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Addressing Mental Health of FIFO Workers RESEARCH REPORT Impact of FIFO arrangements on the mental health and wellbeing of FIFO workers Fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) work practices are common in Western Australia (WA), with the industry providing employment for an estimated 60,000 people[1]. The information presented in this booklet shows a small selection of findings from extensive research conducted by researchers from Curtin University and the University of Western Australia[2]. Full report Executive summary Highlights QUICK LINKS Key findings Improve the climate Strategies Contact us RELATED RESEARCH Landmark Study Report Overview FIFO workers' mental health and wellbeing - How do FIFO workers experience FIFO work? Play Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Designing work to protect and enhance mental health More than 3000 FIFO workers and partners were surveyed or interviewed. The work was funded by the Mental Health Commission of Western Australia, and supported by a reference group. The research shows FIFO workers and their partners are an at-risk group for mental ill health. Importantly, the research identifies strategies to protect and enhance FIFO workers’ mental health. Focusing on mental health is not only good for workers and their families, but also for productivity and business outcomes. Why it matters What is mental health? Mental health is a state of wellbeing in which a person realises their potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to contribute to their community (WHO, 2013). Common mental health issues are depression, anxiety, burnout, or drug and alcohol use. FIFO Worker Mental Health Our results show that more FIFO workers suffer from mental health issues than average Australians (norm samples)[3], as well as people who have a similar demographic profile (the benchmark sample)[4]. In particular, FIFO workers showed: Key findings Worse Levels of Burnout FIFO workers reported higher levels of exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy (measures of burnout) compared to the benchmark sample. Higher Levels of Psychological Distress (Depression and Anxiety) In comparison to the benchmark and norm sample, FIFO workers indicated the highest level of psychological distress. More Frequent Suicidal Thoughts Compared to the benchmark sample, FIFO workers scored significantly worse on sense of belonging; a measure used to indicate suicidal thoughts and higher levels of suicidal intent. How we can improve the current mental health climate Research shows that good work design and a positive workplace culture enhance the mental health and wellbeing of employees. This is also true for FIFO work. Our research identified various aspects of FIFO work that contribute to mental health and well-being: Accommodation on Site Having a permanent room on-site is linked with better mental health compared to other accommodation arrangements. Workplace Culture Experiencing a culture on site and at camp that upholds mental health as a key value is beneficial for FIFO worker mental health. Similarly, reducing perceptions of stigma and barriers to care can protect FIFO workers. Lower stigma enables workers to openly discuss their issues and to seek support when needed Social Activities Loneliness on site affects FIFO workers’ mental health. From an array of amenities and activities (such as gyms), we found recreational activities with a clear social element such as barbecues and social sports were linked to better mental health in FIFO workers Support from Supervisors & Team Members FIFO workers benefit from supervisors and team mates that offer are supportive and understanding. Being knowledgeable and being practiced in offering the kind of emotional support that FIFO workers need can be key. Work Design When designing FIFO jobs, job security and adequate workloads are key to protecting worker mental health. Giving employees’ autonomy (or agency) as to how they carry out their work (e.g. task scheduling, choosing work methods) protects their mental health and helps them to thrive in their work. Rosters Mental health of FIFO workers varies for different rosters. FIFO workers on even-time and shorter rosters (i.e. 2 weeks on/2weeks off, 8 days on/6 days off, 5 days on/2 days off) have the best mental health. Rosters should provide sufficient time to recover during R&R. High compression rosters and travelling long distances can encroach on recovery time of FIFO workers and increase their stress and fatigue levels. Working dayshifts only was best for FIFO worker mental health. Alcohol and Other Drug Use FIFO workers on average drink more alcohol, and more of them drink at risky levels, compared to norm data and the benchmark group. Those who experience more autonomy (sense of choice and control) during time off work at camp also report less alcohol consumption. Perceived masculinity norms, stigma, loneliness, home- work life conflict, and difficulty with the psychological transitioning to and from work are associated with riskier drinking patterns. FIFO workers report taking more illicit drugs than norm groups and the benchmark group. Alcohol and other drug use can be an (ineffective) coping strategy for FIFO workers. How to mitigate poor mental health Recommendation 1 Develop a culture that prioritises mental health Recommendation 2 Assess psychosocial risks and monitor the mental health of FIFO workers and the factors that affect their mental health Recommendation 3 Provide mental health training for direct line managers Recommendation 4 Address the stigma associated with mental health Recommendation 5 Educate and promote a broad range of support services Recommendation 6 Ensure strategies, policies and procedures are in place to manage mental health emergencies and injury Strategies to adopt What can FIFO workers do to improve their own mental health and well-being? FIFO workers adopt a range of strategies to deal with the mental health implications of their employment. Some of these strategies are positive and are likely to be effective at addressing mental health issues. Other strategies are negative and could harm workers further. Strategies POSITIVE STRATEGIES NEGATIVE STRATEGIES 01/ Planning Make a plan (with partner/family) to include duration of FIFO employment, financial goals, and exit strategy. Consider (if possible) a roster and role that suits worker and family requirements. Plan ahead for R&R time to ensure worker and family needs are accommodated. 