We can’t put a price on better work … or can we?

This is an older piece of news, but as we found ourselves talking about these trials during our centre research meeting last week, we thought it might be useful to bring it back to your attention.

One of the themes that consistently emerge in discussions about how work is going to change is the amount of work that we will be doing in the future. Expectations of doing less work have been around for quite a while, but existing evidence is showing that, in fact, our working time has remained the same, if not increased.

But what would happen if we indeed worked less? Sweden tried to provide an answer to this question by sponsoring large trials of 6 hours workdays. Not surprisingly, these trials showed that reduced working hours can benefit both the employees and the organisations: not only employees were happier and more rested, they also took less sick leave and worked more productively and more creatively.

However, despite these positive outcomes, after two years, officials decided that associated costs outweigh the benefits and gave up plans to make these working arrangements permanent. Trials were stopped and people returned to their previous schedules, with little consideration for the possible negative consequences that they might experience.

Similar trials in the private sectors are reporting mixed results, suggesting that benefits might be dependent on the specific industry, company and type of work. Therefore, it appears that despite the rapid technological progress and increased focus on work-life balance, we still have a long way to go to achieve reduced working hours, but we hope that more and more countries, employers, and research institutions will join the discussion around how better work can be achieved in the near future.

More details about these trials can be found here.

The Female Perspective on the Gig Economy

From Hyperwallet, Q1 2017

In Australia, the average female salary is 86% of that of the average male. However, according to a recent survey, 86% of female gig workers believe that the gig economy may help them to finally level that playing field. Hyperwallet, a payout platform that manages payments for a number of gig-economy companies, recently released a report on women’s roles in the gig economy.

Women surveyed showed a preference for professional freelance work, such as computer programming through platforms such as Upwork, followed by direct selling such as selling cosmetics for Mary Kay, and service work, such as providing dog-walking services via websites such as rover.com. This is in stark contrast to the ride-sharing type of gig work, such as Uber, where only 14% of drivers are female.

The report also explores reasons for females to favour gig work, such as the flexibility to take care of their families. For many gig workers, this flexibility can outweigh the downsides of the gig economy, such as inconsistent income or a lack of employee benefits.

For more information, you can find the online version of the report.

Laureates in Conversation: Perspectives from a PhD student

At the 12th APS Industrial and Organisational Psychology Conference in Sydney, I was privileged to attend a Keynote Conversation with ARC Laureate Fellows Professors Sharon Parker and Alex Haslam. Each speaker was asked questions regarding their current work and the various routes they have taken to ensure their work has impact in the field. Listening to their thoughts and was a refreshing, motivating and downright inspiring experience for an emerging professional in the field of I/O psychology.

Throughout the conversation was an underlying message eloquently articulated by Sharon: I/O psychologists have the unique capacity to “understand and proactively shape the forces guiding the future of work.” We understand organisations at the individual, team and organisational level, and we need to better show the world what we can do with this understanding.

Our profession has a bigger role than ever to play in today’s society because of the rapidly changing nature of the workforce and we need to ensure we have a say in guiding this change. We have to be creative about how we market ourselves and reach out to other disciplines so that they know what we can contribute, and how valuable that contribution is.

Whenever I speak to others outside our field and tell them about my studies in organisational psychology, the two most common things I hear are “that is so relevant in today’s world” or “wow, organisational psychologists are really needed!” However, many of these people never really knew that I/O psychology existed and how valuable it is until I told them.

As a PhD student and emerging I/O psychologist, the Keynote Conversation inspired me to take up the challenge of ensuring I am a part of the conversations and processes that are shaping the future of work.

#JobDesign #OrganisationalPsychology