105450Feasibility of 1-hour and 30-minute lifestyle behaviour change interventions designed to improve employee health and productivity in SME'sClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKWork-related ill health accounts for some 28 million working days lost a year in Great Britain (HSE, 2006). There is a larger impact than purely absence and this is the effect of presenteeism. This can be defined as 'health-related impairment in productivity while at work' or 'reduced productivity while at work' (Prasad et al, 2004). Presenteeism due to workers' being in work and ill can cut individual productivity by one third or more (CIPD's guide for SME's sickness absence). SME's in particular suffer greater negative effects on their productivity due to their size and it is therefore recognised that a healthy and well workforce will be more productive.UK workplaces are considered important settings for promoting wellbeing. A number of approaches have been implemented in an attempt to support employees in initiating positive lifestyle changes such as increasing physical activity, modifying diet and reducing smoking and excessive alcohol intake. However, many of these interventions focus on passive approaches such as information exchange and pay scant attention to the need for employee engagement toward both the initiation and maintenance of lifestyle behaviour changes. They also often fail to use interventions underpinned by scientific evidence and in managing relapses. Wellness programmes need to offer tailored interventions which support those ambivalent to change as well as action-orientated employees, which include baseline and follow-up conversations about change and assessments of their current health status. The proposed project will be based on a successful workplace wellness programme already delivered by SHU through both NHS and medium sized private sector partners. These are evidence-based approaches underpinned by behaviour change theory delivered by trained practitioners. This approach allows for high quality monitoring and evaluation to ensure reporting of the impact of the intervention using validated and widely recognised measures including logic modelling. We want to test the feasibility of adapting this successful model to the SME sector in a sustainable and cost effective way. The project will test our 1-hour lifestyle behaviour change intervention and a 30-minute streamlined version against an information only control group. Both interventions will be delivered using Motivational Interviewing (MI) techniques and will consist of baseline measurements with goal setting and strategies for self-monitoring, follow-up email support and a repeat follow-up session after 6-months. This person-centered, bespoke approach is widely accepted in health psychology literature to be effective in developing autonomous change. Ultimately this should have a lasting positive effect on productivity.