Campus Review Vol 31. Issue 05 - May 2021 | Page 25

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There were high percentages of people who were actively trying to improve their work situation during COVID .

Taking the initiative

UniSA research reveals COVID-19 ’ s positive impact on workplace satisfaction .
By Wade Zaglas

While the concept of workplace safety during the COVID-19 pandemic might bring about thoughts of the importance of safe work procedures and life-saving personal protective equipment , research from UniSA shows the most significant risks for many people at work are psychological rather than physical .

The university ’ s Centre for Workplace Excellence ( CWeX ) is a world leader in the area of workplace risk , researching the psychosocial safety climates of the workplace – “ the policies , practices , and procedures an organisation adopts that contribute to the mental and emotional wellbeing of its employees ”.
As COVID-19 forced all organisations and employees to quickly adapt to “ drastically different social circumstances ”, the psychosocial aspects of the pandemic ( eg the effects of working at home ) have been discussed at length .
CWeX researcher Dr Silvia Pignata is an expert in psychosocial environments at work and organisational strategies that help foster employee wellbeing . While she agrees that COVID-19 has transformed many workplaces ( perhaps irrevocably ), she also contends it “ has also ushered in practices that may ultimately have long-term benefits for employees and organisations ”.
“ With all the challenges of last year , there was this huge realisation that people ’ s wellbeing is so important , and I think people are now a lot more conscious of that ,” Pignata said .
“ I think if organisations can move with that momentum and keep encouraging and pushing that wellbeing message , that is a very positive thing .”
During the height of the pandemic in Australia , Pignata and other CWeX Collegues – Dr Amy Zadow , Professor Kurt Lushington and Professor Maureen Dollard – conducted a study on higher education workers who were working from home . One of the key concepts examined in the study was that of ‘ job crafting ’. This concept illustrates that the ability of employees “ to shape their own work responsibilities and goals helps improve their psychosocial wellbeing ”.
“ We ’ re looking at how we can increase people ’ s autonomy at work , their decisionmaking at work , how to make work more fun and more challenging while trying to reduce the things that may hinder people within their work ,” Pignata said .
“ And we found that being able to work from home gave people more autonomy as to how they were going to schedule their day , and this in turn gave them a new sense of ownership over their job .
“ And from that , we ’ ve got some really positive data that there were high percentages of people who were actively trying to improve their work situation during COVID .”
One of the study ’ s key findings was that employees assume more responsibility for their performance , and are more likely to take on new challenges and “ push themselves ” if they are given more autonomy in their work .
“ People may have realised that they need more professional development , or choose to do some online courses , further training , further reading , even just decided to immerse themselves in digital communication platforms to learn the potential of those resources ,” Dr Pignata says .
“ That type of self-directed learning has taken place when people feel they have the autonomy to make those decisions , to shape their job , and then that leads to them enjoying their job more , which flows into more enjoyment in their life in general .”
In addition to the wellbeing benefits for the employee , the researcher says workplaces that implement job-crafting cultures could witness an improvement in productivity , as workers are happier and more engaged .
“ If people are happier , if they ’ re more satisfied in their job , then that ’ s a positive for the individual , but it ’ s also a positive for the organisation ,” she says .
“ So , the next phase of our research is to explore the relationship between those who reported high levels of wanting to craft their own positions , to make more positive contributions , and see if it ’ s had an impact on the organisation .
“ It appears the benefits of job-crafting don ’ t just have an impact on the individual , it can have a big impact on the team , the department , and hopefully , the organisation .” ■
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