terms and theories in a way that feels real, not rehearsed. The idea is to offer something you can relate to, not recite. That said, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Use it with your academic resources, reflect on your own experiences, and shape it into something that fits your context. That’s the whole point.

We’d call this more of a walkthrough than a model answer. It won’t box you into a single way of thinking. Instead, it opens things up, perhaps not neatly, but that’s more true to how workplace wellbeing plays out, isn’t it?

AC1.1 Critically evaluate the key theories and definitions that relate to well-being at work.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough of AC1.1

Step 1: Understand the Command Word  “Critically Evaluate”

Let’s begin here. This isn’t a simple description task. When CIPD says critically evaluate, they’re asking for a bit more than just definitions or a list of theories. They’re testing your ability to:

• Show that you understand what the theories mean
• Think about how useful (or not) those theories are in real working environments
• Point out strengths and limitations
• Apply some of these to a workplace example or case study
• Maybe even question: does this theory still make sense in today’s context?

You’re not meant to just agree with everything you read in textbooks. If a theory sounds a bit idealistic, say that. If it doesn’t quite fit the current reality of work, say post-COVID hybrid working, for instance, you can raise that too. That’s all part of “critical evaluation”.

Step 2: Define “Well-being at Work” But Keep It Real

Okay, definitions. You do need to offer a definition of well-being at work, yes, but not just one, and not just by quoting blindly.

Try to compare a few recognised views. Say something like:

Well-being at work is generally understood as a state in which employees feel safe, healthy, and supported in ways that allow them to do their job without harm to their mental or physical health. Some frameworks emphasise emotional stability and resilience, while others focus more on practical elements like workload, job security, or managerial support.

So, already, we’re not picking one neat definition, we’re examining a few and gently suggesting there’s no one-size-fits-all view. That’s critical thinking.

You could mention the World Health Organization’s definition of occupational health or look at how CIPD itself frames well-being, they tend to favour a multi-layered view covering physical, mental, financial, and social aspects.

And don’t forget to acknowledge that well-being is contextual. What “well-being” looks like to a finance director in London might be different to what it means for a care worker in Blackpool.

Step 3: Introduce Key Theories, but Don’t Get Lost in Them

You’re expected to bring in theories that relate to well-being. Not all of them are called “well-being theories” per se, but they help explain why people feel better or worse at work.

Here are some of the most relevant ones:

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• You probably know this one, the pyramid, basic needs at the bottom (food, shelter, safety), going up to self-actualisation.
• In a work context, the idea is, if you’re worrying about your rent or feeling unsafe in your job, you’re not going to be reaching for personal growth or achievement.
• It’s dated, yes, and quite individualistic. Still, it gives a decent starting point for understanding layers of needs.

Critically? You might question how well it fits modern work. It was designed in a very different era, and it doesn’t really consider team dynamics or cultural expectations.

Diener’s Subjective Well-being Theory

• This one’s about how people perceive their own well-being, a mix of positive emotions and life satisfaction.
• At work, it can be influenced by relationships with colleagues, workload, autonomy, even office design.

Critically? It’s very subjective, which is both a strength and a weakness. On one hand, it reminds us that well-being isn’t just about health & safety checklists. On the other hand, it’s hard to measure or “manage” subjective well-being in large organisations.

Job Demand-Control (Karasek)

• This theory says well-being depends on two key things, the demands of the job and how much control the worker has.
• High demands + low control = stress, poor well-being.
• High demands + high control = more manageable.

Critically? This fits many jobs, but perhaps not all. In highly routine roles (say, in hospitality or security), control is naturally limited, and that doesn’t always lead to burnout. So again, context matters.

PERMA Model (Seligman)

• Positive psychology angle, well-being comes from Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Achievement.
• It’s very people-centred, good for HR-focused roles or organisations that prioritise culture.

Critically? Some argue it feels a bit too American self-help at times. It also assumes people are seeking personal fulfilment from work, which isn’t always true. For some, work is work. That’s okay.

Step 4: Apply These to a Case Study

Let’s say we’re using a UK-based hotel group like Inter Luxe Hotel Group, perhaps that’s your actual case study?

Now try this:

In the Inter Luxe hotel group, where teams work under high pressure during tourist seasons, the Job Demand-Control model seems particularly relevant. Staff are expected to perform to high standards, but have limited input into shift patterns or operational decisions. This imbalance appears to contribute to high turnover during peak months, suggesting reduced well-being among front-line teams.

