Centre for Transformative Work Design

14/06/2023

FINAL CALL for participation in the worker survey on the WA mining industry 📣

The MARS Landmark Study Worker Survey, commissioned by the Government of Western Australia and led by the independent research team at Curtin University's Centre for Transformative Work Design is closing this Friday 16 June 2023 COB.

If you identify as a worker in the Western Australian mining industry, we encourage you to share your views, experiences and perceptions about working in the Western Australian mining industry. This is your opportunity to help shape recommendations for positive change in the industry.

If you have planned to to complete the survey over multiple sittings – this a gentle reminder to complete the survey before it closes on Friday.

👉 The confidential survey will take about 30 minute to complete. Complete the survey now: bit.ly/mars-lms

Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) has approved this study (HREC number HRE2022-0502).

06/06/2023

How's the level of support from your colleagues at work impacting your mental well-being? 💼

Our preliminary review of the mining industry suggests that a perceived team/worksite culture that prioritises mental health (such as through implementing and encouraging employees to engage in mental health initiatives), is linked to better mental health outcomes for workers in mining, such as a higher likelihood of seeking both formal and informal supports.

We want to hear about your experience! Led by our independent research team and commissioned by the Government of Western Australia, the Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Worker Survey is your opportunity to have your say and contribute to positive change in the WA mining industry.

Survey closes on 16 June. Please click here to access the confidential survey: bit.ly/mars-lms 👈

Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) has approved this study (HREC number HRE2022-0502).

30/05/2023

Do you work in the mining industry? We'd like to hear from more of you 📝

The Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Landmark Study Worker Survey has been extended and will now close on Friday 16 June 2023.

Through many people participating in this confidential survey, we can be confident that we make sensible, evidence-based recommendations to the Government of Western Australia to help create and sustain positive work in this critical industry.

Join others who have had their say! Please click here to access the survey: bit.ly/mars-lms 👈

Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) has approved this study (HREC number HRE2022-0502).

24/05/2023

One more week until our survey closes 📢

Mining workers across Western Australia have had their say on our Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Landmark Study Worker Survey, led by our independent research team and commissioned by the Government of Western Australia.

Don't miss your chance to have your voice heard! Your feedback will help us to make evidence-based recommendations to the State Government to help create and sustain positive work in this critical industry.

The survey is independent, confidential and takes about 30 minutes to complete👉 Click here to access the survey: bit.ly/mars-lms

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We thank our Industry Expert Panel members from the following groups who have provided feedback and support throughout the study (listed alphabetically): AMEC (Association of Mining and Exploration Companies), AusIMM (Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy), AMWU - Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, Australian Resources & Energy Group AMMA, Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA, The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia - CMEWA, Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Lifeline WA, Unions WA, WIMWA - Women in Mining and Resources Western Australia

Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) has approved this study (HREC number HRE2022-0502).

15/05/2023

Curious about the MARS Landmark Study and why you should participate? 👷‍♀️🔬

Watch this short video message from our Director, ARC Laureate Fellow Professor Sharon Parker below.

📝 Our MARS Landmark Study Worker Survey is open now to all WA-based mining workers until 31 May: https://bit.ly/mars-lms

02/05/2023

Our Director, Professor Sharon Parker was recently featured in Curtin University's The Future Of podcast to discuss issues affecting health, safety and well-being in the WA mining industry.

🎧 Listen to the full episode: http://curtin.edu/eh9gqf

📝 Our MARS Landmark Study Worker Survey is open now to all WA-based mining workers until 31 May: https://www.transformativeworkdesign.com/mars-landmark-study-worker-survey

Meet Professor Sharon Parker and Dr Patricia Todd. Professor Parker leads the Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Landmark Study, a research initiative supported by the Western Australian Government that aims to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of workers in the state's mining industry by exploring workplace issues. Meanwhile, Dr. Todd serves as the Chair of the Mining and Petroleum Advisory Committee.

Tune in as they discuss the challenges faced by workers in the mining industry and shed light on the importance of mental health awareness in the workplace.


Q1: What is the MARS Landmark Study and why do we need it?
Sharon: “It’s part of a whole-of-government that recognises two things: the importance of the mining sector for our economy, and the evidence that’s suggesting the need to look more deeply at some challenges in the sector. [For example] we did a study on mental health of FIFO workers in 2018, and that highlighted that about one third of FIFO workers were struggling with distress, so depression and anxiety – which is huge and was more than other sectors.“

Q2: Most of us have never worked in a FIFO situation … It is a community that is self-contained and if there is any cause for conflict or a scenario where somebody is feeling victimised, they often have to work alongside those people, and live with the perpetrators as well. That is a unique set of challenges for an industry to address, isn't it?
Patricia: “It is. And add to that that a very high proportion of the people working on mine sites on a contract basis, so they're not direct employees of the company, and many of those people are seeking permanent employment with the company. So that makes it even more difficult for them to speak up if they're not happy about something. That's another layer.”
Sharon: “And … if somebody is an alleged perpetrator of some of these serious offences, what can happen is they can be sacked from that particular company but then rehired by another contracting company – and so the person is still in the workplace. These are also some of the challenges that need to be looked at.”

To listen to the full episode, visit http://curtin.edu/vetk2s

17/04/2023

Attention all mining industry professionals! Do you want to have your say on the Western Australian mining industry? 👷‍♂️👷‍♀️

As part of the Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Landmark Study, the independent research team from the Centre for Transformative Work Design at Curtin University invites you to share your views, experiences and perceptions about working in the WA mining industry across three focus areas:

- Creating mentally healthy workplaces
- Building a culture of safety and respect
- Preparing for workplace safety in the future mine

This survey is open to ALL workers in the WA mining industry, regardless of your role or level of experience. All individual responses will be kept strictly confidential – your individual responses will never be identifiable in any reports.

