Search Results

Our People Leadership Team Sharon Parker John Curtin Distinguished Professor, Director, Centre for Transformative Work Design Mail Star Research Fellow Team Michael Chapman Research Fellow Mail Star Lucinda Iles Research Associate Mail Star Cheryl Yam Research Fellow Mail Star Fangfang Zhang Research Fellow Mail Star Research Support Team Meredith Carr Applied Organisational Research Analyst Mail Star Jie Yi Tang Applied Organisational Research Analyst Mail Star Leah Zoszak Applied Organisational Research Specialist Mail Star PhD Students (Research support) Ilker Camgoz PhD Candidate Mail Star Annika Mertens PhD Candidate Mail Yijing Liao PhD Candidate Mail Guofan Li PhD Candidate Mail Operations Team Yue Zhang PhD Candidate Mail Star Kamila Kramarczyk Business Manager Mail Isabel Putri Communications Coordinator Mail Olena Legenka Project Administrator Mail Research Adjuncts Keyao (Eden) Li Adjunct Research Fellow - Edith Cowan University Mail Arian Kunzelmann Adjunct Research Fellow - Edith Cowan University Mail Anu Jolly Adjunct Research Fellow -University of Western Australia Mail Jane Chong Adjunct Research Fellow - University of Western Australia Mail Jane Chong Adjunct Research Fellow - University of Western Australia Mail Florian Klonek Adjunct Senior Research Fellow - Deakin University Mail Caroline Knight Adjunct Senior Research Fellow - University of Queensland Mail Giverny De Boeck Adjunct - IÉSEG School of Management Mail Eva Zellman Adjunct Research Fellow Mail Ulrike Fasbender Adjunct Professor - Universität Hohenheim Mail Eyal Karin Senior Research Adjunct Mail Star Alumni Daniela Andrei Senior Lecturer - School of Management and Marketing, Curtin University Mail Isabeau Tindall Adjunct Research Fellow - School of Population Health, Curtin University Mail Cathy Drane Provisional Psychologist Neira Psychology Mail Madison Kho Lecturer - School of Management and Marketing, Curtin University Mail Laura Fruhen Adjunct Research Fellow - Radboud University Mail MK Ward Head of Employee Dialogue Motive Mail Georgia Hay People Projects & Change Manager, Asia Pacific Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Mail Jess Gilbert Clinical Psychology Registrar PsyQuest Mail Xavier Parent-Rocheleau Assistant Professor - HEC Montréal Mail Bin Wang Associate Professor - Shanghai University Mail Yukun Liu Assistant Professor, Zhejiang University Mail Gigi Petery Co-Manager - National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)/ CDC Mail

FOR INDIVIDUALS Stay connected with your hybrid team Flexible work can affect how much contact you have with colleagues. If you need social contact (high need for relatedness); this can be done by going into the office when needing social contact to achieve work or to get support, or using ICTs to connect with people. Find more resources for workers: Download Back to main page

Top of Page Proactive behaviours and job crafting in teams Project Brief This project seeks to further our understanding of proactive work behaviour in teams (in the form of job crafting). Job crafting involves people altering their tasks and interactions at work to better align them with their needs, abilities, and preferences. There are four different types of job crafting, which involve increasing or decreasing certain job demands or job resources. So far, the research on job crafting has mainly focused on exploring its individual benefits. It suggests that people who job craft are more fulfilled and happier within their job roles, and that they are therefore more likely to thrive at work. To the best of our knowledge however, there is a gap in the research on the ways in which job crafting may affect others. We aim to address this gap in research by studying the role of job crafting in team contexts. In doing so, we shed light on the team dynamics affected by these behaviours, informing our understanding of pro-activity in organisations and contributing to the growing body of research on this topic. We seek to sample a minimum of about 200 adult participants who are either full-time or part-time working to take part in this study. How to participate? You can participate in this research through an online experiment. Your participation involves working on an interdependent task that can be carried out online. First, you will receive some background information about the task. You will then interact with another team member via online messaging about this task. This team member will send you email messages and you may select how you wish to respond to them. Afterwards, you will be asked about your perceptions of this co-worker (i.e. his/her behaviours, e.g. “This co-worker tries to develop him/herself professionally”), as well as some questions about yourself (your gender, age, work experience, etc.). You will only have to participate once in this study and your data will be saved electronically. The entire study should take about 30 minutes to complete. Apart from your time, there will be no extra cost to you for taking part in this research. We will use an experimental approach in this study, and each participant will be randomly assigned to their co-worker for this task. That is, your co-worker will be assigned to you by chance, like tossing a coin. Interested to participate in our simulation? If you would like to help us with this, please click the following link. Link for Online Experiment Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) has approved this study (HREC number HRE2019-0296 Faculty Dr Florian Klonek florian.klonek@curtin.edu.au External Dr Maria Tims m.tims@vu.nl Professor Sharon Parker s.parker@curtin.edu.au Student Investigator Jasmine Labriola jasmine.labriola@outlook.com Other Projects on Team and Organisations