Meanwhile, management has rolled out new employee recognition programmes, aligning loosely with PERMA’s idea of promoting meaning and achievement. Early feedback suggests employees feel more valued, but engagement scores remain patchy, possibly due to lack of flexibility around work-life balance.

What you’re doing here is connecting theory to reality. You don’t need perfect data, just believable observations, grounded in the logic of the theory. That’s what assessors want to see.

Step 5: Offer a Thoughtful Wrap-up Without ‘Concluding’

You don’t need a formal “conclusion”. You just need to show that you’ve reflected on what you’ve covered.

Something like:

Well-being at work isn’t pinned down by a single definition or theory. It’s influenced by everything from psychological factors to working hours. The theories offer useful lenses, but each has its blind spots, especially when applied across different roles or cultural contexts. Perhaps that’s the point, organisations need a flexible approach, guided by theory but shaped by reality.

That shows maturity of thought. No sweeping claims. Just clear thinking.

Tips

• Don’t overload your writing with theories. Two or three applied properly are better than five thrown in without context.
• Name the theory, explain it briefly, and apply it to a case. That’s the golden structure.
• Always point out limits. Even theories you agree with have flaws.
• Bring in voice. You can write things like “We might see this theory as useful where…” or “This doesn’t always hold true, especially when…”

AC1.1 – Critically evaluate the key theories and definitions that relate to well-being at work

Well-being at work. On the surface, that sounds straightforward. Most of us could point to what makes a job feel “okay” versus completely draining, supportive colleagues, fair pay, manageable workloads, or just having a manager who listens. But when it comes to evaluating the theories behind this, things get a bit more complicated. There isn’t really one tidy definition, and what works for one setting doesn’t always hold up in another.

If we take a moment to look at what organisations, especially in the UK, tend to focus on, we’ll find some consistency around four or five main areas, mental health, physical safety, work-life balance, financial stability, and, maybe less talked about, the sense of meaning or fulfilment. Still, even that list feels incomplete. Is job security part of well-being? Is autonomy? What about feeling like you can speak up without being ignored?

The CIPD suggests that workplace well-being includes mental, physical, financial, and social aspects, and that makes sense, it’s hard to focus on a job if your pay doesn’t cover rent or if your workload eats into every evening. But even that depends on personal context, doesn’t it? A graduate trainee living with their parents might not feel the same financial pressure as a single parent on a zero-hours contract. So, right from the start, we’re looking at a topic that’s far from one-size-fits-all.

Understanding well-being through theory

We could start with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, and yes, it’s been criticised over the years, but it still offers a useful lens. Maslow suggested that people are motivated to meet basic needs first (like food, safety) before striving for higher needs like esteem or self-actualisation. In workplace terms, that means if someone’s job doesn’t offer physical safety, fair wages, or a predictable schedule, they’re unlikely to care much about personal development programmes or “engagement” initiatives.

At Inter Luxe Hotel Group, a hospitality business operating in both city and coastal areas, this could play out in different ways. In the resort hotels, where work is seasonal and pay is often low, the “base” of the hierarchy might feel more fragile. Staff may be more concerned about shifts and rent than about whether their job is personally fulfilling. In city hotels, where contracts might be more stable, there’s probably more room to think about development or progression. Still, Maslow’s theory tends to assume people move in a fixed order, and that doesn’t always reflect reality. Some people seek meaning even in insecure conditions. Others might feel fully “actualised” doing a repetitive but stable job. So, useful, yes, but not foolproof.

Another widely referenced model is Karasek’s Job Demand-Control Theory. It focuses on the balance between how demanding a job is and how much control the worker has. High demand plus low control usually predicts stress, burnout, and, over time, poorer health outcomes. At Inter Luxe, reception staff or housekeeping teams might face tight deadlines, high customer expectations, and strict processes, all high-demand, low-control scenarios. The hotel chain has tried to give more shift flexibility and staff input into scheduling, which, from this model’s perspective, should improve well-being. Still, it’s not just about control. You can give someone a bit more say in their rota, but if staffing levels stay too low, the demands might outweigh any benefit.

Then there’s the PERMA model from Seligman, Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Achievement. This theory doesn’t focus on stress or illness; instead, it looks at how people flourish. Some organisations, especially those with strong values-led cultures, have embraced this. At Inter Luxe, management introduced an employee recognition scheme aimed at boosting engagement and relationships, giving praise in weekly meetings, encouraging teams to nominate colleagues for awards. The idea was to create positive energy and a sense of meaning. That said, not everyone reacted the same way. Some staff appreciated the effort; others saw it as a distraction, or worse, a mask for deeper issues like low pay or poor job security. That seems to be a common theme in many workplaces. You can promote positivity, but if the underlying conditions are poor, it won’t always land.