02/ Relationships Whilst on site, maintain regular communication with family and friends that accommodate everyone’s routines. Engage in active, open, and positive communication with loved ones. Recognise differing family needs and be flexible, especially with children. 03/ Support Foster relationships on site and talk to supportive colleagues and supervisors. For both FIFO worker and partner, foster and maintain friendships and identify support networks in home community. Support each other with family and household responsibilities during R&R period. Build resilience and resourcefulness to manage time apart. Seek help if needed and see this as a strength not a weakness. 04/ Health When at work take regular breaks. Adopt healthy habits physical (exercise and nutrition) and mentally (wind down activities). Ensure sufficient rest and manage fatigue during all stages of a swing. 01/ Planning No financial, contingency or exit plan and assumed job security. Persisting with FIFO work arrangement when there is a significant impact on worker and/ or family mental health and wellbeing. No plan for R&R time and negative affect on family, loss of friendships and disengaging from social activities and hobbies. 02/ Relationships Poor understanding of each other’s (FIFO worker and partner) needs and stressors when together and apart. Not recognising the importance of regular and good communication for nurturing relationships with loved ones. (ie. Family conflict and competing demands). 03/ Support Not seeking help due to organisation not being committed to mental health, stigma evident and leaders not supportive. Not raising concerns due to fear of losing job and leaders with a poor management style. 04/ Health Disengaging from feelings and withdrawing from social networks and activities. Not talking about concerns and ‘putting on a brave face.’ Using alcohol as a form of coping. Accepting or ‘putting-up’ with work encroaching on R&R time. To learn more about our findings and mental health recommendations download our reports Full report Executive summary Highlights

Using data from a longitudinal study conducted in a large hospital, this project investigates the long-term changes of work characteristics and the factors influencing these changes. Top of Page Long-term Changes of Skill Utilization: The Role of Performance Orientation Project Brief Using data from a longitudinal study conducted in a large hospital, this project investigates the long-term changes of work characteristics and the factors influencing these changes. Contact for more information: Yukun Liu or Florian Klonek Who's involved? Yukun Liu Florian Klonek Sharon Parker and Anya Johnson Helena Nguyen Other Projects on Future Work

Stream 3: Changing Work Design: Influences, Crafting and Work Redesign About stream 3 It is a striking observation that there continues to be much poorly designed work in the world, despite the evidence of negative effects for individuals, organisations, and society if work is lacking in autonomy and other positive work characteristics. An innovative focus of this Centre is that we seek to better understand why poor work design persists, and how this situation can be changed through work redesign and crafting interventions. QUICK LINKS Stream 1 Stream 2 Stream 4 Stream 5 Ongoing and Past Projects How do people design work? One focus of our research has been to investigate how people design work, which we refer to as “work design behaviour”. In a study on this topic (Parker, Andrei, & Van den Broeck, 2019 ), we showed that people frequently design work that is highly repetitious and boring. Moreover, the tendency to design boring work was greater for individuals with conservative values (rather than open values), for those with little expertise about psychological work design principles, and those who lacked autonomy in their own work. The figure below from our Harvard Business Review article on the topic summarises the findings. Mapping the multi-level influences on work design. A summary of a model of antecedents of work design (from Parker, Van Den Broeck, & Holman, 2017 ) is shown below. This model shows that work design is affected by informal and emergent bottom-up processes (e.g., individual and team job crafting) as well as more formal top down processes (e.g., management decisions about who does what). Both sets of processes, in turn, are affected by factors at multiple levels. For example: At the international level, globalization and market liberalization have opened up access to new suppliers in other countries, especially developing countries, which has increased the potential for organizations to influence work design within these countries. At the national level, factors such as the economy, culture, and institutions can shape work design. For instance, there is some evidence that countries with high GDP and low unemployment have better work designs, perhaps because these countries have more resources to invest in training and because companies also have to create better jobs in order to attract scarcer talent. At the level of occupations, demarcations and distinct occupational values shape work design. Different skill-levels of occupations also can make a difference. For instance, when technology is introduced into high-skilled jobs, managers tend to implement more flexible methods of working based on the assumption that these forms of work design enable highly skilled employees to use technologies more effectively. At the organisational level, factors such as strategy, technology, the level of uncertainty, HR practices, and organisational structure all can have strong effects on work design. For a detailed discussion of how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can affect work design, see Wang, Lui, and Parker (2020) , and