The State Government has engaged the Centre for Transformative Work Design (CTWD) at Curtin University to design and implement a research and evaluation project on mental health, awareness, respect and safety - the MARS Landmark Study in the mining industry. Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Program in the mining industry LATEST RESEARCH Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Program Landmark Study Report: Insights from the worker survey and interviews The Insights from the Worker Survey and Interviews report surveyed 2,550 WA mine workers to understand their perceptions of mental health awareness, respect and safety. Sixty further workers were interviewed one-on-one. Full report Read Ministerial Statement Infographic Summary Report launch slides JUMP TO Key findings Our approach Publications Contact us RELATED RESEARCH Previous study (2018) Key findings Safety remains a strength of the industry Most WA mining workers reported high levels of safety behaviours such as safety compliance and safety participation 4 in 10 workers Reported experiencing positive aspects of mental health at work Levels of bullying are high while preliminary indicators suggest that rates of bullying have decreased since 2018, 16% of workers reported experiencing bullying at least 2-3 times per month in the last 6 months. Underreporting of notifiable safety incidents and near misses While low continue to exist in the industry Nearly 4 in 10 workers Reported feeling burnt out at work Covert forms of sexual harassment (e.g., sexism, misogyny, sexual remarks) are far more prevalent in the mining industry compared to overt forms of sexual harassment About this research The Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Program is a WA Government initiative that aims to improve the health, safety and wellbeing of workers and others in the mining industry. The Landmark Study is one of the many initiatives under the MARS Program . The Landmark Study was commissioned by the Western Australian Government to design and implement a research and evaluation project focused on the mining industry, regarding three focus areas: Creating mentally healthy workplaces By managing psychosocial hazards and promoting positive practices at work that support mental health and wellbeing Building a culture of safety and respect With healthy, safe, gender-equitable, respectful and inclusive workplaces Preparing workplace safety in the future mine Addressing emerging risks and fostering innovation in safety by design, automation and artificial intelligence The Landmark Study will be completed over a four year period, including: A mapping and scoping exercise of initiatives currently undertaken by the Australian mining industry, and initiatives that are applicable to the mining industry A literature review to summarise the existing research A workplace policy and practices survey to understand the initiatives related to mental health, respect, and safety that WA mining companies currently undertake One-on-one, confidential listening sessions with workers and contractors An employee survey of workers and contractors to better understand perceptions of mental health, respect and safety Survey is now closed, thank you for your participation. Our Approach Our advisory groups Industry Panel We have invited representatives from peak bodies, unions, government and public health to join the MARS Industry Expert Panel. The Industry Expert Panel includes representatives from organisations, associations and bodies who are committed to contributing to meaningful change in the mining industry. A key aim of the Industry Expert Panel is to maximise the impact of the MARS Landmark Study by ensuring that the research is guided not only by scientific evidence, but also that findings and recommendations are contextualised for the current Australian mining context and resonates with practices in the mental health sector. The industry expert members of this panel will advise the project team on the unique challenges and issues of the mining industry, to provide feedback at each stage of the project, to connect the project team to organisations in the mining industry, to contextualise findings, and assist with disseminating findings and recommendations. Academic Panel We have a team of senior academics who are subject matter experts who are established and well-respected in their fields. Members of this panel include senior academics from Curtin University (School of Population Health), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre and the University of Western Australia (School of Psychological Science). The academic members of this panel will provide technical oversight of the methodology, contribute to selection of reliable and valid survey measures and provide advise on data analysis approaches, and review key reports. Publications NEW: Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Program Landmark Study Report: Insights from the worker survey and interviews This report establishes a baseline of current practices and experiences, through: a workplace policy and practices survey that assesses the initiatives that mining companies engage in to support employee well-being; an employee survey that assesses employees’ experiences in regard to the three focus areas; employee interviews to understand the lived experiences of employees in relation to the three focus areas. Access the report Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety in the mining industry – MARS Program Landmark Study: Workplace policy and practice survey This report establishes as baseline of current pracitces and experiences, through a workplace policy and practice survey. The survey asked than 100 human resources and related experts about the initiatives engaged in by their current companies. Access the report Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety in the mining industry – The Landmark Study: A review and synthesis of the literature This report provides a literature review which provides an overview and synthesis of the current literatureconcerning the three focus areas: Creating mentally healthy workplaces Building a culture of safety and respect Preparing for workplace safety in the future mine Access the report Towards a healthy and safe workforce in the mining industry: A review and mapping of current practice This report provides an assessment of employee well-being in the mining sector and develops an innovative approach to construct measures of employers’ prioritisation of three dimensions of well-being: mental health and well-being, physical health and safety, and workplace culture that protects against sexual harassment. Access the report Impact of FIFO work arrangements on the mental health and wellbeing of FIFO workers Report produced for the WA Mental Health Commission (September 2018) Access the report Learn more about our study on FIFO mental health In 2018 extensive research was conducted by expert researchers from Curtin University and the University of Western Australia on the impact of fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) arrangements on the mental health and well-being of workers. More than 3000 FIFO workers and partners were surveyed or interviewed. See our research Sign up for updates To receive invitations to the workshops and survey For any enquiries for the MARS Landmark Study, please email marslandmarkstudy@curtin.edu.au. First name Last name Email Position I currently work in the WA mining industry Subscribe to the MARS Landmark Study mailing list (Required) Submit Thank you.

