Beyond Symptoms: A Call for Collaboration on the RISE Europe Pilot
To our fellow workplace wellbeing advocates, HR innovators, and organizational bloggers:
Companies invest substantially in wellbeing programs and employee assistance, yet participation data rarely reveals if these investments actually build the foundation for sustainable mental health and performance. Are we merely treating distress after it arises, or are we strengthening resilience?
Rypple (a Netherlands-based non-profit) and Signal Studio (a Bangalore-based research firm) are proposing a new corporate pilot to address this gap using the Workplace Mental Health (WMH) framework.
The core of this framework is the employee's "Sense of Self," which encompasses self-worth, self-concept clarity, and self-efficacy. Signal Studio's Iti Bhargava tested this model across factory and corporate sites in India. Iti's analysis yielded a profound insight: an employee's Sense of Self explained more variance in depressive symptoms than workplace stress did. Remarkably, Iti found that when an employee has a high Sense of Self, the effect of stress on mental health is effectively zero.
Now, the core research question is whether this sense of self exists as a coherent, measurable construct in European workplaces.
We are looking for a partner. We are actively seeking a forward-looking employer partner in the Netherlands or Germany, ideally with 300 or more participating employees, to co-design the first European test of this model.
The pilot will include:
A confidential employee survey covering workplace stress, sense of self, and mental health outcomes.
A mapping of existing wellbeing provisions against where low Sense of Self and symptom burdens are concentrated.
Qualitative focus groups to explore employee experiences and organizational practices.
Participating organizations will gain a much clearer evidence base for their wellbeing spending, alongside recognition as a research partner advancing preventive workplace mental health.
For comprehensive details on the study's data principles, mixed-methods approach, and partner benefits, please refer to the attached document: "RISE Europe Pilot Concept Note.docx.pdf".
If your organization is exploring workplace innovations like a four-day workweek, or simply seeking stronger evidence on existing wellbeing programs, we invite you to explore becoming the first European partner for RISE.
Let's collaborate to redefine workplace mental health. To start the conversation, please contact Ushma Issar (ushma@rypple.org) or Iti Bhargava (iti@signalstudio.in).
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