for a general discussion of how technology affects work design in positive and negative ways, see Parker & Grote (2020 ; see also Stream 5). At the work group level, the composition of the team, the degree of team empowerment, the level of team interdependence, and the style of local leadership all influence work design. For example, an empowering leader in a team creates greater job autonomy for workers. The study by Parker, Andrei, and Van den Broeck (2019) shows that managers often design poorer work than non-managers. At the individual level, people’s abilities, skills, personality, and demographics can affect the design of work. For example, a proactive individual is likely to actively craft more challenging and autonomous work tasks for her/himself (see below). Source: Parker, Van Den Broeck, & Holman, 2017 . Understanding the antecedents of work design matters because it influences how work can be redesigned or altered in order to achieve higher quality work. In an article about having impact beyond academia (Parker & Jorritsma, 2021 ), we used the model of antecedents to discuss different strategies we have used over our careers to create better work designs for people. Work redesign interventions. Work redesign interventions refer to ways in which work design can be improved to promote optimal outcomes for workers and organisations, such as well-being and performance. Work redesign interventions therefore serve as an antecedent to work design and can either be top-down, manager-led, or bottom-up, individual-led interventions. Top-down, manager-led interventions include things such as changes to policies and procedures, and reorganising individuals’ roles, tasks and responsibilities. These changes impact large numbers of workers simultaneously, perhaps across teams, departments, or the whole organisation. To help synthesise the evidence from intervention studies, we conducted a rigorous systematic review of the academic literature to investigate the impact of top-down work redesign interventions on performance (Knight & Parker 2019) . We identified 55 intervention studies of five main types: i) Non-participative job enrichment and enlargement interventions –these increase the variety of tasks and skills individuals use in their jobs, increasing the autonomy individuals have over how, where and when they do their work, and allowing individuals to be involved in decision-making. ii) Participative job enrichment and enlargement interventions – These involve workers themselves developing solutions to aspects of work design they’d like to change, such as through discussion groups, conversations with managers, or encouraging engagement in online discussion forums. iii) Relational interventions – These promote supportive interactions between workers as well as connections with those that workers’ jobs impact, such as customers, clients, and patients, making jobs more meaningful and purposeful. iv)Autonomous work group interventions – These involve transferring autonomy from managers to teams so that team members themselves take on collective responsibility for the organisation of their work, and meeting work goals. v) Organisational system-wide changes – These refer to managers making changes that affect whole organisations, such as changing policies and procedures (e.g. flexible working policies). 39 of the 55 interventions demonstrated a positive impact on performance. Evidence for performance was most consistent for job enrichment and enlargement interventions (either participative or non-participative) and relational interventions. Interventions also seemed to be more effective when uncertainty is high, such as when it is not clear what methods to use to solve a work problem. In these situations, giving employees more control over decision-making and work processes appears more likely to increase performance. We concluded that interventions are also more likely to be successful when organisational policies and procedures are aligned with work design. Source: Knight & Parker (2019) We currently have intervention studies on-going in our Design for Care and SafeWork projects (LINK TO PREVIOUSLY). Job crafting and related proactivity interventions. Bottom-up, individual-led interventions refer to the proactive strategies that individuals can implement themselves to change their own work design. An example of a bottom-up intervention is “job crafting”, which means changing aspects of one’s work to better suit one’s own needs and desires. For example, a person who feels that they are lacking flexibility might ask a manager if they can work from home at times to manage home demands. Another person who feels that they are not getting enough support might ask a colleague to help them with a specific work problem. Job crafting interventions typically involve an individual thinking about the tasks, roles and responsibilities that make up their job, and reflecting on which aspects they like most, which they like least, and which they’d most like to change. They then, through goal setting and action planning, put changes into place to mould their job to fit them. Research suggests that job crafting interventions are generally effective for increasing job crafting behaviours, and have positive effects on outcomes such as work engagement. However, much is still to be understood about the effectiveness of job crafting interventions on changing work design, and particularly around who such interventions are effective for. In one of our studies, we evaluated the effectiveness of a job crafting intervention in MBA students (Knight et al., 2021 ). We found that those who had higher workload at the beginning of the intervention were more likely to engage in job crafting activities which served to reduce their demands. Those with lower workload were more likely to engage in activities which increased their job resources, such as their autonomy, or opportunities for training and development. Job crafting has been recognized as an effective alternative approach for employees to have enriched and well-designed jobs. In the book chapter Tims & Knight (2019) , we highlighted how job crafting can help individuals change