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. 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? See full info sheet Need support during COVID? Feeling stressed or overwhelmed? Frequently asked questions General 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. Data collection outside of Australia will be managed by local Research Collaborators and/or Research Assistants. Our research collaborators and/or research assistants are highly professional people with research interests around the issues of workers and organisational practices. This research project is funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) to the Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (project number CE170100005). There will be no costs to you and you will not be paid for participating in this project. Why am I being asked to take part and what will I have to do? Are there any benefits’ to being in the research project? Are there any risks, side-effects, discomforts or inconveniences from being in the research project?" Who will have access to my information? Do I have to take part in the research project? What happens next and who can I contact about the research?

FOR TEAMS Embrace complexity Allow your virtual team to embrace complexity: - Avoid breaking down complex tasks into piecemeal ones. - Provide your virtual team with enough time to master the complexity of a project. - Facilitate learning and growth by allowing time for your team to reflect on the process once a project is complete. Find more flexible work resources for managers: Download Back to main page

FOR TEAMS Virtual teams thrive on complexity Complex work can improve virtual team performance through its ability to stimulate efficient and effective communication, team reflection and learning, and better team solutions. Find more flexible work resources for managers: Download Back to main page

FOR TEAMS Six benefits of high role clarity According to research, high levels of role clarity benefit both virtual and non-virtual teams in a number of ways, including: • Higher levels of employee job satisfaction • Reduced turnover • Higher collective well-being of team members, especially in relation to understaffed teams. • Increased extra-role performance and team engagement • Fostering the development of team trust • Better team coordination Find more flexible work resources for managers: Download Back to main page

What is Work Design? The Basics Work design concerns the "content and organization of one’s work tasks, activities, relationships, and responsibilities" (Parker, 2014). Imagine designing the role of a police officer. Illustrative work design decisions include: Which activities should be grouped together to form a meaningful police officer job? Which decisions should be made by officers and which by their supervisors? Should individual jobs be grouped together into a team? Can one build in routine tasks amidst complex ones to ensure officers are not overwhelmed? These decisions - about the content and organization of one’s work tasks, activities, relationships, and responsibilities - will affect outcomes at multiple levels including whether individual officers feel engaged or stressed at work, and whether the wider police service achieves its targets, such as how effectively crime is detected and prevented. Often work design is described in terms of "job characteristics", or features of work that affect how people feel about their jobs. Research has identified many job characteristics that are positive, that result in work being more motivating or less stressful. Examples of positive job characteristics include: Job autonomy: Being able to make decisions within the job Task variety: Having a range of tasks in the job Skill utilisation: The opportunity to use one's skills in the job Task significance: Doing a job that is important Task identity: Doing a whole job Job feedback: Getting feedback whilst doing one's work The basics What is Work Design Watch Now Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Work Design: A brief History Work design: A brief history Interest in work design arose during the Industrial Revolution. At that time, people came together to work in factories, which led to questions about how to best organise work. The answer to the question came in the form of Taylorism. Find out about Taylorism in the short video shown here. The History of Work Design Watch Now Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied How to design motivating work? Because of the problems of Taylorism, various strategies that have been tried to create better work designs, including job rotation, job enlargement, job enrichment, and self-managing teams. These are all forms of “work redesign” that are intended to make work more interesting and meaningful rather than simplified, low-autonomy jobs that Taylorism made popular. Designing Motivating Work Watch Now Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Designing Motivating Work What about the theory? About the theory So far, we have looked at how simplified jobs can be ‘redesigned’ to be more meaningful and motivating. What we haven’t looked at yet is the theory that underpins some of these work redesign efforts. It is important to understand theory because it allows designers to really think about the underlying principles when looking at work structures. In this next video, Sharon will discuss the Job Characteristics Model, a prominent model in the Work Design literature. Work Design Theory Watch Now Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Redesigining work Considerations to make when redesigning work Work ‘redesign’ means changing the way that the work is designed. Sometimes work redesign can be a simple ‘tweak’ to improve a job. Other times, work design can be a significant change that is part of a large-scale organisational redesign. In this video, Sharon discusses some of the considerations to make when redesigning work. How to Re-design Work? Watch Now Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Can employees change their own work design Yes! Even though work design is sometimes constrained by the situation, such as the type of technology or the approach of the leader, people in the jobs can shape their work designs too. This has been referred to as "job crafting" by some researchers (related concepts include job-role negotiation, i-deals, proactive work behavior). Job crafting involves changing one's tasks, relationships, and ways of thinking about work in order to make one's job more meaningful and motivating. Examples of job crafting include: Focusing efforts on tasks that are most interesting; Building new relationships with others at work; Reducing uninteresting or unnecessary tasks; Introducing better ways of doing things; and Obtaining more support from the supervisor. Changing your work What about the theory? The basics Work Design: A brief History Redesigining work Designing Motivating Work Changing your work

