May the Force Be With You: Furthering Fresh Futures for NSW Police Psychological Strengths, Wellbeing and Retention. There is international emphasis on cultivating the well-being of police but there is little research explicating key psychosocial drivers. Fresh solutions are urgently needed to address complex issues underpinning unsustainable rates of New South Wales Police medical leave, retirement and psychological stress that adversely impact on well-being and capacity to safeguard Australian ....May the Force Be With You: Furthering Fresh Futures for NSW Police Psychological Strengths, Wellbeing and Retention. There is international emphasis on cultivating the well-being of police but there is little research explicating key psychosocial drivers. Fresh solutions are urgently needed to address complex issues underpinning unsustainable rates of New South Wales Police medical leave, retirement and psychological stress that adversely impact on well-being and capacity to safeguard Australians. Capitalising on powerful longitudinal design, gold standard statistics and cutting-edge interdisciplinary and multi-method theory/research, the project aims to explicate psychosocial drivers of New South Wales Police well-being, commitment, resilience and retention and critical characteristics of effective police command units to further fresh futures and enrich the international research agenda.Read moreRead less
A dynamic model of work-related effort, recovery, and affective well-being. The aim of this project is to develop and test a computational model of work-related effort and recovery that explains how people recover from work demands moment-to-moment and day-to-day. Recovery is essential for well-being. Paradoxically, however, those who need to recover find it hard to put effort into recovery. The model will be tested in a series of naturalistic observational studies and controlled experiments. In ....A dynamic model of work-related effort, recovery, and affective well-being. The aim of this project is to develop and test a computational model of work-related effort and recovery that explains how people recover from work demands moment-to-moment and day-to-day. Recovery is essential for well-being. Paradoxically, however, those who need to recover find it hard to put effort into recovery. The model will be tested in a series of naturalistic observational studies and controlled experiments. In each study, subjective and physiological experiences of well-being and recovery are measured as people regulate effort during work and recovery. The result will be a unifying and general model of work recovery, that can inform when and how to intervene to improve employee well-being.Read moreRead less
I sleep, therefore I can: Using sleep strategically to cope with night work. The aim of the project is to identify sleep strategies that shiftworkers can use to minimise cognitive impairment during night shifts. More than one million Australians regularly work at night. In the second half of night shifts, the combination of sleep loss, extended wake, and time of day causes a level of cognitive impairment similar to that associated with a blood alcohol concentration of .05 per cent. The project a ....I sleep, therefore I can: Using sleep strategically to cope with night work. The aim of the project is to identify sleep strategies that shiftworkers can use to minimise cognitive impairment during night shifts. More than one million Australians regularly work at night. In the second half of night shifts, the combination of sleep loss, extended wake, and time of day causes a level of cognitive impairment similar to that associated with a blood alcohol concentration of .05 per cent. The project aims to investigate whether the timing of daytime sleep episodes between consecutive night shifts can be manipulated to increase the duration of sleep and/or reduce the length of wake prior to work. The strategies could then be translated into policy and practice to reduce the economic and social costs associated with night work.Read moreRead less
Heart rate variability biofeedback coaching in reducing workplace stress: laboratory and field investigations. Targeted and informed intervention in workplace stress is a vital concept in stress management, yet it is often misinformed. Using mobile heart rate monitors we are able to measure the causes and consequences of stress in a controlled and natural environment and design specific biofeedback interventions to attack primary sources of employee strain.
A multi-level approach to the management of demands and resources to minimise the risk of psychosocial injury in the workplace. This project aims to identify ways supervisors can effectively manage workplace stress experienced by team members. Expected outcomes include better management of workplace stress and reduction in the number of employees suffering from the stress-induced ill-health, thereby reducing workers' compensation claims for stress and lowering costs.
Supervisor strategies for managing employee stress and strain: a national approach to psychosocial risk management. This research aims to identify supervisor strategies for managing occupational stress in their work teams. Expected outcomes include reduction in the number of employees reporting that they are exposed to stress and suffering from the effects of ill-health, thereby reducing workers' compensation claims for stress and lowering associated costs.
The impact of light intensity during night shifts on circadian adaptation. Each year, the sleep loss and body clock disruption caused by night work cost the Australian economy $2–3 billion in lost productivity, impaired well-being, and poor health. Current regulations limit sequences of night shifts to a maximum of four in a row. However, recent research suggests that this blanket limit may be a well-intentioned, but ill-informed, policy. As a result, we may be inadvertently increasing, rather t ....The impact of light intensity during night shifts on circadian adaptation. Each year, the sleep loss and body clock disruption caused by night work cost the Australian economy $2–3 billion in lost productivity, impaired well-being, and poor health. Current regulations limit sequences of night shifts to a maximum of four in a row. However, recent research suggests that this blanket limit may be a well-intentioned, but ill-informed, policy. As a result, we may be inadvertently increasing, rather than reducing, work-related fatigue. This project will determine whether longer sequences of night shifts may reduce sleep loss and body clock disruption in some workplaces. The project will provide the evidence base for a more nuanced approach to fatigue regulation and a safer workplace for Australian shiftworkers. Read moreRead less
Should we go halves? The impact of split work-rest schedules on sleep and cognitive performance. The purpose of this project is to determine whether it is better to have one long sleep or two shorter sleeps each day. The results of the project will inform the development of work schedules for industries and/or situations where it may be appropriate to work more than one shift per day (such as fly-in fly-out, emergency response).
Improving the performance and wellbeing of introverted leaders. This project aims to investigate the performance and wellbeing of introverted leaders. It intends to test a theoretical model of leader performance and wellbeing which recognises that introverts regularly need to act out of character, that is, extraverted, in order to perform competently in leadership positions. The project proposes that the necessity for introverted leaders to act extraverted will compromise their effectiveness and ....Improving the performance and wellbeing of introverted leaders. This project aims to investigate the performance and wellbeing of introverted leaders. It intends to test a theoretical model of leader performance and wellbeing which recognises that introverts regularly need to act out of character, that is, extraverted, in order to perform competently in leadership positions. The project proposes that the necessity for introverted leaders to act extraverted will compromise their effectiveness and make them vulnerable to low wellbeing. Expected outcomes from this project include a better understanding of the performance and wellbeing of introverted leaders. Intended benefits for introverted leaders include demonstrated efficacy of affective forecasting intervention strategies.Read moreRead less
Well-being and Productivity in Metricised Employee Performance Systems . The project will advance knowledge around the impact that the increasing use of digitised monitoring, performance measurement and metric systems are having on the workforce. It will generate a greater understanding of why, when and how these systems have a positive rather than a negative impact on employee motivation, well-being and performance. It will produce design guidelines to enhance organisations’ understanding and c ....Well-being and Productivity in Metricised Employee Performance Systems . The project will advance knowledge around the impact that the increasing use of digitised monitoring, performance measurement and metric systems are having on the workforce. It will generate a greater understanding of why, when and how these systems have a positive rather than a negative impact on employee motivation, well-being and performance. It will produce design guidelines to enhance organisations’ understanding and capability to sustainably manage and implement the use of monitoring and metric systems. Increasing this capability will help reduce the financial burden of workplace stress that these systems will have, it will positively influence worker well-being and work culture and help increase workplace productivity.Read moreRead less