aspects of their work for the better, including better health, well-being, and performance. There has been increasing attention and research on job crafting but unfortunately fragmented due to different theoretical perspectives and measurements. We provide a synthesis of existing job crafting research and a sound foundation for future job crafting research. To better understand the job crafting construct and synthesize job crafting literature, in Zhang & Parker (2019) , we proposed a three-level hierarchical structure of job crafting, identifying approach/avoidance, behavioural/cognitive, and job resources/job demands from the highest level to the third level. Source: Zhang & Parker (2019) Despite evidence on the positive effects of job crafting in general, different types of job crafting behaviours can lead to diverse outcomes. For example, in Zhang et al. (2021) , we showed that job crafting to better use one’s strengths was related to better well-being and performance, while job crafting to better use one’s interests was only related to increased well-being. It indicates that a good balance between individual benefits and organisational benefits is needed. Job crafting (at least when it is approach-oriented, see Zhang and Parker, 2019 ) is a type of proactive behaviour. Being proactive involves self-initiated, future-focused, and change-oriented behaviors (Parker, Bindl, & Strauss, 2010 ). Examples of our research on proactivity include: In Cangiano et al. (2018) , we found that when an individual behaves proactively at work, they are more likely to experience higher levels of daily perceived competence and vitality. However,when the supervisor is perceived to be punitive about mistakes, there can be negative effects for end‐of‐workday anxiety, and hence bedtime detachment. Cangiano et al. (2021) reported that proactivity can consume resources and interfere with the process of detachment on days when people reported low autonomous motivation. In a review paper, Cai et al. (2019) showed that leader-, team-, and organization-related social context factors mainly influence employee proactivity through shaping “reason to,” “can do,” and “energized to” states (i.e., proactive motivational states, see Parker, Bindl, & Strauss, 2010 ) via individual-, team-, and cross-level processes. Practical resources Parker, S. K., Andrei, D., & Van den Broeck, A. (2019). Why managers design jobs to be more boring than they need to be. Harvard Business Review, 5. https://www.shrm.org/LearningAndCareer/learning/Documents/Human%20Experience%20Toolkit/Why%20Managers%20Design%20Jobs%20to%20Be%20More%20Boring%20Than%20They%20Need%20to%20Be.pdf Knight, C., Parker, S. K., & Keller, A. C. (2020). Tripled levels of poor mental health: But there is plenty managers can do. https://www.siop.org/Research-Publications/Items-of-Interest/ArtMID/19366/ArticleID/4555/Tripled-Levels-of-Poor-Mental-Health-But-There-Is-Plenty-Managers-Can-Do Keller, A. C., Knight, C., & Parker, S. K. (2020). Boosting job performance when working from home: Four key strategies. https://www.siop.org/Research-Publications/Items-of-Interest/ArtMID/19366/ArticleID/4623/Boosting-Job-Performance-When-Working-from-Home-Four-Key-Strategies Animated video (Wang, Liu, & Parker, 2020): How does the use of ICT affect individuals? A work design perspective. Animated video (Zhang & Parker,2019): Reorienting job crafting research Animated video (Parker, Wang, & Liao, 2019): When is proactivity wise? Thrive at Work, job crafting: https://www.thriveatwork.org.au/resources/job-crafting/ “Change the work website” SMART work design website, thrive website. Work from home resources Research publications Antecedents of work design Parker, S. K., Andrei, D. M., & Van den Broeck, A. (2019). Poor work design begets poor work design: Capacity and willingness antecedents of individual work design behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 104(7), 907. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000383 Parker, S. K., & Grote, G. (2022). Automation, algorithms, and beyond: Why work design matters more than ever in a digital world. Applied Psychology, 71(4), 1171-1204. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12241 Parker, S. K., Van den Broeck, A., & Holman, D. (2017). Work design influences: A synthesis of multilevel factors that affect the design of jobs. Academy of Management Annals, 11(1), 267-308. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2014.0054 Wang, B., Liu, Y., Qian, J., & Parker, S. K. (2021). Achieving effective remote working during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A work design perspective. Applied Psychology, 70(1), 16-59. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12290 Work redesign interventions Knight, C., & Parker, S. K. (2021). How work redesign interventions affect performance: An evidence-based model from a systematic review. Human relations, 74(1), 69-104. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726719865604 Knight, C., Tims, M., Gawke, J., & Parker, S. K. (2021). When do job crafting interventions work? The moderating roles of workload, intervention intensity, and participation. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 124, 10352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103522 Parker, S. K., & Jorritsma, K. (2021). Good work design for all: Multiple pathways to making a difference. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 30(3), 456-468. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2020.1860121 SWAN study ref? Also Georgia’s papers on redesign Hay et al… Job crafting & proactivity Parker, S. K., Wang, Y., & Liao, J. (2019). When is proactivity wise? A review of factors that influence the individual outcomes of proactive behavior. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 6, 221-248. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012218-015302 Zhang, F., & Parker, S. K. (2022). Reducing demands or optimizing demands? Effects of cognitive appraisal and autonomy on job crafting to change one’s work demands. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 31(5), 641-654. