Work Design for Success: Innovative Research and Leading-Edge Practice

The 2024 Centre for Transformative Work Design Conference

Perth, Western Australia | 12-14 February 2024

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The 3-day inaugural Centre for Transformative Work Design (CTWD) Conference 2024 aims to inspire discussion around creating healthier, happier workplaces through work design.

The conference is dedicated to providing solutions for policymakers and industry practitioners, opportunities for research-industry collaborations, innovative research discussions and support for early career researchers.

Don't miss this opportunity to hear from world-leading experts, bridge research and practice, and gain valuable insights adopted by companies and businesses to transform work.

Why attend the conference?

• Connect with like-minded peers from business, academia and government

• Share ideas and contribute to the transformation of work

• Engage in interactive workshops and professional development

• Scholarships available for Early Career academics to assist with travel costs

Who should attend the conference?

• Human resources leaders

• Work, Health and Safety leaders

• Consultants

• Senior leaders

• Regulators

• Policy makers

• Union officials

• Anyone else passionate about creating great work for people

Keynote speakers include:

Professor Sharon Parker

ARC Laureate Fellow, John Curtin Distinguished Professor

Curtin University

Professor Arnold Bakker

Professor of Work and Organisational Psychology

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Professor Evangelia Demerouti

Full Professor

TU/e Eindhoven University of Technology

Professor Maria Tims

Full Professor

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

*further speakers to be advised

Example topics include:

• The SMART Work Design model

• Psychosocial risks

• Job crafting

• Work redesign

• Self-managing teams

• Work design for AI and other digital technologies

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EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST HERE:

bit.ly/eoi-ctwd-conference

For more information, please email:

CTWD-Conference@curtin.edu.au

SMART Design for Care State of Affairs Breakfast 2

Learn what’s driving the high rates of burnout and mental ill-health in the Healthcare & Social Assistance Industry

Do you know the top psychosocial risks in your sector?

Over a nine-year period, the NSW Healthcare and Social Assistance (H&SA) industry lost more than 170,000 working weeks to psychological injury. For the past 18 months, the Design for Care team has been working closely with multiple aged care, disability care and out of home care organisations to better understand what’s driving the high rates of burnout and mental ill-health in this industry.

At the upcoming Design for Care State of Affairs event, ARC Laureate Fellow Professor Sharon Parker will showcase our latest research findings on the most common psychosocial risks for burnout and mental ill-health within the H&SA industry. She'll then unpack how organisations can set themselves up to address these risks through SMART work design.

Event attendees will:

• have a unique opportunity to ask the industry and research panel members questions about promoting better health in your own organisation and your job through SMART work design

• gain industry-specific cutting-edge insights into the key factors driving burnout and mental ill-health within the NSW H&SA industry

• be at the forefront of understanding what the results mean for the future of the H&SA industry, what steps can be taken to build your workforce’s capacity to create mentally healthy workplaces for essential workers

Cost:

Free with complimentary breakfast. Supported by icare NSW.

Who should attend:

Leaders in the area of workplace well-being, mental health, workers compensation and psychosocial risk within the H&SA Industry.

About the keynote speaker:

ARC Laureate Fellow Sharon K. Parker is a John Curtin Distinguished Professor at Curtin University, Director of the Centre for Transformative Work Design at Curtin University, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences and a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology. She is a recipient of the ARCs Kathleen Fitzpatrick Award, the Academy of Management OB Division Mentoring Award and, in November of 2019, Sharon was named among the world’s most influential scientists in the Web of Science Group’s 2019 list of 2019 Highly Cited Researchers, and the only female in Australia appearing on this list in the field of Economics and Business. She has published more than 200 internationally refereed articles on topics such as work design, proactive behaviour, mental health, and job performance, and has over 39,500 citations. She was a past Associate Editor for the Journal of Applied Psychology and Academy of Management Annals. Sharon has attracted competitive research funding worth over $40,000,000, and has worked with a wide range of public and private organizations. She is the founder of the SMART model, cofounder of the Thrive at Work Initiative, and has contributed to policy on work design in Australia and internationally.

About the Design for Care project:

This public event is presented by the SMART Design for Care research project. The Centre for Transformative Work Design is leading the exciting Design for Care initiative in partnership with the University of Sydney Business School and Monash University. ARC Laureate Fellow Professor Sharon Parker heads an experienced team of academics and work psychologists, including Associate Professor Anya Johnson, Associate Professor Helena Nguyen and Professor Alex Collie who are passionate about SMART work design in the H&SA industry. The project is funded by icare NSW.

TO ATTEND THIS EVENT REGISTER HERE.

We are keen to connect with enthusiastic and willing partners within the H&SA industry that are insured by icare NSW to participate in our research. For more information and to express interest in participating in the Design for Care project, head to our webpage or email us.

A PhD with a difference: Dr Cheryl Yam's journey from research to making real world impact

https://vimeo.com/756086661

Upon completing her Masters degree in Industrial and Organisational (IO) Pyschology, Cheryl found herself at crossroads: plunge deeper into the world of academia with a PhD, or jump into the workplace to tackle real-world problems head-on.

Cheryl found the best of both worlds at the Future of Work Institute. With its unique blend of academia and industry expertise, it allowed her to journey down both paths at the same time.

We spoke to Dr Cheryl Yam, our PhD alumni of 2021 who is now a Research Fellow at the Centre for Transformative Work Design, based at Curtin University’s Future of Work Institute (FOWI). She reflected on what inspired her to pursue a PhD, her experiences during her PhD at FOWI, and how her degree has shaped her career.

Cheryl’s curiosity into IO Psychology was first sparked during her Masters program.

"I was particularly interested that there are so many branches under IO Psychology – and all of them work in tandem to improve so many aspects of work – at the individual, team and organisational level," she shares.

FOWI became Cheryl's chosen destination for her PhD, due to its unique position as a world class research institution, paired with its really strong partnership with industry.

"My experience being involved in FOWI’s partnership with industry helped me to contextualise some abstract concepts in a more concrete manner – for example seeing how work design plays out in a real-world context really supported my learning."

One particularly memorable project for Cheryl was when she investigated how surgical teams can improve their performance in extreme surgical conditions.

"Picture a burns unit where surgical teams work in scorching 38°C temperatures, all for the safety of their patients," she explains.

"We know that working in these conditions have negative impacts on a whole array of performance and well-being related outcomes, and we were there to investigate how we might use work design to support surgical teams when their external environments deplete their psychological resources."

Cheryl is now leading a WA Government-funded project investigating mental awareness, respect and the safety of workers within the Western Australian mining industry: the Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Landmark Study.

"I think it is a really unique opportunity, to be able to progress research in a field that you care about, and at the same time having your research support a real-world organisation."

For anyone considering a PhD, Cheryl has some advice: "Speak to lots of people about their experiences, keep reading up on the research and maintain a healthy curiousity about why things work they way they do."

"Build up a really strong network and support system with your supervisors and colleagues," she adds.

Interested in embarking on your own PhD journey? Discover the scholarships on offer, read more inspiring stories and learn how you can kickstart your journey by visiting our 'Study with us' page.