Top of Page Working in virtual teams Project Brief In a world characterized by rapid technological advancements and increasingly flexible workplaces, highly capable information and communication technologies have created the possibility of work environments strongly influenced by technology-mediated-communication. This is reflected in the high prevalence of so-called virtual teams–that is, teams working on interdependent tasks even under conditions of geographical and/or organizational dispersion. Moreover, these advancements have spurred both a societal as well as academic interest in designing future jobs and teamwork in a way that both workers and organizations can benefit from. Albeit the strong conceptual overlap of team virtuality and work design from a socio-technical systems approach, little has yet been done to build bridges between the individual-level focus on e.g., job characteristics and the team-/group-centered perspective of autonomous (virtual) work groups and socio-technical systems theory. In this research project, we aim to combine these two research streams to gain a better understanding of how team virtuality and work design affect each other as well as team - and individual-level outcomes. On 17 August 2020, our CTWD team (Dr Florian Klonek and Cecilia Runneboom) co-facilitated with Dr Lisette Kanse in a session called “Working in virtual teams” in Unit PSYC5556 (Work Design). We recorded the session and reflected on the virtual team simulation below: Contact for more information: Florian Klonek Faculty: Florian Klonek Sharon Parker Partners: Lisa Handke (Free University Berlin) Tom O’Neill (University of Calgary) Patricia Costa (University Institute of Lisbon) Lisette Kanse (UWA) Serena Wee (UWA) Publications: Klonek, F.E., Kanse, L., Wee, S., Runneboom, C., & Parker, S. (in press). Did the COVID-19 lock-down make us better at working in virtual teams? . Small Group Research. Klonek, F.E., & Parker, S. (2021). Designing SMART teamwork: How work design can boost performance in virtual teams . Organizational Dynamics. (Free publisher-copies available until April 11th 2021) Handke, L., Costa, P., Klonek, F.E., O’Neil, T., & Parker, S. (2020). Team perceived virtuality: An emergent state perspective . European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology (Advanced online publication) . Doi: 10.1080/1359432X.2020.1806921 Handke, L., Klonek, F.E., Parker, S., & Kauffeld, S. (2020). Interactive effects of team virtuality and work design on team functioning . Small Group Research , 51(1), 3-47. doi:10.1177/1046496419863490 Costa, P. L., Handke, L., & O’Neill, T. A. (2021). Are All Lockdown Teams Created Equally? Work Characteristics and Team Perceived Virtuality . Small Group Research . Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/1046496421997897 Media and Resources Radio interview Virtual teams’ can overcome barriers to thrive How you can improve the performance of your virtual team - Psychology Today article Team Virtuality and team functioning: What is it, why should we care, and what can be done about it? Video lecture Improved collaboration a pandemic "silver lining": study - HR Daily Other Projects on Team and Organisations

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.

SMART Work is Relational About the model The fourth letter in the SMART work framework stands for 'Relational'. Relational is defined as the extent to which an individual experiences a sense of support, purpose and social contact in their role. As humans, connection to both others and the purpose of our work is a necessary ingredient for feeling satisfied and fulfilled with our jobs. JUMP TO Stimulating Mastery Agency Tolerable demands RELATED RESEARCH SMART Design for Care Watch this animated explainer video on Relational Characteristics of highly Relational jobs Jobs that are highly relational are likely to involve: Employees and supervisors who support each other and show personal interest consist of tasks which add a clear sense of value to the organisation contain a degree of feedback from outside the organisation, leading to sense of feeling valued "People can be having the worst day ever, but they have their hair done and feel better. I like making people happy." - Hairdresser “You get criticised when you're injured and literally can't use your leg form the pain.” - Professional Dancer Characteristics of less Relational jobs Jobs that are less relational are likely to involve: teams and supervisors which offer insignificant social support to one another tasks which provide minimal, if any feedback on their value within the organisation minimal opportunities to feel valued for efforts by people outside the organisation What are the risks of jobs with poor Relational design? From a mental health perspective, research shows that individuals with a low level of social support are at a 24 – 44% level of increased risk for experiencing poor mental ill-health. Interestingly, there was no reported difference in effects between whether this support came from co-workers or supervisors [1]. From an organisational perspective, a lack of relational aspects in work such as social support have been linked to a broad range of outcomes including job stress, job satisfaction, burnout, organisational commitment and employee wellbeing [2] [3]. Research spotlight Several studies have shown that structuring jobs so that workers experience a sense of contact with those their work affects has demonstrated positive effects. In one study, call centre agents were given brief contact with beneficiaries – in this case, individuals who received a scholarship due to funding raised by callers. Compared to controls, these callers significantly increased the time they spent on calls in the subsequent month in addition to their average weekly revenue [4]. A study based in an Australian hospital looked at the effects of introducing increased support through the introduction an advanced practice nurse to assist with junior doctors working on after hour’s shifts. It was found that this change greatly improved the social characters of the work design for junior doctors due to increased support, feedback and interdependence. As a result, junior doctors experienced less uncertainty and improved their proactivity, carrying out more self-initiated rounds of wards compared to previously [5]. Strategies to make work more Relational Whilst some jobs will naturally offer more opportunities to connect with others, there are a number of practical steps you can take to make your work more relational. Below are a number of recommendations to try out. Strategies for Employees Strategies for Managers Strategies for Organisations Here are some tips to make your work more relational: If your work does not have a social club, consider starting one. If there is a social club, make a conscious effort to attend and get to know your colleagues better by showing a personal interest in their lives. Try implementing ‘team lunches’ where members of a team, department or business unit meet once a week and have lunch together. This simple measure can help to boost feelings of connection whilst better understanding how different business units work. To learn more strategies, check out our training opportunities. Explore opportunities Employees who feel more supported and connected with their work are likely to experience a greater sense of wellbeing. To help foster this, below are some strategies to consider: Suggest your team start each day or shift with a short 5-10 minute ‘huddle’ where every touches base and discusses any potential issues or areas where they may benefit from support. When creating project plans or undertaking new initiatives, try to think of members outside your immediate circle of colleagues who may be able to assist or provide guidance. Having a shared objectives with other members of the organisation can help to dissolve silos. To learn more strategies, check out our training opportunities. Explore opportunities To learn more strategies, check out our training opportunities. Explore opportunities Further resources References [1] SafeWork NSW. (2017). Review of evidence of psychosocial risks for mental ill-health in the workplace. New South Wales, Australia. [2] Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., & Van Rhenen, W. (2009). How changes in job demands and resources predict burnout, work engagement, and sickness absenteeism. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 30(7), 893-917. [3] Parker, S. K., (2015). Does the evidence and theory support the ‘Good Work Design Principles’: An educational resource. Safework Australia. [4] Grant, A. M., Campbell, E. M., Chen, G., Cottone, K., Lapedis, D., & Lee, K. (2007). Impact and the art of motivation maintenance: The effects of contact with beneficiaries on persistence behavior. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 103(1), 53-67. [5] Johnson, A., Nguyen, H., Parker, S. K., Groth, M., Coote, S., Perry, L., & Way, B. (2017). “That was a good shift” Interprofessional collaboration and junior doctors’ learning and development on overtime shifts. Journal of health organization and management, 31(4), 471-486.