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2022.2032665 Zhang, F., Wang, B., Qian, J., & Parker, S. K. (2021). Job crafting towards strengths and job crafting towards interests in overqualified employees: Different outcomes and boundary effects. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 42(5), 587-603. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2517 Knight, C., Tims, M., Gawke, J., & Parker, S. K. (2021). When do job crafting interventions work? The moderating roles of workload, intervention intensity, and participation. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 124, 103522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103522 Zhang, F., & Parker, S. K. (2019). Reorienting job crafting research: A hierarchical structure of job crafting concepts and integrative review. Journal Of Organizational Behavior, 40(2), 126-146. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2332 Tims, M., & Knight, C. (2019). Job crafting: An individual strategy to develop oneself. In Creating psychologically healthy workplaces (pp. 152-170). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788113427.00015 Cai, Z., Parker, S. K., Chen, Z., & Lam, W. (2019). How does the social context fuel the proactive fire? A multilevel review and theoretical synthesis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(2), 209-230. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2347 Cangiano, F., Parker, S. K., & Ouyang, K. (2021). Too proactive to switch off: When taking charge drains resources and impairs detachment. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 26(2), 142. https://espace.curtin.edu.au/bitstream/handle/20.500.11937/83386/83368.pdf?sequence=2 Cangiano, F., Parker, S. K., & Yeo, G. B. (2019). Does daily proactivity affect well‐being? The moderating role of punitive supervision. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(1), 59-72. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.232 For further information on our research See our publications page Read More

Design for Care Designing better work for the Healthcare and Social Assistance (H&SA) industry Our mission is to improve the well-being of H&SA employees through the co-creation of SMART work design interventions. JUMP TO About Showcase event 2025 Event photo highlights Our partners Project team Contact us RELATED RESEARCH Past events and reports About us Design for Care is a research project aimed at developing and assessing work design interventions to create mentally healthy work in the NSW healthcare and social assistance (H&SA) industry. The project is led by Professor Sharon Parker at Curtin University’s Centre for Transformative Work Design , with Professors Anya Johnson & Helena Nguyen at the University of Sydney, and Professor Alex Collie at Monash University. The project is supported by a team of research and professional staff across the three universities, and is funded by icare NSW. We collaborate with multiple organisations in the aged care, disability care, and out-of-home care sectors to co-create mentally healthy workplaces. Together, we're working to understand how work design can be leveraged as an intervention to prevent psychological injury (e.g., burnout). Our approach We focus on prevention and sustainability The Design for Care Program seeks to prevent psychological injury by identifying SMART work design opportunities and challenges in collaboration with individuals, teams, and team leaders in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry. Sustainability is about building the work design capabilities in individuals, teams, team leaders, and organisations to continue to co-create mentally healthy workplaces. How do we achieve this? Our research program - the PARRTH Process – involves working collaboratively with individuals, teams, and leaders to develop practical work design interventions that target prevention and sustainability and could be adapted by the H&SA industry more broadly. More about PARRTH Design for Care Showcase: A Journey to SMARTer Workplaces in the H&SA Industry Wednesday 30 April 2025 | Novotel Sydney Parramatta Designing work to better support mental health and well-being in the H&SA industry Our Design for Care Showcase brings together researchers, industry professionals, and organisational leaders to share our key findings, preview new resources and take away actionable strategies to improve work design and employee well-being in the Healthcare and Social Assistance (H&SA) industry. Read our LinkedIn post event summary See past events See past reports NEW RESEARCH REPORT Unpacking the Enablers and Hindrances on the PARRTH to SMART Work Design This report unpacks the enablers and barriers to change across partner organisations in the Healthcare and Social Assistance (H&SA) industry. It identifies factors at multiple levels: organisational, leadership, group, and individual, and provides examples of activities and actions for organisations that can help address challenges at each level. Download our latest report To download the report, please provide your details below. Name Email Company Position Personal information collected is handled in accordance with Curtin University’s Privacy Statement. Further information is available on Curtin University's privacy webpage . I agree to Curtin University's Privacy Statement and to receive updates from the project* Submit SMART animations Design for Care - SMART Tolerable - SMART Design for Care Animation Explainer Play Video Share Whole Channel This Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Now Playing Tolerable - SMART Design for Care Animation Explainer 02:55 Play Video Now Playing Mastery - SMART Design for Care Animation Explainer 03:10 Play Video Now Playing Agency - SMART Design for Care Animation Explainer 03:19 Play Video Now Playing Relational - SMART Design for Care Animation Explainer 02:37 Play Video Keynote recording Event photo highlights To see more photos from the event Click here Want to learn more about our past research findings and events? Explore our past research findings, reports and events, focused on enhancing outcomes in the HSA industry and supporting the well-being of frontline workers. Learn more