Guest blog by Dr Fiona Day
Workplace coaching has moved from being a “nice-to-have” buzzword to an empirically supported intervention in occupational health contexts. For occupational health leaders committed to evidence-based practice, understanding what the evidence says about coaching is essential.
At its core, coaching is a collaborative, reflective, client-centred process designed to support self-directed change, whether that is improving performance, clarity of goals, or wellbeing. Contemporary research positions coaching as a psychologically informed intervention, drawing on adult learning theory, cognitive-behavioural psychology, and positive psychology. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses consistently demonstrate positive effects on a wide range of cognitive, affective, and skills outcomes at individual and team levels when coaching is delivered by trained and accredited practitioners using structured models. Coaching offers a credible, evidence-based addition to inclusive workforce strategies. When integrated ethically and delivered by appropriately trained and accredited professionals, coaching enhances both health and work outcomes.
Coaching as a leadership skill involves listening deeply, asking insightful questions, and supporting others to generate their own solutions. Research consistently links coaching-style leadership with higher engagement, psychological safety, and performance. Leaders who coach foster autonomy and accountability rather than dependency.
Coaches should be trained but also individually accredited with recognised professional bodies such as the European Mentoring and Coaching Council: their ‘European Individual Accreditation (EIA)’ award is a whole-of-practice ‘license’ combined with a five-yearly revalidation process. Coaches who are also Chartered Psychologists (the highest level of award for a psychologist) are known as ‘Coaching Psychologists’: psychologically informed coaching has even greater impact on outcomes.
Mentoring
By contrast, mentoring draws on experience and relational depth. Evidence shows mentoring supports professional identity development, career progression, and retention, particularly for those navigating complex systems or leadership transitions. Mentoring relationships provide contextual wisdom, organisational insight, and role modelling. The strongest leadership development approaches begin with a coaching approach, augmented by a mentoring approach.
Career Decisions
Career decision-making is a major determinant of occupational wellbeing. Individuals navigating career transitions frequently experience uncertainty, stress, and identity disruption - all of which have implications for mental health, engagement, and retention. Workplace coaching offers a structured yet non-directive approach to career decision-making. Unlike advice-giving, coaching facilitates reflective exploration of values, strengths, interests, and constraints, enabling individuals to make decisions they can own and sustain. Emerging research, including randomised controlled studies with healthcare trainees, demonstrates that coaching improves career decision self-efficacy, self-concept clarity, and reduces decision-related stress.
Three psychological mechanisms underpin these outcomes: enhanced self-awareness, increased confidence in decision-making ability, and reduced perceived time pressure. These mechanisms are particularly relevant in occupational health contexts where career decisions are often influenced by health conditions, organisational change, or return-to-work planning. Career coaching is increasingly used to support return-to-work following long-term absence, career adaptation following illness or disability, and leadership transitions. For neurodivergent individuals, coaching can support realistic career alignment and sustainable role design.
Occupational health services that integrate career coaching report greater engagement, clearer planning, and improved long-term outcomes. Coaching represents a proactive, preventative intervention that supports both individual wellbeing and organisational resilience. Embedding coaching and mentoring into leadership practice signals a commitment to people, learning, and sustainable performance. Developing these skills within leadership teams strengthens organisational resilience and supports healthier, more engaged workforces.
Dr Fiona Day DipOccMed FFPH is a Chartered Coaching Psychologist accredited by the British Psychological Society, and by EMCC as a Master Practitioner Coach & Mentor. Fiona focuses on coaching medical and public health leaders, and also trains health leaders in coaching and mentoring skills at EMCC EQA Foundation Level. Get 3 hours of FREE CPD with Fiona’s ‘Health Career Success Programme’ here, and listen to her podcast ‘Transformational Thinking for Health Leaders’ here.