Diener’s Subjective Well-being theory also deserves mention. It looks at how people feel about their lives, not just externally, but internally. It brings attention to things like mood, satisfaction, and emotional resilience. In some ways, this overlaps with PERMA. But unlike Maslow or Karasek, it’s harder to measure or influence directly. Managers might struggle with this because it’s hard to “see” someone’s internal well-being. Two employees in the same role might feel completely different, one optimistic, the other overwhelmed, and unless someone says something, it often goes unnoticed.

No single theory fits all

So where does this leave us? Honestly, probably somewhere in between. The theories are helpful, they offer structure, language, and ways to explain what we’re seeing. But they each carry assumptions. Some are too individualistic. Others ignore broader issues like workplace culture, management style, or societal pressure.

Even at Inter Luxe, the management team found that what improved well-being in one hotel didn’t always work in another. A flexible rota policy helped boost morale in one city location but caused tension in a smaller resort where cover was harder to arrange. Theories can guide, but they don’t always predict.

What we’re left with is this, well-being at work is shaped by a complex web of personal, social, and organisational factors. Theories like Maslow’s hierarchy, Job Demand-Control, PERMA, and Subjective Well-being each capture part of the picture, sometimes a very useful part. But they’re not complete. They weren’t designed with today’s working realities in mind, hybrid working, rising living costs, cultural diversity, or the emotional weight of frontline service work. Perhaps the real skill, especially for people professionals, lies not in choosing one theory but in knowing when each one helps us ask better questions. And maybe knowing that no answer is final just useful, for now.

AC1.2 Evaluate why well-being is important for employers and employees.

I’ll assume we are working with a hypothetical case study a UK-based hotel chain like Inter Luxe Hotel Group, managing multiple properties with diverse workforces across both coastal resorts and city centres.

Let’s break it down together.

First, what is the assessor looking for?

When you’re asked to evaluate, you’re being told. Go beyond describing. Don’t just list reasons, weigh them. Think about why it matters, how much, to whom, in what context, and what might affect the outcome.

So this isn’t just: “Employee well-being is important because happy staff = good performance.”

You’re expected to go further. Explore why it matters to employers (business outcomes, perhaps cost implications, retention), then explore why it matters to employees (health, job satisfaction, maybe family balance?). And throughout, keep in mind, how do these two sides influence each other? That’s where the deeper thinking lies.

Let’s go step by step, using Inter Luxe Hotel Group as our example.

Step 1: Define well-being, but keep it simple

Don’t start with a textbook quote. Just explain it like you’re talking to someone sitting across from you.

Something like: When we talk about well-being at work, we’re usually thinking about how someone feels day to day, physically, mentally, emotionally. It could include whether they feel stressed, whether their workload is manageable, whether they get on with their manager, and even things like financial pressures or sleep quality.

Some people stretch it to include things like purpose or career development and that’s fine, but for our purposes, we can keep the focus on health, stress, safety, and relationships at work.

Then, maybe briefly note why it’s being talked about more now than before.
For example:

In recent years, particularly after COVID and the shift towards remote or hybrid work in some industries, there’s been more focus on how workplaces affect people’s overall health. But in the hospitality industry, where remote work isn’t really an option, the pressure never really left. Employees have always been expected to be present, upbeat, physically active, even when they’re not feeling great inside.

This opens the door to your case study.

Step 2: Why does well-being matter to employees?

Use realistic thinking, not overly idealistic theory. Think like a tired night manager, or a young receptionist working long shifts.

Here are some possible reasons, each one followed by a case study-based example and a bit of personal-style explanation:

a). Health and safety: Staff who are tired, stressed or overworked are more likely to make mistakes, which can lead to injuries, or worse.

Example: At Inter Luxe’s coastal resort in Cornwall, the cleaning staff work in high heat during peak summer months. If managers ignore their requests for extra breaks or shaded areas, they’re putting physical health at risk. And let’s be honest, once one person faints on shift, it affects morale for everyone.

b). Stress and burnout: Repeated long shifts, last-minute rota changes, and customer complaints build up. Eventually, people crack or quietly quit.

