Work Design Sketching Competition: The winner is...

We want to say how thrilled we were with the number and quality of the entries. We received 42 entries from 9 countries (Australia, Canada, UK, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Portugal and USA were all represented). We got to hear about a range of interesting jobs, including artists, dog walkers, mechanics, wedding planners, teachers, mine workers, community workers, textile factory workers, home workers, cattlemen, butchers, waitresses, bookbinders and upholsterers. It was a joy to open the entries as they arrived, and we thank all entrants for the care and attention they put into their beautiful sketches and stories.

As you can imagine, it was hard to make a decision but we are glad to announce the winner is...

https://www.sketchingworkdesign.com/competition-outcome

FIFO workers Mental Health at the Black Swan Theatre Company

The Centre for Transformative Work Design’s Dr Laura Fruhen participated in a panel discussion on FIFO work at the State Theatre last week. The panel brought together experienced FIFO worker and mum Megan Harrison, Ngala Community educator Stephen Gallagher, and People solutions Director Mark Greenwood. It was lead by the Black Swan artistic director Clare Watson.

The discussion covered various aspects and views on FIFO work and Dr Fruhen contributed her perspective based on the literature that she has researched as part of her research on FIFO mental health and wellbeing. Questions and comments from the audience helped generate a lively conversation.

The panel preceded the play “Summer of the seventeenth doll”, which portraits the relationships of two sugarcane cutters in the context of their seasonal work: dealing with some of the challenges of being away and coming home, and finding their place in changed circumstances. The parallels to FIFO work made the panel discussion and the play a great combination.

#FIFOworker #theatre #paneldiscussion #flyinflyout #workdesign #Health #OrganisationalPsychology #MentalHealth #Wellbeing

The Future of Work - what business needs to know

Technological advances such as automation, robotics and artificial intelligence, unprecedented in both scale and pace, are dramatically reshaping our workforce and workplace. The world is becoming a faster changing and more turbulent place for organisations and the necessity to adapt has never been greater.

CEDA’s influential 2015 research report – Australia’s future workforce? – found technology could make almost 40 per cent of Australian jobs, including highly skilled roles, redundant in 10 to 15 years.

I recently spoke at the first of CEDA WA’s 2018 Future of Work series, which provided a foundational understanding of the opportunities, challenges and impact that automation, robotics, artificial intelligence and the future of work will have on business and the economy.

Along with other speakers, we explored the moral and ethical challenges facing the business community, and the economic and social implications of not embracing technological advances.