COVID-19 Employment Study
Mature Workers in Organisations
The trend towards an ageing population is expected to continue for decades to come. The Mature Worker’s in Organisations (MWOS) project aims to investigate the experiences and needs of mature and maturing workers and the organisation that employ them.
What is the Project About?
The trend towards an ageing population is expected to continue for decades to come. The Mature Worker’s in Organisations (MWOS) project aims to investigate the experiences and needs of mature and maturing workers and the organisation that employ them.
The recent outbreak of the novel COVID-19 virus has caused governments to take extraordinary measures restricting the movement of large proportions of the population. Organisations have had to rapidly respond to these continuously evolving conditions, including making decisions about staffing and work locations. We hope to learn about what experiences with staffing and actions organisation leaders are taking during this unprecedented global pandemic.
Results from this study will shed light on current work practices and will identify lessons learned and opportunities for employers and workers in the future.
We are expecting to recruit approximately 1-3 leaders per participating organisation for this project.
Want to participate?
Frequently asked questions
Who is doing the Research?
The project is being conducted by Professor Sharon Parker at the Future of Work Institute, Curtin University in Perth, WA, Australia and Professor Marian Baird AO, Professor of Gender and Employment Relations, Head of Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies, University of Sydney in Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Research Assistants. Our research collaborators and/or research assistants are highly professional people with research interests around the issues of workers and organisational practices.
Excellence in Population Ageing Research (project number CE170100005).
Why am I being asked to take part and what will I have to do?
We are looking for adults employed in leadership roles.
organization is responding to changes to staffing and work resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
There will be no cost to you for taking part in this research and you will not be paid for taking part.
Are there any benefits’ to being in the research project?
There may not be direct benefit to you from participating in this research. We hope the results of this research will allow us to better understand how organisations make staffing and work decisions in times of crisis.
Are there any risks, side-effects, discomforts or inconveniences from being in the research project?
Apart from giving up your time, we do not expect that there will be any risks or inconveniences associated with taking part in this study. However, we understand that during this time many people may be feeling overwhelmed or stressed due to COVID-19. We have collated some information on services if you would like to seek support during this time, which can be found at the end of this Information Sheet. If you do feel upset or would like to discuss any issues further, you are encouraged to contact Relationships Australia which offers counselling services, visit their website https://www.relationshipswa.org.au/services or call 1300 364 277. This number will put you in touch with the nearest Relationships Australia branch to yourself. For crisis support, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. Alternatively, please contact your preferred counselling service or General Practitioner.
Who will have access to my information?
The information collected in this research will be re-identifiable (coded). This means that we will collect data that can identify you, but will then remove identifying information on any data orsample and replace it with a code when we analyse the data. Only the research team have access to the code to match your name or position if it is necessary to do so. Any information we collect will be treated as confidential and used only in this project unless otherwise specified. The following people will have access to the information we collect in this research: the research team and, in the event of an audit or investigation, staff from the Curtin University Office of Research and Development.
Do I have to take part in the research project?
have to agree if you do not want to. If you decide to take part and then change your mind, that is okay, you can withdraw from the project.
What happens next and who can I contact about the research?
Contacts:
alison.williams@sydney.edu.au
02 8627 7792
Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) has approved this study (HRE2020-0177). Should you wish to discuss the study with someone not directly involved, in particular, any matters concerning the conduct of the study or your rights as a participant, or you wish to make a confidential complaint, you may contact the Ethics Officer on (08) 9266 9223 or the Manager, Research Integrity on (08) 9266 7093 or email hrec@curtin.edu.au.