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Media Release

August 17, 2005

UniSA hoping to uncover the antidote to a hard day’s work


We are working longer hours than ever before and in an age when many workers need to deal with a more intense pace of work, dictated by faster, more pervasive and mentally demanding IT and telecommunications technologies - work and home can feel like one long continuum.

Just how these changes impact on people’s lives is the focus of a new research project at UniSA.

And conveniently enough, part of the research revolves around an online survey looking at the interplay between work, home life, sleep and stress. People wanting to take part can log on at www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/TellUS2/SurveyForm.asp?ID=2344 to fill out their own responses (it only takes 10 minutes or so to complete).

Former dentist and now UniSA PhD student in psychology, Dr Peter Winwood, is taking a closer look at work and recovery from work fatigue between shifts and which behavioural factors may help people to minimise work stress.

“After a long day at work there is a tendency to think that doing nothing is the way to relax,” Dr Winwood said.

“But increasingly we have come to believe that being involved in something personally rewarding in your down time, may be the key to successful recovery from work strain, and ultimately a more rewarding life balance.

“There is an enormous amount of research looking at which factors in the workplace may lead to stress and fatigue, but not a great deal that examines what we do in our down time and how it may counteract or compound work stress.

“I want to test the theory that how we spend our time away from work can be just as important in influencing our stress levels and sense of well being, as factors in the workplace.”

Dr Winwood says work fatigue can lead to people to give up some habits and hobbies that could be much more valuable to them long term than they realise.

“Whether you come home mentally or physically fatigued, the tendency is to stop going to the gym, forget about dedicating some time to hobbies and other personally fulfilling pastimes, and get into a pattern of ‘passing’ on social outings – many people hit the couch and think television is helping them unwind,” he says.

“In reality all the stresses of work are still ticking around in the brain and you are not setting up opportunities to ‘turn off’ from them in favour of activities that are rewarding and fulfilling and which actually constitute the purpose that we are working for.

“We suspect that a regular jog around the block, time spent training your dog or doing a craft or hobby, or just some time seeing friends gives people a sense of well being that helps in stress and fatigue recovery.”

Dr Winwood is keen to collect data from all kinds of workers – teachers, emergency workers, people in health and allied fields such as carers and transport workers, office workers and those in the service industries. Log on to the survey, and tell your story.
 

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