Interested in knowing more about SMART Work Design? To design meaningful and motivating work, visit our SMART Work Design page to learn what SMART Work Design is and how to get the most out of your work Learn more We partner with organisations and individuals in the NSW H&SA industry Our research partners Testimonials from partner organisation senior leaders: "What a great project to be involved with. Can only see positive things eventuating from this." The PARRTH process The PARRTH process involves: Preparing an organisation for change; Assessing work design and well-being; Reflecting with the organisation staff and management about the assessment results; Redesigning work and/or organisational processes where appropriate and feasible; Tracking the effect of the redesign; and Habituating the change into the daily functioning of the organisation. Helping care workers Design for Care research project will produce work design strategies to aim to prevent psychological injury amongst care workers including but not limited to: Aged care workers Disability support Social workers Home care workers Project team Project leads Professor Sharon K. Parker CURTIN UNIVERSITY Professor Anya Johnson UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Professor Helena Nguyen UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Professor Alex Collie MONASH UNIVERSITY Project members Lucinda Iles CURTIN UNIVERSITY Cheryl Yam CURTIN UNIVERSITY Michael Chapman CURTIN UNIVERSITY Jie Yi Tang CURTIN UNIVERSITY Mina Askovic UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Connie Deng UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Jannecke Berecki-Gisolf MONASH UNIVERSITY Meredith Carr CURTIN UNIVERSITY Monica Trezise CURTIN UNIVERSITY Anu Jolly UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA Arian Kunzelmann EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY Nate Zettna UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Vivien Forner UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Shannon Gray MONASH UNIVERSITY Asmare Gelaw MONASH UNIVERSITY Giverny de Boeck IESEG School of Management Sign up for updates Want to receive updates on the Design for Care project? Join our mailing list Or If you have any que stions or feedback on the Design for Care project, please contact u s and a member of the project team will get back to you shortly.

This project intends to develop and validate a daily intervention of work design through an experience sampling study. Top of Page A Daily Intervention Study of Work Design: An Identity-Based Motivation Perspective Project Brief This project intends to develop and validate a daily intervention of work design through an experience sampling study. Contact for more information: Yukun Liu Who's involved? Yukun Liu Sharon Parker and Maria Tims Other Projects on Future Work

This project intends to investigate the patterns of Western Australian employees’ unplanned leave (from a work design perspective) and to examine factors influencing patterns of unplanned leave. A Scientific Investigation of Employees’ Unplanned Leave in Western Australia Project Brief This project intends to investigate the patterns of Western Australian employees’ unplanned leave (from a work design perspective) and to examine factors influencing patterns of unplanned leave. Contact for more information: Yukun Liu or Karina Jorritsma Who's involved? Yukun Liu Karina Jorritsma and multiple industry partners including government agencies and consultancies Other Projects on Transforming Individuals

Innovative Research.Informed Decision-Makers. Inspired Workers.The Centre for Transformative Work Design is led by Sharon Parker and based in Western Australia Celebrating funding success: ARC Centre of Excellence for Quality Work in a Digital Age Our Director, Professor Sharon Parker has secured major funding from the Australian Research Council to establish a groundbreaking research centre dedicated to empowering workers in the digital age. Learn more The Centre for Transformative Work Design is a Research Centre where passionate organisational psychology researchers and professionals are working together to transform work under the directorship of Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow, Professor Sharon K. Parker . We conduct high-quality, independent and innovative research to understand the role of work design in generating healthy and productive work. Want to learn more about creating a healthy work environment? We produce resources about work design for educators, researchers, managers, workers, and the community. See our resources Cutting-edge research publications Explore our wide range of high-quality research, including journal articles, expertly written book publications, reports, and more. Learn about our research MARS Landmark Study in the mining industry The MARS Program Landmark Study was commissioned by the Western Australian Government to design and implement a project assessing the mining industry, regarding three focus areas: 1) mental health and well-being, 2) sexual harassment, assault, and a respectful culture, and 3) the future of work in mining. Learn more Latest news

Top of Page Leadership and Workplace Agility Project Brief Innovation—the introduction, promotion, and implementation of new ideas—is pivotal for building and maintaining organizational competitiveness. We are currently examining the role of leadership, personal agility and innovation among working adults in Australia and Germany. Our research provides two contributions. First, we seek to offer a stronger empirical foundation for theoretical innovation-specific leadership styles. Second, we assume that our research is important to advance the scholarly field of leadership as it will provide stronger causal claims for leadership innovation theory. We believe that it is necessary to replicate previous findings by using research designs with stronger confirmatory power. This is also important from a practitioner perspective. The popularization of any leadership theory in mainstream media can strongly influence managerial practice, which is problematic in case the existing evidence for a theory suffers from methodological artefacts, cannot be generalized to different populations, or does not reflect true causal relationships. This project is investigated through an immersive leadership simulation in our lab. Contact for more information: Dr. Florian Klonek Who's involved? Florian Klonek Sharon Parker Students: Cecilia Runneboom Meredith Carr Partners: Fabiola Gerpott A conceptual replication of ambidextrous leadership theory: Challenges and learnings from a 3-year journey Dr. Florian Klonek, Curtin University discusses their aim to constructively replicate previous research with an experimental design, more rigorous measures, and data analytical approaches Video: WBRC Seminar Abstract Other Projects on Future Work

