Curtin University Research on Managing Psychosocial Risks in Aged Care

The Centre for Transformative Work Design at Curtin University  is a Safe Work Australia research grant recipient, and has completed a notable research project aimed at exploring interventions to better oversee psychosocial risks in the aged care sector. 

Project Overview

The findings suggest that a work redesign process can both effectively and cost-efficiently reduce job demands with tailored designs that are specific to the needs of the organisation and its employees.

The 2-year research project was conducted for a large Australian not-for-profit aged care provider, comprising of four residential care facilities. The project had an aim to eliminate or minimise psychosocial risks associated with increased job demands in the aged care sector. 

Key Findings and Methodology

Work Redesign and Worker Involvement

The research concluded that involving workers in the identification process of psychosocial hazards and work redesign may result in greater improvements than just directly implementing control measures. Successful work design amplifies work health and safety, human performance, job satisfaction, and business success. It is ideal to begin at the earliest planning stage to maximise the opportunity to design-out hazards and design-in efficiencies.

Comprehensive Methodology

The project utilised a detailed methodology spanning four key stages:

1. Baseline Assessment: Data collection through systematic reviews, surveys, and interviews to understand job demands experienced by aged care workers.
2. Intervention Development and Implementation: Design and implementation of work redesign solutions via participatory workshops.
3. Intervention Evaluation: Assessment of the work redesign intervention’s effectiveness through various data sources.
4. Intervention Scaling: Supporting the scaling of the intervention and informing broader implementation through cost-effectiveness analysis.

A review of a combined 65 academic research articles illuminated the various job demands in aged care. Some of these were time pressure, physical demands, and emotional demands. Surveys revealed that the most frequently experienced demands were not always the most strongly correlated with wellbeing, guiding targeted work redesign solutions.

Engaging the workers to help identify job demands and generate redesign solutions was the crucial part. This approach led to major reductions in time pressure and emotional demands at intervention sites compared to non-intervention sites.

Intervention sites showed increased organisational commitment, with workers rating their workplaces more favourably. Although there were improvements in coworker support, no significant changes were found in supervisor support or role clarity. Both intervention and non-intervention sites saw increases in emotional exhaustion, possibly due to concurrent changes in the sector.

Recommendations for Future Interventions

Organisations aiming to reduce job demands through work redesign should:

1. Understand the Problem Space: Utilise a variety of data collection methods to identify various job demands and the impacts.
2. Involve Workers: Engage employees in all stages of intervention planning, development, and implementation in order to create genuine effective solutions.
3. Monitor Effectiveness: Using quantitative and qualitative methods to ensure the fruitfulness of work redesign solutions.
4. Promote Continuous Improvement: Maintain awareness in order to identify opportunities to modify and improve work design to address psychosocial risks.

Conclusion

The research report provides substantial evidence for effective approaches to work design and managing workplace psychosocial risks. It highlights the importance of involving workers in the process and tailoring interventions to specific organisational needs. Safe Work Australia supports high-quality research to expand the evidence base and tackle future challenges in work health and safety.

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Sources

Research finds redesigning work may help reduce psychosocial risks in aged care, by Safe Work Australia, 23 July 2024

Designing SMARTer work to reduce psychosocial risks, by Safe Work Australia, July 2024