National Fire & Rescue Service Wellbeing and Culture Monitor
2025-26 National Insights - Understanding workforce wellbeing, organisational culture, and working life across participating UK Fire and Rescue Services.The National Fire & Rescue Service Wellbeing and Culture Monitor provides independent, research-led insights into the experiences of people working across Fire and Rescue Services.
Drawing on staff survey evidence, the Monitor explores workforce wellbeing, leadership, workplace demands, organisational trust, belonging and the wider conditions that shape working life.
Developed through the CultureSpark Programme at the University of Huddersfield, the Monitor is building a national evidence base to understand shared challenges, identify organisational strengths and support evidence-informed improvements to workplace culture and wellbeing.
About the 2025–26 National Insights
The 2025–26 findings bring together survey responses from two participating Fire and Rescue Services, providing an initial cross-service picture of workforce wellbeing, leadership and organisational culture.
The findings represent the experiences of respondents within participating services and should not be interpreted as nationally representative. As participation expands, the Monitor will develop a broader evidence base to support cross-service learning, identify shared challenges and examine changes in workplace culture and wellbeing over time.
2025–26 National Insights at a Glance
A snapshot of workforce wellbeing and organisational culture
The 2025–26 findings provide an initial cross-service picture of workforce wellbeing and organisational culture across participating Fire and Rescue Services.
The headline findings show important strengths in colleague support, alongside significant challenges relating to psychological wellbeing, workplace bullying and support for emotionally demanding work.
Together, these results highlight the importance of understanding both immediate workplace relationships and the wider organisational conditions that shape working life.
%
Percentage of FRS employees reporting poor mental wellbeing
37% of respondents scored below the WHO-5 wellbeing threshold, indicating poor psychological wellbeing and a potential need for further assessment.
%
Reported experiencing workplace bullying
One in eight respondents reported being subjected to bullying at work sometimes, often or always during the previous six months.
%
Support with emotionally demanding work
Just over half of respondents agreed they were supported when dealing with emotionally demanding work.
%
Support from colleagues
Four in five respondents agreed that colleagues were willing to listen to their work-related problems.
What does the national picture tell us?
The national findings reveal a mixed picture of working life across participating Fire and Rescue Services.
Support from colleagues emerges as a clear strength, with four in five respondents reporting that colleagues are willing to listen to work-related problems. However, more than one in three respondents scored below the threshold for poor psychological wellbeing, and one in eight reported experiencing bullying at work sometimes, often or always during the previous six months.
The findings also indicate that support for emotionally demanding work is less consistently experienced, with just over half of respondents agreeing that they receive the support they need in this area.
Taken together, these results suggest that positive everyday relationships can coexist with significant pressures on wellbeing and uneven organisational support. Strengthening workplace culture therefore requires attention not only to team relationships, but also to the systems, practices and support structures that shape employees’ experiences of work.
Understanding the Index Scores
Measuring the conditions that shape working life
The Monitor uses established psychological and organisational measures to examine different aspects of employees’ working experiences. Findings are organised into three interconnected dimensions: Stress and Wellbeing; Leadership and Engagement; and Culture, Belonging and Equity.
Each dimension provides a distinct perspective on working life, helping identify organisational strengths, areas of concern and opportunities for improvement.
Most indices are presented on a standardised 0–100 scale, with higher scores generally reflecting more favourable experiences where measures have been positively oriented. Some indicators use different scoring approaches and should be interpreted according to their individual definitions.
Examining these measures together provides a more comprehensive picture of organisational culture and wellbeing than relying on any single indicator. Consistent measurement also enables comparisons between participating services and over time, where methodologically appropriate.
Stress and Wellbeing
Understanding psychological wellbeing and the conditions of work
Workforce wellbeing is shaped by the interaction between employees’ experiences, the demands of their work and the organisational resources available to support them.
This dimension examines psychological wellbeing using the World Health Organization’s WHO-5 Well-Being Index, alongside psychosocial working conditions measured through the Health and Safety Executive’s Management Standards Indicator Tool.
These measures explore workplace demands, job control, management and peer support, working relationships, role clarity and organisational change. Together, they provide insight into the conditions that may contribute to work-related stress or support healthier working environments.
Psychological Wellbeing Index
Job Demands Index
Job Control Index
Manager Support Index
Peer Support Index
Work Relationships Index
Work Role Index
Change Index
What the Findings Tell Us
The 2025–26 findings reveal important strengths in immediate working relationships, particularly peer support, workplace relationships and role clarity.
However, less favourable findings relating to organisational change, alongside concerns about psychological wellbeing, highlight challenges within the wider working environment.
The findings suggest that positive relationships between colleagues do not necessarily protect employees from all the pressures associated with their work or the wider organisation.
Understanding and improving workforce wellbeing therefore requires attention to both individual experiences and the organisational conditions that shape them, including work demands, communication, support and the management of change.
Leadership and Engagement
Understanding leadership and organisational engagement
Leadership influences how employees experience their working environment, their relationships with the organisation and their confidence in its direction.
This dimension examines experiences of transformational leadership across line management, middle management and senior leadership, alongside job satisfaction, organisational commitment, employee advocacy and turnover intentions.
By examining leadership at different organisational levels, the Monitor helps identify where employees experience effective leadership and where greater consistency, visibility and trust may be needed.
Measures of engagement and commitment provide further insight into how employees feel about their organisation, their satisfaction with working there and their intentions to remain.