Work Across Life and Careers FOCUS GROUPS Thanks for your interest in joining us for an inspiring group conversation on having it all : interesting work, successful career, and a meaningful life. Your focus group lasts 60 minutes (plus 15 min arrival & introduction) and takes place on the Curtin Bentley campus. Please click below to select from the available dates and share your contact details. I'm a student I'm professional staff I'm academic staff

Stream 5: Digitalization & the Future Workforce About stream 5 Change in technology, business, the economy, and society - such as cognitive computing, globalization, flexible work spaces, and an ageing population - all shape the ‘what/how’, ‘where/when, and ‘who’ of work. This research stream focuses on how work is changing, and in particular, addresses the question: ‘what is the role of work design in delivering the benefits (or mitigating against the detriments) of radical change occurring in work and society?' It also focuses on the “who” of work, and especially how the population is ageing creating a more mature workforce. QUICK LINKS Stream 1 Stream 2 Stream 3 Stream 4 Ongoing and Past Projects Digitalization and its impact on work. Technological change is accelerating rapidly, bringing with it both opportunities and challenges for work and society (Parker & Grote, 2020 ; Parker & Grote, 2022 ). On the positive side, there is potential for technology to replace dangerous or undesirable work, enable more efficient and cheaper public services, and augment human performance in critical tasks (such as the diagnosis of rare diseases; see Hay et al. 2020 ). Building on this, our research has explored how the use of information communication technologies (ICTs) affects the nature and quality of work, and the potential of these technologies to enhance employees’ work effectiveness and wellbeing (Wang et al., 2020 ). On the other hand, digital technologies bring substantial risks for work and workers. Our research has shown that some work practices enabled by digital technologies, such as the management of employees via algorithms, can be highly disruptive and lead to negative outcomes for workers (Parent-Rocheleau & Parker, 2021 ). Additionally, some researchers and commentators have highlighted the potential for automation and artificial intelligence to eradicate the need for human workers at all (Frey & Osbourne, 2017). While the extent to which digitalization will impact the future jobs market has been a source of contention, there is a general consensus that the overall structure of the workforce will change, particularly in regards to the less-skilled workforce (Brynjolfsson et al., 2018). Despite the clear potential for digital technologies to radically change the nature of our jobs and tasks, much of the existing research has emphasised how workers need to adapt to technology, rather than how work designs and technologies can be adapted to better meet the competencies, needs, and values of humans. A key priority of our research is to fill this deficit, providing a human-centred approach to reap the benefits of technological advancements. Aging workers. It is important to consider work design in regard to the future workforce. One significant trend here is population ageing, which increases the imperative to attract and retain older workers. We are conducting research on mature workers as part of the Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research, see here XXXXXX. Practical resources Animated video (Wang, Liu, & Parker, 2020): How does the use of ICT affect individuals? A work design perspective. Animated video (Parker & Andrei, 2020): How to reap the benefits of a mature workforce CEPAR report (Baird, Hamilton, Gulesserian, Williams, & Parker, 2021): An employer lens on COVID-19: Adapting to change in Australian workplaces Cepar report (Andrei, Parker, Constantin, Baird, Iles, Petery, Zozek, Williams, & Chen, 2019): Maximising potential: Findings from the Mature Workers in Organisations Survey (MWOS) Research Publications Related to Work Design and Mental Health Digitalization Gagné, M., Parker, S. K., Griffin, M. A., Dunlop, P. D., Knight, C., Klonek, F. E., & Parent-Rocheleau, X. (2022). Understanding and shaping the future of work with self-determination theory. Nature Reviews Psychology, 1(7), 378-392. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032516-113108 Parker, S. K., & Grote, G. (2022). More than ‘more than ever’: Revisiting a work design and sociotechnical perspective on digital technologies. Applied Psychology, 71(4), 1215-1223. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12425 Hay, G. J., Klonek, F. E., Thomas, C. S., Bauskis, A., Baynam, G., & Parker, S. K. (2020). SMART work design: Accelerating the diagnosis of rare diseases in the Western Australian Undiagnosed Diseases Program. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 582. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2020.00582 Knight, C., Kaur, S., & Parker, S. K. (2021). Work Design in the Contemporary Era. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Business and Management. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190224851.013.353 Parker, S. K., & Grote, G. (2022). Automation, algorithms, and beyond: Why work design matters more than ever in a digital world. Applied Psychology, 71(4), 1171-1204. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12241 Parent-Rocheleau, X., & Parker, S. K. (2022). Algorithms as work designers: How algorithmic management influences the design of jobs. Human Resource Management Review, 32(3), 100838. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2021.100838 Wang, B., Liu, Y., & Parker, S. K. (2020). How does the use of information communication technology affect individuals? A work design perspective. Academy of Management Annals, 14(2), 695-725. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2018.0127 Wang, B., Liu, Y., & Parker, S. K. (2021). Let’s get on the same page: Conceptual clarification of individual-level information and communication tec hnology use. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 14(3), 404-408. https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2021.80 F uture workforce including older workers Parker, S. K., & Andrei, D. M. (2020). Include, individualize, and integrate: Organizational meta-strategies for mature workers. Work, Aging and Retirement, 6(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1093/workar/waz009 Petery, G., Andrei, D., & Parker, S. (2019). Mature workers in organisations: Insights from CEPAR's benchmarking survey of the Australian workforce. In the 5th Age in the Workplace Meeting. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/76910 Petery, G. A., Iles, L. J., & Parker, S. K. (2020). Putting successful aging into context. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 13(3), 377-382. https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2020.69 Petery, G. A., Wee, S., Dunlop, P. D., & Parker, S. K. (2020). Older workers and poor performance: Examining the association of age stereotypes with expected work performance quality. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 28(4), 510-521. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12309 See our publications page Read More For further information on our research

Top of Page Working Across Life and Careers Project Brief Currently in the planning stages, WALC will be a large, on-going, nationally representative longitudinal population study consisting of approximately 3,000 participants ranging from early to late adulthood. The main aim of the study is to examine work and its impact on people’s lives over the life span. WALC especially focuses on capturing long-term effects (e.g., the effect of work over time on health, well-being, identity, memory, learning and cognition) and how the nature of work and workers is changing. Our findings are intended to support the creation of good quality work for all, and contribute to organisational and governmental policy on this topic. Contact for more information: Caroline Knight Faculty Sharon Parker Caroline Knight Yukun Liu MK Ward Florian Klonek Daniela Andrei Other Projects on Future Work

Burn surgery patient outcomes can be improved by raising ambient temperature of theatres (Bolenbaucher et al., 2016). Thermal discomfort in work spaces can affect performance by impacting those doing work (Berg et al., 2015; N. Gaoua et al., 2012). Top of Page Hot Surgery Project Project Brief Burn surgery patient outcomes can be improved by raising ambient temperature of theatres (Bolenbaucher et al., 2016). Thermal discomfort in work spaces can affect performance by impacting those doing work (Berg et al., 2015; N. Gaoua et al., 2012). High ambient heat increases demands of severe burn surgeries that are difficult, complex, and have longer durations than operating on less severe burns (Schmit et al., 2017). Research has focused on patient outcomes rather than the healthcare professionals who make recovery possible. Little is known about the effect of high ambient heat on healthcare professionals working repeatedly in such a hot environment (Rizzo, Rowan, Driscoll, Chan, & Chung, 2017). This research project will inform ways to mitigate adverse impacts of environmental stressors (e.g. high temperature) including costs (e.g., $160 billion in the United States), safety, health, and well-being. This project begins to resolve the tension between what is comfortable for burn surgery teams to work in versus higher temperatures that are better for patient outcomes (Katz, 2017). In what ways does high thermal stress in operating theatres impact healthcare professionals working in that environment? What can be done to buffer any detrimental (cognitive, physiological, and/or psychological) effects of heat exposure? Contact for more information: MK Ward Faculty MK Ward Sharon Parker and Fiona Wood Kristine Owen Fiona Stanley Hospital The University of Western Australia, School of Sport Science The University of Western Australia, Exercise and Health, Karen Wallman Zehra Palejwala More information References Berg, R. J., Inaba, K., Sullivan, M., Okoye, O., Siboni, S., Minneti, M., … Demetriades, D. (2015). The impact of heat stress on operative performance and cognitive function during simulated laparoscopic operative tasks. Surgery, 157(1), 87–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surg.2014.06.012 Bolenbaucher, R., Cotner-Pouncy, T., Edwards, C., & Jackson, B. (2016). Burn Clinical Practice Guideline, 1–20. Retrieved from www. tetaf.org Gaoua, N., Grantham, J., Racinais, S., & El Massioui, F. (2012). Sensory displeasure reduces complex cognitive performance in the heat. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 32(2), 158–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2012.01.002 Katz, J. D. (2017). Control of the Environment in the Operating Room. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 125(4), 1214–1218. https://doi.org/10.1213/ANE.0000000000001626 Rizzo, J. A., Rowan, M. P., Driscoll, I. R., Chan, R. K., & Chung, K. K. (2017). Perioperative temperature management during burn care. Journal of Burn Care & Research, 38(1), e277-e283. Schmit, C., Hausswirth, C., Le Meur, Y., & Duffield, R. (2017). Cognitive Functioning and Heat Strain: Performance Responses and Protective Strategies. Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 47(7), 1289–1302. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0657-z Other Projects on Teams and Organisations Shaping a Nation: Fiona Wood Play Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied