B4.1
Tracks
Stream B
| Friday, October 30, 2026 |
| 11:45 AM - 12:45 PM |
| Ballroom B (SFR) |
Overview
Reconceptualising Work: A Sociotechnical Research Agenda from the ‘Quality Work in the Digital Age’ ARC-COE | 60 mins | Panel
Presenter
Associate Professor Catherine Collins
University of New South Wales
Reconceptualising Work: A Sociotechnical Research Agenda from the ‘Quality Work in the Digital Age’ ARC-COE
11:45 AM - 12:45 PMAbstract
Rapid advances in artificial intelligence and other digital technologies are reshaping work—transforming what work is done, how it is performed, where and when it occurs, and who performs it. Yet despite significant investment, over 70% of organisations report minimal productivity impact from AI (Ransbotham et al., 2019), often due to insufficient attention to how technologies integrate with existing work systems (Raji et al., 2022). Understanding and guiding these changes requires new approaches to designing sociotechnical systems that place human capabilities, wellbeing, and organisational effectiveness at the centre.
The Quality Work in the Digital Age (QWiDA) Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence brings together researchers from psychology, law, business, economics, education, computer science, information systems, and engineering to develop a new interdisciplinary research agenda on the future of work. Underpinning the Centre is a co-evolving sociotechnical systems perspective, which recognises that technology and work are mutually shaping—such that the design of one influences the other, and both evolve over time (Parker et al., 2025). The Centre is organised around three interconnected research streams. (1) Augmented Working examines how advanced technologies are transforming tasks, decision-making, and human–machine collaboration. (2) Networked Workplaces explores how work is coordinated across distributed human and technological systems operating across distance and time. (3) Future-Ready Workforce focuses on the skills, capabilities, and learning systems required to support workers as work continues to evolve. A Design in Action Hub will work with industry and government partners to co-develop and trial practical tools and methods grounded in the Centre's research.
The panel will bring together QWiDA researchers and the IO psychology community to explore how sociotechnical approaches can support the effective and responsible integration of digital technologies in workplaces. The session will begin with a structured 30-minute panel featuring five members of the QWiDA research team introducing the Centre's research agenda and sharing illustrative cases from partner organisations. This will be followed by a 30-minute moderated discussion between the panel and audience exploring the implications of these developments for research and practice in organisational psychology.
The Quality Work in the Digital Age (QWiDA) Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence brings together researchers from psychology, law, business, economics, education, computer science, information systems, and engineering to develop a new interdisciplinary research agenda on the future of work. Underpinning the Centre is a co-evolving sociotechnical systems perspective, which recognises that technology and work are mutually shaping—such that the design of one influences the other, and both evolve over time (Parker et al., 2025). The Centre is organised around three interconnected research streams. (1) Augmented Working examines how advanced technologies are transforming tasks, decision-making, and human–machine collaboration. (2) Networked Workplaces explores how work is coordinated across distributed human and technological systems operating across distance and time. (3) Future-Ready Workforce focuses on the skills, capabilities, and learning systems required to support workers as work continues to evolve. A Design in Action Hub will work with industry and government partners to co-develop and trial practical tools and methods grounded in the Centre's research.
The panel will bring together QWiDA researchers and the IO psychology community to explore how sociotechnical approaches can support the effective and responsible integration of digital technologies in workplaces. The session will begin with a structured 30-minute panel featuring five members of the QWiDA research team introducing the Centre's research agenda and sharing illustrative cases from partner organisations. This will be followed by a 30-minute moderated discussion between the panel and audience exploring the implications of these developments for research and practice in organisational psychology.
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All panellists are involved in the ARC COE ‘Quality Work in the Digital Age’ (QWiDA).
1. Andrew Neal, Professor of Organisational Psychology, University of Queensland. Deputy Director, involved in all research streams, and will discuss Research Stream 1 on ‘augmented working’.
2. Mark Griffin, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, Curtin University. Research Stream Leader 2 on ‘networked workplaces’; will discuss research stream 2.
3. Eva Kyndt, Professor of Management, Deakin University. Research Stream Leader 3 on the ‘future-ready workforce’; will discuss research stream 3.
4. Karina Jorritsma, Professor of Practice, Curtin University. Chief Investigator in the ‘Research in Action Hub’ which brings QWIDA scholars together to help address tangible work problems.
5. Catherine Collins, Associate Professor in Organisational Behaviour, UNSW. Chief Investigator in research stream 2; will share a case study for how QWiDA engages with partner organisations via ‘reverse pitches’.
Catherine Collins and Karina Jorritsma will co-chair the Panel Discussion.
Professor Andrew Neal
Co-Presenter
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM.....
My research examines human performance and motivation. The goals of my research program are to: a) improve scientific understanding of the basic cognitive and motivational processes that produce variability in performance over time and across different settings; and b) to enhance the performance, safety and effectiveness of people at work. The primary industries in which I work are aviation and defence.
Prof. Sharon Parker
Curtin University
Co-Presenter
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM.....
Sharon K. Parker is an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow, Director of the Centre for Transformative Work Design at Curtin University, and a John Curtin Distinguished Professor of Organisational Behaviour in the Curtin Faculty of Business and Law. She received the ARC Kathleen Fitzpatrick Award for mentoring and the Academy of Management OB Division Mentoring Award. She was named Curtin University’s Research Leader of the Year in 2023 and WA Premier Scientist of the Year in 2024.
Professor Parker’s research focuses on job and work design, proactive behaviour, employee performance, organisational change, and quasi-experimental research methods. She has published more than 250 internationally refereed articles in leading journals, including the Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, and Annual Review of Psychology. Her work has been cited more than 60,000 times and has influenced work health and safety policy in Australia, the UK and the USA. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences and the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology.
Professor Karina Jorritsma
Curtin University
Co-Presenter
11:45 AM - 12:12 PM.....
Professor Karina Jorritsma is Professor of Practice at Curtin University’s Future of Work Institute. An organisational psychology researcher specialising in work design and psychosocial risk, her applied research examines how IO psychology can shape complex sociotechnical systems before workforce impacts are locked in. She has led and contributed to multidisciplinary research across defence, mining, emergency services, and government, developing methods and frameworks that bring work design evidence into system design, acquisition, and workforce transition planning. She works at the interface of research and practice, translating evidence into practical tools, policy guidance, and design recommendations that support healthier, more sustainable work.