Line Manager Leadership Index
Middle Manager Leadership Index
Senior Leader Leadership Index
Job Satisfaction Index
Turnover Intentions Index
Advocacy Index
Engagement & Commitment Index
What the Findings Tell Us
The findings reveal differences in how leadership is experienced across organisational levels, with line manager leadership receiving more favourable assessments than middle management and senior leadership.
This suggests that immediate line management may be an important source of support and positive leadership experiences, while confidence in leadership across the wider organisation presents opportunities for development.
The findings highlight the importance of strengthening leadership consistency, visibility, communication and trust throughout the organisational hierarchy.
They also reinforce the connection between leadership and employees’ wider organisational experiences, including whether they feel valued, supported, treated fairly and confident in the organisation’s direction.
Culture, Belonging, and Equity
Understanding workplace culture, fairness and belonging
Organisational culture is reflected in employees’ everyday experiences, workplace relationships and perceptions of how organisational values are demonstrated in practice.
This dimension examines fairness, inclusion, psychological safety, inappropriate behaviour and the extent to which organisational values and the Core Code of Ethics are reflected in workplace culture.
Together, these measures explore whether employees feel respected, included and able to raise concerns, alongside their confidence in organisational decision-making, accountability and the handling of inappropriate behaviour.
The findings help identify strengths in workplace relationships and inclusion, while highlighting where organisational practices and behaviours may undermine trust, fairness and belonging.
Equity & Trust Index
Inappropriate Behaviour Index
EDI Engagement Index
Safe and Inclusive Workplace Index
Psychological Safety Index
Core Code of Ethics Climate Index
Code of Ethics Behaviour Index
What the Findings Tell Us
The findings present a mixed picture of organisational culture across participating services.
Positive assessments of equality, diversity and inclusion, alongside aspects of psychological safety, suggest that many respondents experience supportive and inclusive working environments.
However, procedural justice emerges as a particular area for development, indicating concerns about the perceived fairness and transparency of organisational decision-making.
The findings also demonstrate that inappropriate behaviour and bullying remain important workplace concerns, despite positive experiences reported in other aspects of organisational culture.
These contrasts highlight the importance of distinguishing between employees’ experiences within their immediate teams and their perceptions of the wider organisation.
Developing a healthy organisational culture requires more than positive interpersonal relationships. It also depends on fair organisational processes, consistent leadership, appropriate behaviours and confidence that concerns will be addressed.
Understanding the National Picture
What the 2025–26 Findings Identify
The 2025–26 National Insights highlight several interconnected patterns in workforce wellbeing, leadership and organisational culture across participating Fire and Rescue Services.
Stronger relationships within teams than across the wider organisation
Immediate workplace relationships emerge as a relative strength, particularly peer support, role clarity and line manager leadership.
However, less favourable findings relating to organisational change, procedural justice and senior leadership suggest that employees’ experiences of their immediate working environment may differ from their perceptions of the wider organisation.
Wellbeing is closely connected to the conditions of work
The findings highlight concerns about psychological wellbeing and the availability of support for emotionally demanding work.
These results reinforce the importance of understanding workforce wellbeing within its organisational context, including workplace demands, management practices, available support and how organisational change is experienced.
Positive workplace experiences can coexist with harmful behaviours
Relatively favourable findings for colleague support, inclusion and aspects of psychological safety sit alongside reported experiences of bullying and inappropriate behaviour.
This demonstrates the importance of examining multiple dimensions of culture, recognising that positive experiences in one area do not necessarily indicate that other aspects of the working environment are equally positive.
From evidence to organisational improvement
Together, these findings provide a foundation for understanding how working relationships, leadership and organisational processes contribute to employees’ experiences.
The Monitor aims to support constructive discussion, organisational learning and evidence-informed action, helping Fire and Rescue Services identify priorities for strengthening workforce wellbeing, leadership and workplace culture.
Explore the National Insights
Detailed Findings Across the Three Dimensions
Explore the interactive dashboards for a more detailed examination of workforce wellbeing, leadership and organisational culture.
Each dashboard presents the relevant indices alongside further survey findings, providing opportunities to examine patterns, understand organisational strengths and challenges, and identify areas for further investigation.
Stress and Wellbeing Dashboard
Explore psychological wellbeing, workplace demands and the organisational conditions associated with work-related stress and employee support.
Leadership and Engagement Dashboard
Examine leadership experiences across organisational levels, alongside job satisfaction, organisational commitment, employee advocacy and turnover intentions.
Culture, Equity, and Belonging Dashboard
Explore workplace fairness, psychological safety, equality, diversity and inclusion, inappropriate behaviour and organisational ethics.
Join the National Monitor
Building a Stronger National Evidence Base
The National Fire & Rescue Service Wellbeing and Culture Monitor is expanding participation to develop a broader evidence base on workforce wellbeing, leadership and organisational culture across UK Fire and Rescue Services.
Participating services can benefit from independent, research-led analysis of employee experiences, helping identify organisational strengths, understand challenges and inform priorities for improvement.
Through consistent measurement, the Monitor also offers opportunities to contribute to cross-service learning and develop a better understanding of how workplace culture and wellbeing evolve over time.
The ambition is not simply to measure organisational culture, but to support meaningful organisational learning and improvement.
Interested in Your Service Taking Part?
Contact the CultureSpark research team at the University of Huddersfield to discuss participation and how the Monitor could support your Service’s culture, leadership and wellbeing priorities.