Top of Page Making Surgeries Safer: Non-technical Skills in Operating Theatres About the SWANS Initiative Every year, 2.4 million surgical procedures are carried out in Australia with an adverse event rate of 22%. Findings suggest that as many as 48% of these adverse events are highly preventable. Next to technical skills, non-technical skills such as decision-making, communication and team work impact surgical outcomes. The SWANS project investigates the utility of non-technical skills and their various elements. It strives to uncover some of the mechanisms that support the positive impact of non-technical skills. SWANS is an abbreviation of S urgical W ork Team A dvanced N on-Technical S kills. It is a reference to Perth's many Black swans and the many uncertain and hard to foresee aspects of safety critical work environments. Multi-Professional Team Briefings Multi-professional briefings are short 3 – 5 minute meetings before the start of an operating list. These meetings include all professional groups working in the operating theatre that day. Multi-professional briefings are designed to facilitate effective communication and coordination between team members, and support theatre efficiency and safety. They involve proactive planning to ensure efficiency, and they help surgical teams to set a collaborative tone for the day. They only take up a couple of minutes at the start of surgical lists. Background The research behind is based on research carried out by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers and medical practitioners at the University of Western Australia. For the research, data were collected in collaboration with four major hospitals in Western Australia. The research team carried out in-theater observations and engaged staff via surveys. Funded by the Western Australian Department of Health, the research was conducted to understand the effects of briefings and coordination between professional groups, specifically in the areas of problem solving and speaking up, helping and offering support, information exchange, and proposing changes. Conducting Multi-Professional Team Briefings Briefings are best conducted following 5 easy steps. The different steps help surgical staff to get to know each other, provide an overview of the work that lies ahead, and opportunities discuss details of each case. We advice to include all of these steps in your briefing practice. However, we also encourage you to customise the briefings to your and your team's needs. Introductions of team member names and roles familiarise staff with each other. This step clarifies everyone's roles and builds a team spirit. 1. Media release List overview focuses on the number of cases, the list duration, and turnaround times. This step provides everyone with an idea of what kind of work to expect. 2. Media release Case review provides more detailed information on each case. It clarifies roles, expected complexities, potential complications, equipment requirements, and team member level of experience with procedures. Based on the individual case review, changes to the list order that will enhance workflow can be identified before the first patient is called. 3. Media release Questions are then welcomed by all staff members to clarify any issues. 4. Media release Summarising any chances that were made to the list order and any notable issues reminds the team of key issues that have been discussed. 5. Media release Some Practical Tips Who initiates the briefing? The briefings can be initiated by any of the staff members. These briefings are everyone’s briefings. Tone and (body) language Use “we” instead of “I” during briefings. Standing in a circle also helps to ensure that everyone can see each other, and make the briefing feel more inclusive for everyone. Who leads the Briefing? The briefings can be led by any member of staff. We would advise staff to take turns in leading the briefing, however it is no issue if the same individuals lead the briefings. Using open ended questions effectively Open ended questions can stimulate free flowing conversation. Direct some of your open questions (but not all) at specific individuals to engage those with relevant knowledge to actively participate. Common Barriers and How to Overcome Them Based on surveys completed by theatre staff, the UWA team identified that briefings are currently not a common practice at WA Hospitals. We also found that those who experience briefings less often in their work were more dissatisfied with their theatre experience. The most commonly cited barrier to using team briefings was that not everyone was present before the start of the list. Some ways to overcome this could be to notify colleagues over the PA system, include the the missing person by dialling in through a phone call (on speaker mode), or to simply insist on starting the list only after a briefing is conducted. Resource: Let's Talk Teamwork Faculty Prof. Sharon Parker Dr. Laura Fruhen Other team members Dr Joseph Carpini (University of Western Australia) Prof. Yee Leung (WA Gynaecologic Cancer Service, King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women, University of Western Australia) A/Prof. Stewart Flemming (Fiona Stanley Hospital & Fremantle Hospital) Other resources Executive Summary Research article Video: Meet the Researchers - Joseph Carpini Report: A Guide for Medical Practitioners Other Projects on Team and Organisations

