Outstanding contribution to Occupational Psychology 2023

We are delighted to share that our Managing Partners, Jo Yarker and Rachel Lewis, have received the award for Outstanding Contribution to Occupational Psychology by the Division of Occupational Psychology (DOP) of the British Psychological Society.

The Division of Occupational Psychology exists to promote the professional interest of occupational psychologists and to support the development of psychology both as a profession and as a body of knowledge and skills.

The Award for Outstanding Contribution to Occupational Psychology recognises those who have made a significant and sustained contribution to the profession. Nominations are assessed by a panel and judged on the areas of Rigour, Impact, Ethics and Originality.

Rachel and Jo's award reflects their contribution across research, education and practice.

Their research and leadership in work, health and wellbeing examines complex problems at the interface of work and health was reconized as world class. They advocate for multi-disciplinary, multi-method approaches in order to create credible and practical outputs that improve wellbeing at work. Over a sustained period of time, they have been successful in securing prestigious tendered funding awards (e.g. The World Health Organisation, Department of Work and Pensions) and published consistently in high impact peer reviewed publications (e.g. Work and Stress, Frontiers).

Their work has informed policy development and practice across the globe. For example, their research on manager behaviour, has been cited as 'key evidence' in government white-papers and guidelines, formed institutional policy and guidance (such as Health and Safety Executive, Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, CIPD and Society of Occupational Medicine) and is embedded in organisational policy and guidance nationally (such as BBC, RSSB, NHS) and globally (e.g. Deakin University, Asahi, International SOS), emphasizing their impact in Occupational Psychology and beyond.

Along side their work at Affinity, Jo and Rachel have led the field in the professional development of occupational psychologists. Following nearly 20 years of leading Masters programmes across UK universities, Jo and Rachel pioneered a new educational model for the profession, launching the first dual accredited Professional Doctorate in Occupational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London. The programme enables students to gain eligibility for both BPS Chartered and HCPC Registered Practitioner Psychologist status. It further fosters high ethical standards which are a driving value for our own work. To date, 25 students have been awarded their Doctorate and 45 students have secured Registered Practitioner Psychologists, with a further 80 students currently on their journey to qualification. This new influx of highly qualified, evidence-based practitioners changes the landscape of Occupational Psychology in the UK, and hopefully in time, will help to drive forward Occupational Psychology's impact in the world of work.