Example: We saw this happen at Inter Luxe’s Edinburgh city branch. The front-of-house team had a high turnover in 2023, not because pay was low, but because staff were constantly covering for others off sick. Management was reactive, not preventative. Nobody talked about mental health until people stopped showing up.

c). Self-worth and feeling valued: You can give someone a payslip, but if they feel invisible, it wears them down.

Example: A chef in one of the Bournemouth hotels described the kitchen like a “machine, either you keep running or you get replaced.” That sort of environment rarely gets the best out of people. And yet, it’s very common in hospitality. So employee well-being, here, isn’t just about mindfulness sessions. It’s about being seen as human.

e). Work-life balance: Some hotel staff live on site or near their place of work. Others commute in from towns an hour away. If rotas change last-minute, or weekend shifts become standard, it chips away at their outside life.

Example: One receptionist, Amira, had to quit after three years not because she didn’t like the work, but because she couldn’t manage childcare with her unpredictable shifts. Her manager said she was a “loss to the team.” But there was never a proper review of how the work schedule was impacting people like her.

Step 3: Why does well-being matter to employers?

Again, keep it real. Not everything is about profits, sometimes it’s just about not being caught out. Here are practical reasons, with case examples and some commentary:

a). Retention and recruitment: People don’t stay where they feel exhausted or uncared for. And they don’t apply to those places either.

Example: Inter Luxe struggled to recruit bar staff in Manchester in 2024. Word had spread, through Glassdoor reviews and casual conversations, that “it’s chaos, and no one backs you up.” Even offering slightly above-market pay didn’t help.

b). Productivity and performance: A staff member who’s well-rested, confident, and feels safe at work is just sharper. More present. More likely to smile at guests.

Example: In one of the Brighton hotels, a new manager brought in scheduled debriefs after evening shifts, 15 minutes to talk, wind down, and raise any issues. It cost a bit of time, yes. But customer ratings improved, and complaints dropped. Staff felt heard. And guests noticed.

c). Reduced absence and liability: Burned-out staff either go off sick or make risky mistakes. And both cost money.

Example: In Leeds, an Inter Luxe housekeeper slipped on a wet floor, one that hadn’t been signed off in the maintenance logbook because the team was short-staffed and in a rush. The accident turned into a legal issue, and the employee was out for months. It shook the whole department.

d). Brand reputation: No one wants to book a “luxury” hotel where the staff look stressed and miserable. People pick up on these things.

Example: One customer review said: “Lovely views, but the waitress seemed like she wanted to cry, it made us feel uncomfortable.” That alone tells you how much well-being isn’t just an HR issue, it’s a customer-facing one too.

Step 4: Link them together, employees and employers

This doesn’t need to be tidy. In fact, better if it’s not. Something like: Sometimes the relationship between employee well-being and employer outcomes is obvious. If someone’s off sick, you need to cover the shift, or service quality drops. But other times, it’s more obvious. A manager who listens, really listens can prevent a resignation just by being present at the right moment. That’s not a metric. You won’t find it in the data. But over time, those things matter more than the extra 2% margin from squeezing shifts.

Step 5: End by pulling it back to the real world

You’re not being asked to solve the world here. Just reflect, reasonably, and maybe leave a thought hanging.

Well-being isn’t a perk anymore. It’s not the yoga sessions or the fruit bowls in the staff room. It’s the basics, fair treatment, predictable hours, clean uniforms, proper breaks. If employers get that right, everything else flows more easily. But, maybe that’s the problem. It’s easy to say, harder to stick with, especially when budgets are tight and pressure’s high.

Key Tip

Don’t try to list everything. Pick 3–4 key areas, link them to real consequences, and bring in your case study meaningfully. The assessors want to see that you can think like a practitioner, not just repeat theory. If you can show that well-being is about small, daily decisions, not grand HR strategies, you’ll be showing exactly the kind of thinking CIPD wants to see.

CIPD 5CO02 – AC1.2 Evaluate why well-being is important for employers and employees

Well-being at work can mean a lot of things depending on who you ask, but at its core, it’s about how people feel during and around their working lives. That includes their mental and physical health, relationships at work, the sense of being heard, and how work fits in with their personal lives. For a company like Inter Luxe Hotel Group, managing hundreds of employees across both coastal resorts and busy urban hotels, getting well-being right isn’t just a “nice-to-have.” It’s deeply tied to how the business runs.

From the employee’s point of view, well-being is about surviving the demands of work without it taking too much of a toll. It’s not always about perks or extra holidays often, it’s much more basic than that.