FOR INDIVIDUALS Autonomy preferences If you like to have a lot of autonomy, you might be a good candidate for a flexible work arrangement. However, a risk of flexible working is that it can lead to an increase in managerial control “micromanagement” type behaviours, which can decrease one’s autonomy, leading to greater frustration in individuals attempts at satisfying their need for autonomy at work. Find more resources for workers: Download Back to main page

SMART Work is Stimulating About the model The first letter in the SMART work framework stands for 'Stimulating'. Simply put, Stimulating refers to the extent to which a job involves skill variety, task variety, and problem solving demands. Skill variety describes the degree to which your job requires a variety of skills and abilities, while task variety refers to the degree to which you perform a wide range of tasks in your role. Problem solving demands describes the degree to which your job requires you to 'think outside the box'. Not all jobs are the same, so an individual’s work can be more or less stimulating. JUMP TO Mastery Agency Relational Tolerable demands RELATED RESEARCH SMART Design for Care Watch this animated explainer video on Stimulating Qualities of highly stimulating jobs In highly stimulating jobs, individuals are likely to: use a wide variety of different skills and abilities to complete the work carry out a number of different tasks to achieve their goals need to 'think outside the box' to create solutions to problems "There's never a dull moment. I like the variety and being out and about around the hospital...This job teaches me a lot." -Hospital supply worker. BORING - so much time to wait for deliveries! - Deliveroo workers Qualities of un-stimulating jobs In contrast, jobs with a low degree of stimulation will likely contain: a lack of opportunities to use one’s skills and a narrow variety of tasks monotonous and repetitive tasks the need to solve menial and unchallenging problems What are the risks of a low Stimulating job? Non-stimulating, boring, and repetitive work carries risks for both individuals as well as organisations: Employees can become disengaged, have lower job satisfaction and have no or limited access to professional or personal development [1]. In highly physical work, narrow tasks can cause biomechanical strain or musculoskeletal injuries [2]. Employees in non-stimulating roles can also get “bore-out”, which involves feelings of demotivation, anxiety and sadness and can turn into burnout, depression and even physical illness [3] [4]. For organisations, the risks of narrow, repetitive or passive work include wasted talent, impaired performance, higher accident rate, turnover and absenteeism, as well as less and slower return to work after an injury or illness[5] [6]. Research spotlight Over the last two decades, studies have revealed that boredom can detrimentally affect one's job performance and elevate the likelihood of experiencing anxiety, depression, substance abuse, alcohol dependence, anger, aggression, and various antisocial behaviors. [3] Research from the University College of London looked at the extent to which individuals experienced a sense of boredom at work within a three year period 20 years previously. The researchers then looked at the relationship between boredom and heart problems. It was found that those who frequently experienced boredom at work were 2.5 times more likely to die of a heart problem than those who were not. [7] Strategies to make work more Stimulating If you find that your job does not require you to utilise a variety of different skills, come up with unique ideas or involve a wide range of tasks, there is still good news - you don’t necessarily have to change your current job to increase stimulation. Strategies for Employees Strategies for Managers Strategies for Organisations Here are some tips to help you increase challenge and variety in your job: Meet with your manager and ask for new challenges and skill development opportunities. Check out what training opportunities are available through your organisation. To learn more strategies, check out our training opportunities. Explore opportunities Given the risks of low stimulating jobs as well as the benefits of highly stimulating jobs, it is a good idea to apply strategies that increase challenge and variety for your employees: Provide opportunities for job shadowing or job rotation, so your employees can learn something new in a different part of the company. Check in with your employees to understand if they are sufficiently challenged by the tasks they have been given. To learn more strategies, check out our training opportunities. Explore opportunities To learn more strategies, check out our training opportunities. Explore opportunities Further resources Mental Stimulation and Dementia Risk Bored out of your mind at work? - Dan Cable HBR Podcast - Bored and Disengaged References [1] Parker, S. K. (2014). Beyond motivation: Job and work design for development, health, ambidexterity, and more. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 661-691. [2] Parker, S. K., Bindl, U. K., & Strauss, K. (2010). Making things happen: A model of proactive motivation. Journal of Management, 36(4), 827-856. [3] Loukidou, L., Loan-Clarke, J., & Daniels, K. (2009). Boredom in the workplace: More than monotonous tasks. International Journal of Management Reviews, 11(4), 381-405. [4] Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Euwema, M. C. (2005). Job resources buffer the impact of job demands on burnout. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 10(2), 170-180. [5] Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., de Boer, E., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2003). Job demands and job resources as predictors of absence duration and frequency. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 62(2), 341-356. [6] SafeWork NSW. (2017). Review of evidence of psychosocial risks for mental ill-health in the workplace. [7] Britton, A., & Shipley, M. J. (2010). Bored to death?. International Journal of Epidemiology, 39(2), 370-371.

