Workplace Health and Wellbeing – supporting organisations to create and maintain healthy workplaces

The health of employees is significantly influenced by the characteristics of the workplace. Employees experience a range of physical and mental health conditions as a result of the competing demands of the workplace. Musculoskeletal injuries are common, together with obesity and mental health concerns.

We have worked extensively with male dominated industries to develop appropriate strategies to deal with these issues in the workplace. We have capacity to complete research into a range of physical and mental health aspects of the Defence workforce including prevalence and intervention studies.

We are well placed to conduct research about task rotation and have worked extensively with other male dominated industries to develop appropriate strategies to implement this within the workforce as one strategy to reduce musculoskeletal injuries.

We are well positioned to complete research into reducing workplace obesity in employees using a newly developed organisational based framework.

Competitive advantage

• A mentally healthy workforce is a more productive workforce, is safer, has less injuries and equates to numerous economic benefits
• Reduction in musculoskeletal injuries

Impact

• Healthier workforce, less musculoskeletal injuries and therefore reduced workers compensation costs
• Healthier workplaces
• Knowledge translation and implementation of workplace specific evidence based interventions to reduce the effects of obesity and overweight in the workplace

Capabilities and facilities

• Expertise in industry engagement
• Interdisciplinary expertise

Successful applications of research

• Knowledge translation and implementation of workplace specific evidence based interventions to reduce the effects of obesity and overweight in the workplace
• Implementation of results of research into the Mates in Mining peer review program roll out across mining
• Implementation of results of research into evidence of task rotation in industry, with knowledge translation in the workplace

Partners

• Individual mining companies across Australia
• State and national mining bodies
• Ethos health
• Aspen (originated sponsor)

Associate Professor Carole James