Leading HR and employee wellbeing researcher Stephen Bevan has passed away.
Bevan was known for providing deep expertise and insight into how health and wellbeing at work could be improved, over a career that spanned 40 years.
Most recently he was head of HR research development at the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), and for more than two decades acted as the research body’s leading voice on employment policy and practice, advising government bodies, independent reviews, and major employers.
Stephen Bevan
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He joined the Work Foundation in 2002 as research director, and established and chaired the UK Fit for Work Coalition, which champions change in health and work policy and practice to help those with chronic health conditions.
He also set up the Work Foundation’s Health at Work Policy Unit, which conducts research and shapes policy recommendations on health, wellbeing and work. He was made an honorary professor at Lancaster University in 2011.
As well as health and wellbeing, Bevan’s research interests spanned pay and reward, performance management, employee engagement and flexible working – all areas that have a significant impact on people’s working lives.
Bevan was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in 2018 and continued to work through his treatment and recovery. He became an ambassador for Working with Cancer, aiming to improve awareness of how employers can support staff following a cancer diagnosis.
He is survived by his wife Jenny, his four children and seven grandchildren.
IES director Tony Wilson has published an obituary to Stephen, as well as a selection of his articles on topics ranging from reducing health-related job loss among older workers to bullying in the workplace.
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