👉 To participate, click here: bit.ly/mars-lms or email [email protected] to request for a hard copy survey to be mailed to you.

For more information on the survey, visit our website: https://www.transformativeworkdesign.com/mars-landmark-study-worker-survey

Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) has approved this study (HREC number HRE2022-0502).

22/02/2023

Congratulations to our Research Fellow Dr Fangfang Zhang, whose paper has been recognised as one of the top cited papers in Wiley 🔬🎉

The paper, “Job crafting towards strengths and job crafting towards interests in overqualified employees: Different outcomes and boundary effects” published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior by Dr Fangfang Zhang, our Director ARC Laureate Fellow Professor Sharon Parker and colleagues examines how behaviours that are similar in forms may have different underlying goals.

Findings in this study show that:
- Crafting job to better utilise one’s strengths and interests were both positively related to employees’ well-being
- In contrast, only job crafting towards strengths was positively related to employees’ task performance rated by their supervisors

Managers need to be aware of the goals of employees’ job crafting and encourage job crafting behaviours that benefit both employees and organisations.

To find out more, read the full paper here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/job.2517

06/05/2022

We are delighted to announce that the Centre for Transformative Work Design has been awarded funding for a landmark study into mental health and workplace culture across Western Australia's mining sector 👷‍♀️🚧

Funded through The Government of Western Australia's Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety program, which was initially launched in December 2021, the funding enables the centre (part of Curtin University's Future of Work Institute) to undertake a four-year research project to gather and evaluate data on sexual assault, harassment, mental health, drug and alcohol use, and emerging mine safety issues.

This funding aims to further develop mental health and workplace culture initiatives and improve safety outcomes, with preliminary findings expected to be available by September this year.

Read more here:
https://www.transformativeworkdesign.com/post/new-landmark-study-for-stronger-action-to-improve-work-in-wa-mining

Curtin University

The Centre for Transformative Work Design has been awarded funding for a landmark study into mental health and workplace culture across Western Australia's mining sector. Funded through the WA Government's Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety program, which was initially launched in December 2021, t...

01/04/2022

We are hiring 🔬💼

Seeking a post-doctoral researcher to help shape the Organisations and the Mature Workforce research stream at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR).

If you have a PhD in organisational psychology and are passionate about the impact of various work designs on mature workers' well-being, please apply or tag someone who might be interested.

📅 Apply now or by 22 April:
https://lnkd.in/g6ZvDed2

24/03/2022

How to make your work more satisfying? Try job crafting 💼

As part of the "Supporting Student-Mothers: A Work-Life Program" series hosted by Griffith University, our Research Fellow Dr Fangfang Zhang will draw on her extensive research and industry collaborations to share what job crafting is and how you can "craft" your job.

Student-mothers and mothers-to-be, as well as anyone who has interest in this topic is invited to attend this online workshop.

📅 Register here by Tuesday 29 March:
https://lnkd.in/grQMq85s

23/02/2022

Multicultural Communities Council of WA (MCCWA) will be hosting a workshop on the topic of “Motivational Interviewing” for service providers and community leaders on 4th of March 2022 from 10:30am – 12:30pm at Harrisdale Pavilion - 83 Gracefield Boulevard, Harrisdale WA 6112. The workshop will provide an unmissable opportunity for professional development, knowledge acquisition and networking. The cost of the event is FREE, but registration is compulsory.

21/01/2022

We are thrilled to announce that the Centre for Transformative Work Design (CTWD) has been awarded $373,762 in funding from the Safe Work Australia Research Grant Program to explore ways to manage work-related psychological hazards 💼🔬

The two-year project will be led by Dr Daniela Andrei, Professor Sharon K Parker and Dr Jane Chong, and will see collaboration with Bethanie, Western Australia’s leading aged care provider to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a participatory work-redesign intervention in an aged care setting.

We look forward to addressing the evidence gaps in managing work-related psychosocial hazards and supporting the well-being of staff across the Bethanie Group.

16/12/2021

Cᴀɴ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ᴅᴇsɪɢɴ ʙᴏᴏsᴛ ᴘᴇʀғᴏʀᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ? Evidence from our intervention research shows work can be redesigned to enhance performance, with 79% of the studies showed a positive impact! Some types of interventions were more effective than others
http://ow.ly/Q6jt50HbWpu

Years of research have indicated that work that is stimulating, promotes mastery, has agency, is relational, and has tolerable demands tends to result in pos...

01/11/2021

How can we leverage work design as an intervention to reduce/prevent psychological injury in the NSW Healthcare & Social Assistance (H&SA) Industry? 💼

This crucial question underpinned the fascinating and informative presentations at the virtual launch of our exciting new project, Design for Care. Funded by icare NSW, the project is a consortium of partnership between the Centre for Transformative Work Design at Curtin University, University of Sydney, and Monash University.

Read more and watch the recording here: https://www.transformativeworkdesign.com/post/prevent-psychological-injury-in-the-care-sector-smart-design-for-care-virtual-launch

We are keen to connect with enthusiastic and willing partners within the H&SA industry that are insured by icare NSW to participate in our research. For more information and to express interest in participating in the Design for Care project, head to our website: 👉 http://bit.ly/smart-dfc 👈