Take the cleaning teams at Inter Luxe’s coastal resorts. They often work long, hot shifts turning over rooms during peak tourist season. If they’re understaffed or pressured to cut corners, the stress builds. Some of them have complained that they don’t get time for proper breaks, and it shows, higher sickness absence, more complaints about missed details in rooms, and tension between shifts. These aren’t dramatic incidents, but over time, the emotional and physical strain erodes people’s motivation. You can’t really blame them. If every day feels like an uphill push, people naturally start switching off.

It’s also worth considering how the emotional side of hospitality work affects well-being. At one of the Inter Luxe city hotels in Birmingham, the front desk team shared that aggressive customers during a conference week had really shaken their confidence. No support was offered until someone finally had a panic attack at work. And by then, it felt like the damage was done — trust in management had dropped. Employees were talking among themselves about quitting. One person actually did.

From the employer’s perspective, poor well-being creates visible and hidden costs. Staff absence is one. At Inter Luxe’s hotel in Leeds, the kitchen staff had high levels of unplanned leave in winter, which was blamed on “seasonal flu.” But if you looked closely, most of it followed periods of rota instability and late-night shifts. It wasn’t the flu. It was burnout.

The cost of covering those shifts,  usually at short notice with agency workers, ate into the budget, and service quality dipped. The food and beverage manager even admitted that customer complaints about food delays increased during those weeks. So, the link between staff well-being and performance became obvious, not through data, necessarily, but through the daily realities managers were facing.

There’s also the matter of retention. In the hotel’s London branch, Inter Luxe lost three senior concierges in the same quarter. All had worked there for years, and their reasons for leaving varied, but one thread was clear: they felt overstretched and unheard. The general manager admitted there’d been signs, low engagement in meetings, requests for schedule changes, but they’d been brushed aside because “everyone’s under pressure.” In hindsight, she admitted the cost of replacing them, training new people, and settling them in was far greater than if they’d made time to respond earlier.

So when we say well-being matters for employers, we’re not only talking about ethics, we’re also talking about practical risk management. Accidents are another concern. A housekeeper in the Glasgow branch slipped on a wet stairwell during a double shift. There had been no signage, and the cleaner on duty had raised the issue of broken lighting weeks earlier. The legal costs, reputational hit, and loss of staff trust could’ve been avoided if a culture of care had been in place.

But, of course, it’s not all negative. Some Inter Luxe properties have shown what’s possible when well-being is genuinely prioritised. In Brighton, for instance, a new hotel manager brought in weekly check-ins with team leads, not formal appraisals, just space to ask, “How are you doing?” It sounds small, but morale picked up. Staff started volunteering ideas again. One even led a training session on dealing with difficult guests, something that had previously been seen as the manager’s job. That kind of ownership doesn’t happen unless people feel well and supported.

So really, the importance of well-being shows up in quiet ways. It’s not always measurable. But it seeps into everything, how people speak to guests, how they treat each other, how often they call in sick, how long they stay. In the hospitality industry, where emotional labour is part of the role, looking after staff well-being isn’t just kind, it’s operationally necessary. Still, not every manager sees it that way, and maybe that’s the biggest risk of all, thinking it’s a bonus, not a foundation.

FAQs on CIPD Level 7OS06 Well-Being at Work AC1.1 and AC1.2

1. What is the real-world significance of evaluating well-being theories at work?
Honestly, a lot of theories sound neat on paper, but the point of AC1.1 is to look at how these ideas actually land in practice. Do they explain how people feel at work—or are they just old models we keep repeating? That’s where your analysis should start.

2. Can I combine theory with examples from my own workplace?
Yes, and you should. It’s not about showing off textbook knowledge. Use your own context, even if it’s not perfect. That’s more valuable than pretending the theory applies in a vacuum.

3. How do I approach the idea of ‘why well-being matters’ in AC1.2?
Think both ways, what’s in it for the employee and the employer. You’re not expected to take one side. Consider how wellbeing affects performance, turnover, trust… or just basic human motivation.

4. Is this guide enough to write my assignment?
It helps, but don’t just rely on this alone. Mix it with proper sources, refer to your learning outcomes, and always check what your tutor expects. Think of this as a thinking aid, not the full picture.

5. What if my answer doesn’t feel ‘theoretical’ enough?
That’s a common worry. But CIPD does value real, applied thinking. The theory should support your analysis, not take over the whole thing. If you’re linking ideas back to work scenarios, you’re on the right track.