Work & Stress Research Group

The concept of the Work and Stress Research Group grew out of the need to respond to urgent work health issues in the areas of ergonomics, work stress, violence at work, drug addiction, and unemployment and provide a focus for quality research and consulting. The Work and Stress Research Group was registered with the University of South Australia in December 1996, although members of the group have been collaborating in projects for many years. The group is a multidisciplinary, cross-campus (Whyalla-Adelaide), and cross-university (SA-Adelaide) team. The group has a strong research and consulting profile with a demonstrated ability to attract nationally competitive research grants, with members of international standing. Members of the group currently hold positions at a national level in the International Stress Management Association (President, Chair, and Treasurer).

The focus of our work is in the following areas

the work environment and other factors affecting well-being and productivity
unemployment, underemployment, social alienation and social exclusion
selection, recruitment, and life quality of rural and urban workers
economic shift due to enterprise development and impact on life quality
workplace stress and other factors affecting well-being and productivity
bullying, violence in the workplace
workers compensation for work stress
impact of globalization on workers in the world

Clients

ARC - Linkage International
ARC - Discovery
ARC – Linkage
Financial Foundation Markets for Children Research Grant
New South Wales Workcover Authority
SA Office for Commission of Public Employment
Council for Remote Area Nurses of Australia, Alice Springs, Northern Territory
SA Department of Family and Community Services
SA Department of Correctional Services
Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services
Dairy SA
Salvation Army
SA Office for the Commission of Public Employment

Recent projects

Modelling work stress in dairy farmers and trailing supportive interventions in the context of economic upheaval from price deregulation
Flash Point in the Third Sector: A longitudinal follow up study of the clergy care 'battle' within The Salvation Army
The Australian-Netherlands project on work and stress research
Optimal Resourcing: A longitudinal study of work demands, resourcing, and psychological well-being in Australian frontline police officers
Transition from school to work: A longitudinal investigation of unemployment, underemployment, alienation, social exclusion and mental health in young people

Modelling work stress in dairy farmers and trailing supportive interventions in the context of economic upheaval from price deregulation

Project Summary
This study models work stress in SA dairy farmers, and develops and pilots supportive intervention strategies in the context of tumultuous upheaval from price deregulation (July, 2000). Dairy farmers, a high-stress rural occupational group, will receive $1.74 billion restructuring compensation. However little is known about dairy farmer stress. Participatory methodology will actively involve Dairy SA and will be informed by contemporary theories (Demand-Control-Support and Effort-Reward Imbalance). Stress studies of self-employed populations are rare and complementary exploration of multiple theories is innovative. Outcomes include recommendations to policy makers, peak bodies and government agencies, and will have broader national significance.

Key researchers: Maureen Dollard, Saswata Biswas, Jane Farrin, Philip Heffernan

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Flash Point in the Third Sector: A longitudinal follow up study of the clergy care 'battle' within The Salvation Army

Project Summary
Increasing community demands for social support from clergy, along with organisational pressures is thought to underline the repeated observation that clergy work is highly stressful. The Salvation Army specifically is alarmed by current low retention and recruitment rates. This innovative longitudinal study of clergy well-being and productivity uses a participatory action research design to follow-up army officers over a one year period, during which time one-third will be required to relocate to various Australian states in accord with their vocation. Findings will be important for increasing awareness and implications for clergy care in both The Salvation Army and clergy universally.

Key researcher: Maureen Dollard

The Australian-Netherlands project on work and stress research

Project Summary
Rapid changes in the nature of work globally require critical surveillance for effects on worker well-being and productivity. Occupational health policy trends in Australia and The Netherlands support continuous monitoring of the work environment. This project therefore provides a timely opportunity structure for intellectual exchange and capacity building for Australian and Dutch work and organisational psychologists, specifically in work stress and unemployment research. Highly experienced and emerging researchers together will develop and implement projects transnationally. Outcomes will include: joint doctoral-post doctoral supervision; joint publications and grants; advanced knowledge and applications, with international policy implications for improving working life and productivity.

Key researchers: Maureen Dollard, Tony Winefield, Jacques Metzer, Rob Ranzijn, Jan De Jonge, Wilmar Schaufeli, Arnold Bakker, Maria Peeters, Pascale Le Blanc

Optimal Resourcing: A longitudinal study of work demands, resourcing, and psychological well-being in Australian frontline police officers

Project Summary
Expanding the Job Demands-Resources model of job stress to include upstream pressures on the organisational system, this research will provide important insights into the relationships between psychosocial risks (current resources and demands) and police wellbeing. Using 3 wave longitudinal designs, and ‘objective’ measures of demands and resources, the research will extend the stress development literature by exploring exposure (cross-sectional, 1 year) and time lag (2 year) causal pathways. The findings will make a significant contribution to contemporary job demand/resource theories of occupational stress and assist in the development of policies to enhance the occupational health and safety of frontline police officers.

Key researchers: Maureen Dollard, Tony Winefield, Jan De Jonge, Arnold Bakker

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Transition from school to work: A longitudinal investigation of unemployment, underemployment, alienation, social exclusion and mental health in young people

Project Summary
This project is the second phase of a longitudinal investigation that examines the transition of young people from school into the workplace and/or higher education. It will provide important insights into the psychological effects of unsatisfactory employment on psychological well-being, as well as information concerning the social and psychological factors enhancing young people's capacity to adapt to life after school. The findings will assist policy-makers in targeting interventions to those most affected by unfavourable work experiences, assist in the early identification of underachievement at school, and inform school-based career-counselling strategies designed to enhance retention rates and ultimately longer-term work success.

Key researchers: Tony Winefield, Paul Delfabbro, Maureen Dollard, Jacques Metzer, Anne Hammarstrom

Grants

ARC Discovery

2005-2007 Winefield, AH, Delfabbro, P., Dollard MF, Metzer, J. Transition from school to work: A longitudinal investigation of unemployment, underemployment, alienation, social exclusion, and mental health in young people.
2001-2003 Winefield, A. H., Dollard, M. F., Metzer, J.C. ARC, Large Grant. Unemployment, underemployment, alienation, social exclusion, and mental health in young people: A longitudinal investigation of South Australian school leavers.

ARC Linkage

2005-2008 Dollard, M. F.,Winefield, A. H., De Jonge, J., & Bakker, A. Optimal Resourcing: A longitudinal study of work demands, resourcing, and psychological well-being in Australian frontline police officers. Australian Research Council Linkage.
2002 Dollard, MF. Flashpoint in the Third Sector: A longitudinal study of Clergy care and well-being in Salvation Army Officers, Australian Research Council Linkage.
2001-2003 Dollard, M. F., Biswas, S., Farrin, J., & Heffernan, P. Modelling work stress in dairy farmers and trialing supportive interventions in the context of economic upheaval from price deregulation. Australian Research Council SPIRT (Industry) (APAI).
2000-2002 Dollard, M. F., & Winefield, A. H. The role of trust in the correctional work environment and implications for intervention. Australian Research Council SPIRT (Industry) (APAI).

Other Nationally Competitive

2000-2001 Dollard, MF, Edwards, J., Wilkinson, D., Holloway, J., & Farrin, J. Farm chemical exposure in rural South Australian children. Financial Markets Foundation for Children Research Grant.

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