Development of psychological capital in emergency service organisations. The project addresses the research priorities ‘Promoting good health and well being for all Australians’ and Safeguarding Australia. The project will identify ways in which the performance and wellbeing of volunteer and paid members of emergency service organisations can be enhanced, potentially diminishing the likelihood of depression, aggression, and other detrimental effects. The findings will also contribute to the qual ....Development of psychological capital in emergency service organisations. The project addresses the research priorities ‘Promoting good health and well being for all Australians’ and Safeguarding Australia. The project will identify ways in which the performance and wellbeing of volunteer and paid members of emergency service organisations can be enhanced, potentially diminishing the likelihood of depression, aggression, and other detrimental effects. The findings will also contribute to the quality of training provided to leaders in emergency services. Theoretically, the project will advance understanding of the mechanisms that underpin the psychological capital construct, placing Australian researchers at the forefront of this important emerging field of inquiry.Read moreRead less
Older workers & psychological contracts: A dynamic perspective. This project aims to track the trajectories of older workers’ psychological contracts that shape their give-and-take with the organisation. Little is understood about how these psychological contracts change as older workers continue to pursue work through their fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth decades of life. This project tracks older workers over intensive, repeated in-depth interviews and a large-scale longitudinal panel study. ....Older workers & psychological contracts: A dynamic perspective. This project aims to track the trajectories of older workers’ psychological contracts that shape their give-and-take with the organisation. Little is understood about how these psychological contracts change as older workers continue to pursue work through their fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth decades of life. This project tracks older workers over intensive, repeated in-depth interviews and a large-scale longitudinal panel study. The outcomes fill significant gaps in our understanding of older workers’ needs and orientation toward work, and identify the age-related changes and organisational practices that spur older workers to sustain a strong trajectory of productive participation in the workforce.Read moreRead less
Determinants of Researcher Productivity and Impact Over Career Lifespan. As Australia's population is ageing at one of the fastest rates among OECD countries, it is imperative to understand the relationship between age and worker productivity. This project will develop our understanding of how age relates to productivity not only in terms of quantity but also quality of innovations produced. It will also identify personal and contextual influences on productivity. This will help identify ways of ....Determinants of Researcher Productivity and Impact Over Career Lifespan. As Australia's population is ageing at one of the fastest rates among OECD countries, it is imperative to understand the relationship between age and worker productivity. This project will develop our understanding of how age relates to productivity not only in terms of quantity but also quality of innovations produced. It will also identify personal and contextual influences on productivity. This will help identify ways of supporting productivity and participation among older workers. Additionally, this project will provide a sophisticated framework for developing cultures and work environments that are supportive of innovation, by modelling the dynamic interplay between individuals and their environments across several years.Read moreRead less
When and How Does High Pressure Supervision become Abusive? Employees in both public and private sector organisations are today being urged to do more with less. Consequently work team supervisors are under pressure to demand more effort from subordinates. But when does this cross the line to become abusive supervision? This project proposes to develop and test a framework intended to explain, from an employee's perspective, how supervisors can motivate their subordinates to perform and at the s ....When and How Does High Pressure Supervision become Abusive? Employees in both public and private sector organisations are today being urged to do more with less. Consequently work team supervisors are under pressure to demand more effort from subordinates. But when does this cross the line to become abusive supervision? This project proposes to develop and test a framework intended to explain, from an employee's perspective, how supervisors can motivate their subordinates to perform and at the same time avoid being seen as abusive. The project includes three studies whose results aim to have both theoretical and practical implications, and in particular to help supervisors to understand their subordinates' behaviours, leading to improved employee wellbeing and organisational productivity.Read moreRead less
The role of organisational events and emotions in strategic decision-making. Australia's international competitiveness depends to a large extent on the effectiveness of its business organisations. This effectiveness depends, in turn, on the quality of top managers' decision-making. Thus, understanding the way that managers make decisions is of critical importance if we are to develop programs to improve the competitiveness of Australian business organisations. The Australian researchers involve ....The role of organisational events and emotions in strategic decision-making. Australia's international competitiveness depends to a large extent on the effectiveness of its business organisations. This effectiveness depends, in turn, on the quality of top managers' decision-making. Thus, understanding the way that managers make decisions is of critical importance if we are to develop programs to improve the competitiveness of Australian business organisations. The Australian researchers involved in this grant application have been at the forefront of the international movement to include the study of emotions in organisational research. In a series of four projects, they combine with a noted US scholar, who specialises in the study of organisational justice, to study the decision-making patterns of top managers.Read moreRead less
Achieving flexibility through coordination: reframing the practice of ambidexterity to benefit business and employees during organisational change. Work teams are frequently used yet their capability to perform is constrained by organisational restructures that emphasise centralisation. This project will examine ways to mitigate these potential negative consequences through flexible work arrangements that enable and sustain effectiveness for business units and teams as well as for employees outs ....Achieving flexibility through coordination: reframing the practice of ambidexterity to benefit business and employees during organisational change. Work teams are frequently used yet their capability to perform is constrained by organisational restructures that emphasise centralisation. This project will examine ways to mitigate these potential negative consequences through flexible work arrangements that enable and sustain effectiveness for business units and teams as well as for employees outside work.Read moreRead less
Employee wellbeing and productivity: the role of territoriality, conflict and emotions. Australia is investing billions in redesigning modern office spaces, but the effect of office layout on employees is still not well understood. Using innovative real-time data collection techniques, an international team will study the effect of office layout and develop a training package to improve office-worker productivity and wellbeing.
How leaders integrate safety goals for employees to build adaptive safety capabilities in organisations. How can organisations maintain high levels of safety while adapting to constant technological, social, and economic change? This project will investigate how leaders align complex individual goals to develop adaptive safety capability: the capacity of organisations to successfully modify safety systems in the midst of change.
Serving the greater good: using 'Servant Leadership' to build ethical and engaging work practices. The project will result in the first organisational application in Australia of a leadership development program based on scientific foundations of the 'Servant Leadership' framework. The outcomes will benefit organisations of all types in developing the leadership capabilities required to create ethical, positive, and sustainable work environments.
Wise proactivity: making the right things happen in the right way. Little is known about how organisations can motivate their staff to make things happen and at the same time prevent misguided and ineffective proactivity. This project focuses on the concept of wise proactivity. The aim is to develop managers who balance interests beyond their own to make the right things happen in the right way.