FOR TEAMS Four ways to create role clarity within virtual teams • Ensure the team has clear expectations around its duties, responsibilities, and the tasks of each team member. Allow time to explain what tasks need to be completed and what the objectives are. • Encourage team members to share information about their tasks and responsibilities to increase transparency across the team and provide team-level role clarity. • Remember that providing role clarity isn’t a ‘one off thing’ – make sure to check in with your team occasionally to ensure that your expectations still match up. • Be careful not to define roles too tightly. Consider defining objectives and responsibilities at the team-level and then encouraging team members to autonomously define their own roles Find more flexible work resources for managers: Download Back to main page

1 SMART Work Design Training For individual learners Curtin Credential: Motivation at Work Read More for individuals (Online) Motivate your workplace post-pandemic using the latest theories, strategies and tools. This credential analyses what drives people to work well, and teaches you the contemporary theory and practical skills to increase motivation in your workplace. You’ll be introduced to Self-Determination Theory and understand how to apply its principles to enhance employee well-being and productivity in your organisation. Facilitator: John Curtin Distinguished Professor Marylène Gagné Register your expression of interest for 2025 Curtin Credential: SMART Work Design Read More for individuals (Online) How can we rethink the way we work to increase job satisfaction and the wellbeing of employees, and improve productivity? You will explore the SMART framework to create and redesign jobs to increase satisfaction, reduce stress and lead to a flourishing organisation. Facilitator: Dr Cheryl Yam and Dr Madison Kho Register your expression of interest for 2025 Browse more workshops

Sketching Work Competition Outcome 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 pleased to announce our winners are: First prize – Deb Mostert (Australia) for her sketch and story on a Collection Manager from the Queensland Museum. Professor Sharon Parker, the Director of the Centre for Transformative Work Design, commented: “Apart from the wonderfully detailed and beautiful drawings and the explicit efforts to capture aspects of work design in the story, I love how the artist used colour to draw attention to the 'person' as that resonates with our focus on people as critical in the work system". Lynne Chapman described the entry as: "Exceptional: detailed, communicative and beautiful. The different processes involved in the job are captured with understated and fascinating precision. The text is always relevant and is well integrated with the drawings, so that the work flows seamlessly along both sketchbooks. Read the Story Second prize – Rita Sabler (USA) for her sketch and story on a freight train operator for The Union Pacific Railroad. Sharon commented: “the story vividly portrays the joys and challenges in people's work, and I love how you captured his personality in your colourful and detailed sketches". Lynne described the entry as: "A beautifully captured portrait of an individual’s very personal relationship with his work. The sketchbook has excellent flow and impact with lovely, delicately detailed sketches which draw you in. The interesting text brings the job to life.” Read the Story As we were so pleased with the calibre of the entries, we are currently having all entries professionally scanned so that we can host an online exhibition of the sketches in the near future. This will take a little time to organise, so we will let the entrants know when it is launched and will post updates on Lynne Chapman’s and our social media platforms. For those who entered the competition and included a self-addressed envelope to have their entries returned, we thank you again for your entry and we will have to ask for your patience. The professional scanner has only one suitable flatbed scanner and has over 84 sketches to scan for us, so it will take a little time to get your sketches back to you. We thank you in advance for your patience. See our Sketches of Work Design View other entries Mark V.