About WorkLife Consulting
Our Aims
WorkLife Consulting specialises in bespoke consultancy to organisations as well as individual coaching. These are examples of what we can offer:
- Business research, including qualitative methods such as interviews and focus groups, as well as on- and off-line quantitative surveys, on a wide range of topics such as stress and work-life balance, satisfaction and engagement, evaluation of training or leadership programmes
- Bespoke training and facilitation: as long or short as you require, using a team of experienced trainers and facilitators. Examples of topics we cover include managing stress, using psychometrics, positive thinking and behaviour
- Coaching: we specialise in worklife balance coaching, and coaching female returners to work following maternity breaks
- Bespoke assessment tools, such as interviews, online application forms or situational judgment tests.
About Almuth McDowall
WorkLife Consulting Ltd. is a London-based consultancy practice owned by Almuth McDowall, BSc, MSc, PhD, CPsychol, AFBPsS. Almuth sees herself as a science-practioner who is committed to making the world of work a better place. Challenged by her then three year old daughter that she is “not really a doctor as she can’t mend broken arms”, Almuth explained “But I can help businesses to make their people happy!”.
Almuth is Professor of Organisational Psychology at Birkbeck College, part of the University of London, and heads up the Organisational Psychology Department. She teaches at postgraduate level as well as providing Doctoral supervision to PhD students. She is also a qualified assessor for the BPS test user certificates of competence in Occupational Testing for Ability Tests practitioners and a qualified test user herself on a range of instruments; see the Psychological Testing Centre web-site for further details.
Almuth also holds certificates in coaching, which feed both into her educational and practical work, and is a Chartered Psychologist, and Registered Occupational Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council, HCPC.
Our Aims
WorkLife Consulting aims to promote the cross fertilisation between research that is rooted in psychological theories and current concerns in practice. Almuth is committed to the core essence of applied psychology: a thorough research- and evidence based approach. This is critical ensuring that what we do has a sound basis, to demonstrate the value and effectiveness of what we do, and the alignment of tangible outcomes for organisations and employees alike. Put simply, we put the welfare of employees and the places they work in at the core of any activities or recommendations. We also emphasise the recognition that work, whilst an integral part of our lives, it not the be all and end all. If we really want to move organisational practice forward, we have to recognise that we need to take an integrated perspective to work, by also recognising people’s personal needs and wants.
Professional Activities
Almuth is the past chair for the Division of Occupational Psychology for the British Psychological Society. She is passionate about the fact that businesses needs psychologists. Psychologists adds value, in very many ways. We can advise on:
- what makes people ‘tick’, and how to train, coach and develop them
- how to prevent stress and illness
- managing your workforce to get the best out of them
- selecting an effective workforce
- good design of work environments and computers
- managing organisational change and development.
Almuth is a regular presenter at national and international conferences, such as the Division of Occupational Psychology’s Annual Conference. She has authored many academic and practitioner papers and has authored a number of books and book chapters including:
- With Professor Stephen Palmer: The Coaching Relationship: Putting people first.
- Chapter in Jonathan Passmore’s book on Psychometrics in Coaching (new edition out now!)
- Contributed to several Chapters in Graham Davey’s textbook on Applied Psychology