‘Performance-led culture puts wellbeing at risk’
10 September 2026
Employers need to put the emphasis on robust sickness prevention rather than robust sickness management if they are to optimise performance and service delivery, according to West Midlands Police Federation’s health and safety and wellbeing lead.
Ali Rowe, speaking on World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10), said organisations’ performance-led culture risked putting staff wellbeing at risk.
“It’s really positive that organisations are improving in having measures and support in place to signpost people to help when they get to crisis point but that is only part of the important support that is needed. More needs to be done to prevent people getting to that crisis in the first place and to create safe spaces for them psychologically,” says Ali.
Proactive
“There needs to be a shift in emphasis. I have heard senior leaders within the Force, for example, saying they are taking a ‘robust’ approach to managing officer and staff sickness but I have rarely heard anyone say they are taking a proactive stance in terms of robustly preventing that sickness in the first place.
“We are rightly performance driven as we want to provide the best possible service to the public, but what happens to performance and service to the public if people are off sick because the pressures of the job are just too much for them - or even if they are so weighed down that they aren’t able to function to their potential?
“Officers appreciate there is little that can be done about the increasing demands of policing, but I think employers generally just need to focus more on the wellbeing of their employees to help meet these demands without breaking them.
“We cannot expect people to keep working over their normal working hours and not be affected by that. Of course, there are times when you have to work beyond your shift, that is the nature of policing, we all know that. But when it becomes an expectation that you will continually work longer hours that is damaging. We can’t keep doing that week after week after week and in some cases there are not even effective recording systems in place for us to see what hours an officer is working.
“Staff and officer wellbeing is not just a nice to have, it is critical and it should be seen as a strategic advantage for any organisation to have a healthy and motivated workforce; they then become the foundation blocks on which success is built.”
Ali’s views have been echoed by West Midlands Police Federation branch chair Jess Davies who is also concerned about the impact long-drawn-out conduct investigations are having on officer wellbeing.
Misconduct
Jess said: “I’m absolutely appalled that the new expected timescales should an officer find themselves subjected to a gross misconduct investigation is a minimum of two years, and then even longer if it actually proceeds to a hearing.
“This is due to the sheer volume of cases and staffing levels, but is totally unacceptable given the strain it puts on the officers involved, their families and also their colleagues.”
Ali is acutely aware of how important it is to support people who are struggling mentally. While he was a teenager, both his Dad and his grandma took their own lives.
“I think there can be a tendency to put the onus on people reaching out for help and support when they are feeling under pressure, and they don’t always do that,” says Ali, “But when they do, we need to make sure that they are listened to and that line managers and supervisors react in the right way, by enabling them to take the time away from work they need.
“It’s no good telling someone ‘well, we are all under pressure, we have to get on with it’ . It can take a lot for someone to come forward and admit they are struggling so we need to create a culture where they know that in doing so they will be taken seriously and that it will not be seen as a weakness or a lack of resilience.
“Every officer should be able to say ‘I am starting to get stressed, things are getting on top of me’ and be met by their supervisor and SLT asking what can be done to help them.
People Boards
“A good starting point might be the new People Boards that are being rolled out across the Force area. As a Federation, we welcome the fact the Force has a good People Strategy and the People Boards which should be set up in all LPA and departments are part of that - I am personally trying to get invites to support all of their progresses.”
World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) was established in 2003 by the International Association for Suicide Prevention in partnership with the World Health Organisation.
Each year, on 10 September, WSPD focuses global attention on suicide prevention, uniting communities, organisations, and governments with the shared belief that suicides are preventable.
For help and support, contact:
Mental Health First Aid England
Oscar Kilo - the National Police Wellbeing Service
Policing Mental Health Crisis Line
More organisations offering support can also be found listed on the Police Federation website.
