Volunteer/Looking for psych students who want their research to prevent actual burnout

Looking for psychology/behavioural science students who want to do research that actually gets used. We're building a platform that predicts employee burnout 2-4 weeks before it happens. The AI can spot the warning signs, but here's the problem: managers don't know what to do with that information. They can see someone's struggling, but they don't know when they're "allowed" to step in, what to say, or what actually helps versus what makes things awkward and weird. That's the gap we need to close. What we need Someone to build an evidence-based intervention library grounded in Self-Determination Theory. This means: Manager conversation guides that don't sound like corporate HR speak Self-care suggestions for employees that aren't just "take a bath" Team intervention protocols for when multiple people are burning out HR recommendations when the problem is systemic, not individual This isn't academic work that lives in a drawer. Real managers will use these guides with their teams starting January. The pilots are happening whether we're ready or not. The actual work Literature review What actually works for burnout recovery? What's the evidence for autonomy-supportive leadership? When does psychological safety training stick versus when does it fail? Map the effect sizes, quality ratings, contextual factors. Write the damn thing : Manager guides need opening scripts that don't sound robotic, questions that create space for honest conversation, action plans that actually get done. Employee self-care acts need to address specific needs (autonomy vs. competence vs. relatedness vs. just exhaustion), work for different contexts (remote vs. office, high energy vs. depleted), and have some scientific backing for why they might help. Organise it so developers can use it Tag everything, create selection logic, structure the database. This is volunteer to start - we're bootstrapped and honest about that. But here's what happens if the pilots work: We're raising funds in 2026. If you do great work on this and want to stay involved, there's a real path to a paid role as we scale. Could be continued consulting during pilots (analysing what's working), could be joining the team properly, could be co-authoring research papers if we publish. We're not promising anything we can't deliver, but the trajectory is clear: volunteer foundation work now, paid opportunities if we raise and you want them. Who this works for You're studying psychology, organisational behaviour, occupational health, something adjacent. You care about whether interventions actually work, not just whether they sound good. You're comfortable diving into literature, or at least excited to learn. You want portfolio work showing you can bridge research and practice, not just review papers. Previous work experience doesn't matter. Genuine curiosity about this problem does. What you get out of it Practical experience translating research into something usable. Mentorship from someone who actually works in this field. A portfolio piece that shows a rare skill (most psychology students can critique studies, fewer can design interventions people will actually use). Potential co-authorship if we publish findings. And frankly, the satisfaction of knowing your work might prevent someone's burnout in a real company. Our story (because context matters) In 2002, I was about to be evicted. A stranger helped me find housing with one simple philosophy: "I help you, you help me. Everybody happy." I spent the next 20 years paying that forward. DMAFB brings that same idea into workplaces - predict who's struggling, mobilise acts of kindness and support before things get bad. We've got several hundred volunteers signed up for testing, partnerships with Brunel and London Met building the tech. We finished Founder Institute, we're deliberately not doing more accelerators. MVP launches end of December, pilots start January. Your intervention framework is what makes those pilots actually work instead of just being another wellbeing initiative that fizzles. How to apply Send us three things: 1) Who you are (2-3 sentences, doesn't need to be formal)2) Why this interests you (what draws you to this problem specifically?)3) One quick intervention design sample Pick any workplace challenge you've noticed or studied. Show me: The specific problem (not "burnout" but like "employee can't disconnect after work hours") What you'd recommend based on evidence 1-2 citations supporting it How you'd know if it worked This doesn't need to be polished. We want to see how you think, not whether you can make pretty slides. One or two pages, that's it. Logistics Start: December End: Mid-January Time: 15-20 hours/week Location: Completely remote Meetings: Weekly check-in with team async communication otherwise Applications reviewed rolling - if you're interested, don't wait. Why this actually matters Most burnout is preventable if you catch it early enough. The problem isn't detection (we can predict it 2-4 weeks out). The problem is the gap between "I can see this person is struggling" and "I know what to do about it." Your work will help us close that gap. That's immediate, tangible impact. That's why this matters. #Psychology #OrganisationalPsychology #WorkplaceWellbeing #BurnoutPrevention #SelfDeterminationTheory #BehavioralScience #RemoteWork #VolunteerOpportunity #StudentResearch #AppliedPsychology