The rise of insecure work - Podcast

So much has changed since the year 2000. We’re no longer texting using the number pad of an old-school Nokia. For some of us, our smart phone now provides our pay check. In the last 20 years, the way we’re employed has evolved almost as quickly as our mobile phones. For a lot of us that means our work has become a lot less secure than it once was.

In this episode "The rise of insecure work" of the This Working Life podcast, host Lisa Leong delves into the rise in insecure work – how it’s grown, the impact it’s had on us and what we can do about it.

Most of us are well aware of the negative effect of this kind of work on our health, but perhaps the most surprising impact is on our personality. Professor Sharon Parker is an expert in employee growth and development from Curtin University. She's part of a research team who studied the link between this kind of work and changes in our personalities by tracking over a thousand Australians for more than a decade.

Her research argues that insecurity and its negative effects can be mitigated by the combined actions of individuals themselves, organisations, and government. Individuals can proactively build their skills and networks to enhance their employability; organisations can support employees transitions to new jobs when automation or other changes are introduced; and government can put in place active labor market policies such as supported training programs.

Sharon Parker ranked in Stanford study of the world's top 2% scientists

Professor Sharon Parker has been featured among the World's Top 2% Scientists List, according to a Stanford University study.

This study features 100,000 scientists and recognized Professor Parker as one of the world's most-cited researchers, ranking #119 from more than 35,000 researchers in the sub-area "Business and Management".

Looking at several indicators, this study analysed data from 1996 through 2019, covering ~7 million scientists in 22 major fields ranging from chemistry, engineering, economics and business.

The study was released on 16th October 2020 in PLOS Biology by Prof. John P. A. Loannidis of the Stanford University, USA and his team.

The database was created to provide updated analyses and a publicly available database of 100,000 top Scientists that provide standardized information on citations, h-index(an index to measure an individual’s scientific research output ), co-authorship-adjusted hm-index, citations to papers in different authorship positions, and a composite indicator. Such citation metric provides a basis to measure and reflect the impact of a published journal.

The study can be found here.

The full list can be found here.

Two Curtin researchers awarded Forrest Research Prospect Fellowships

From Curtin University Media Release

Two researchers from Curtin University’s Future of Work Institute have been awarded Prospect Fellowships by the Forrest Research Foundation.

Dr Michael David Wilson’s research will investigate methods to understand the dynamics of fatigue and wellbeing across time in safety-critical workplaces, and Dr Georgia Hay’s work will look into the psychology behind effective collaboration in intensively interdisciplinary healthcare teams.

Curtin University Vice-Chancellor Professor John Cordery congratulated Dr Wilson and Dr Hay for being recognised as part of the program.

“It has never been more important to invest in Australia’s research community and this new program will retain some of the brightest PhD graduates in Western Australia to continue their research studies,” Professor Cordery said.

“Dr Wilson’s research will help to answer some of the fundamental questions about mental wellbeing in the workforce and support the positive growth of mental health initiatives in Western Australian workers. Dr Hay will develop an evidence-based framework for the design of effective interdisciplinary teams in healthcare work, forging new pathways in psychological sciences and healthcare.

“COVID-19 has had significant impacts on both our workplaces and our health care system, so these research projects are both timely and incredibly important. We are very excited for Dr Wilson and Dr Hay to continue their research careers with us at our Future of Work Institute.”

The Forrest Research Foundation awarded 13 Prospect Fellowships to Australian and New Zealand citizens and Australian permanent residents who completed their PhD on or after 1 January 2019 to pursue post-doctoral research at any of Western Australia’s five universities.

The Prospect Fellowship program will focus on leveraging WA’s unique strengths and assets in high-impact areas such as emerging technologies, natural resources, marine science, agriculture, health, environment, and arts and culture.

The Forrest Research Foundation was established in 2014, by Andrew and Nicola Forrest through their Minderoo Foundation.

Further information on the Fellowships can be found online here.

More about Dr Georgia Hay's research at the Centre here.