Zettna, Nate; Jolly, Anupama; Trezise, Monica; Cheng, Wen-Hung (Ryan); Gelaw, Asmare; Askovic, Mina; Kunzelmann, Arian; Iles, Lucinda; Forner, Vivien; Thomas, Cati; Deng, Connie; Carr, Meredith; Graf, Emmilly; Sheehan, Luke; Gray, Shannon E; Collie, Alex; Nguyen, Helena; Johnson, Anya; Parker, Sharon

The health and social assistance (H&SA) industry is a highly complex and ever-changing work environment, often leaving workers vulnerable to poor mental health and well-being (Barnett & Grabowski, 2020; Cooke & Bartram, 2015). This symposium will bring together recent research findings across four different studies, including the application of work redesign interventions across organisations in social care, the work design and technology use for vulnerable care workers, as well as an analysis of workers’ psychological injury compensation data. The aim is to provide new insights into both preventing poor well-being among HS&A workers and re-integrating those with mental injuries back into the workforce. First, Trezise et al. apply SMART work design theory (Parker & Knight, 2023) through a work redesign intervention at a residential aged care facility. The intervention was co-created with care workers and site leaders and aimed at mitigating time pressure and emotional demands among workers. Semi-structured interviews highlight the interconnection between decreasing work demands and increasing job resources, particularly role clarity, decision-making control, and co-worker support. The second study (Jolly et al.) focuses on quantitative findings from a disability organisation’s participatory work redesign intervention process. This involved assessing work design, empowering employees to redesign aspects of their jobs, and evaluating how work design and well-being changed after the interventions. Using multi-level analyses, the study will demonstrate how participatory work redesign can help improve job resources and well-being over time. The third study (Cheng et al.) examines how both traditional (role clarity) and modern (relational technology use) aspects of work design can help protect disability care workers with vulnerable backgrounds (e.g., those with mental health concerns) from poorer well-being outcomes and their inability to deliver compassionate care to clients. The final study (Gelaw et al.) examines disability duration and the burden of compensated time loss for workers in H&SA following psychological injury. Using accelerated failure time models, median disability duration and total weeks of working time lost (WWL) per 1000 workers were compared between H&SA and other industries, and within HSC occupational groups. H&SA workers had a median disability duration of 12.4 weeks, less than 15.3 weeks in other industries. Ambulance officers had the longest disability duration (31.1 weeks) and highest WWL (15,734 weeks per 1000 workers). Nurses had the shortest disability duration (8.0 weeks). Significant variations in work disability duration and burden across H&SA occupational groups underscore the need for occupation-specific support to improve return-to-work outcomes.

These learning objectives inform professional development on the topics of psychosocial risks, psychological injury, and technology. Participants will be expected to think about how the content around these topics applies to their own work in organisational settings, and be encouraged to engage in self-directed learning following the presentation of the content in the presentation. Measurement of learning objectives will be achieved through interactive facilitated discussion in this symposium.
1. Understand the work design opportunities and challenges facing the critical workforce of the healthcare and social assistance industry
2. Develop their understanding of the practical application of the SMART work design model (Parker & Knight, 2023) in organisational settings
3. Learn about the impacts of psychological injury on healthcare and social assistance workers, and the support needed to improve return-to-work outcomes