Videos Play Video Play Video 05:49 Sharon Parker- FIFO report Press Release - 5 Dec 2018 Play Video Play Video 01:16:11 Report launch: How work design shapes mental health in the Healthcare and Social Assistance industry Play Video Play Video 03:37 FIFO workers' mental health and wellbeing - How do FIFO workers experience FIFO work? Play Video Play Video 04:21 Centre For Transformative Work Design - Our Research Play Video Play Video 00:54 Work Design and Cognition (Hot Surgeons) - MK Ward Play Video Play Video 03:18 Highlights - State of psychological injury in the NSW Healthcare and Social Assistance industry Load More

FOR INDIVIDUALS Home office setup A separate workspace in the house is important firstly due to potential greater work-home conflict associated with a lack of a physical boundary and secondly, for your recovery and ability to switch off from work during non-work time. Find more flexible work resources for workers: Download Back to main page

The intersection between work design and entrepreneurship has been considered, but generally speaking, the two domains have progressed separately. Merging these domains may prove fruitful given their potential overlap. Top of Page Work Design and Entrepreneurship Participate in our global study Click here to apply Project Brief How confident are you that your organization is structured to perform? Will the work design in your organization disrupt your growth before you can disrupt your industry? What data can you show to validate that your work design decisions and actions are developing your teams capabilities and setting you up to attract top investors--not causing burnout and bleeding talent? Curtin University’s Future of Work Institute is conducting a study that offers founders/CEOs of high-growth start-ups over 30+ free access to tech and evidence-based frameworks that support visibility into who does what in their organizations, and how to fix resourcing gaps, cracks and overlaps. For 2.5hrs over the next 90 days, share your thoughts on work at your organization as we walk you through guided reflections, and in exchange we’ll give you free access to Functionly and tailored reporting with benchmarks based on independently validated research. That’s US$1,800 in value. You're most likely to benefit from this study if.. Your org is growing to keep up with your ambition, and the complexity of your teams and responsibilities means you're constantly evolving your org structure and resource planning. You are a founder/CEO, senior executive or head of department You have 30+ people who report to you You will make changes to your team in the next 1-2 months You’ve never been a customer or trial user of Functionly If you don’t meet these criteria, consider spreading the word and share a link to this page to other founders and executives . Click here to apply (2 mins) Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) has approved this study (HRE2018-0477). Calling out all start-up founders and CEOs: Join our study! Your Skin in the Game = 2.5hrs over 90 days Use the Functionly intelligent org chart for 90 days (What is Functionly - Demo ) Have four confidential conversations: a 45 min baseline interview + 2 x 20min check-ins + 45min final session with the FOWI research team Complete and share surveys: Share insights about your work and distribute a 5min SMART work design survey to your direct reports at the start, middle and end of the project. What You Get ~ US$1,800 Free access to Functionly intelligent org chart for 90 days to help you with: functional alignment, team accountability, strategic mapping, and building your organization ~ US$300 An evidence-based assessment giving a data-infused snapshot of your work design without the noise. It gives guideposts towards maintaining your work design strengths, and visibility into work design weak points before they create problems like strain and dissatisfaction among employees.This looks like: Personalized guidelines for good work design and how to improve the design and structure of work at your organization ~ US$550 Benchmarks of the SMART work design survey for you and your team. SMART is the leading work design model available worldwide. Developed by Prof Sharon Parker at FOWI, it’s based on decades of research ~ US$950 Click here to apply (2 mins) Share this LinkedIn post Retweet this Twitter post Project Lead M.K. Ward RESEARCH FELLOW Other Projects on Future Work

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 INDIVIDUALS Work-home segmentation preference Research shows that people vary in their preferences for segmenting or integrating aspects of work and home. Find more flexible work resources for workers: Download Back to main page