Australian Workplace Research Articles

Applying ethics to AI in the workplace: the design of a scorecard for Australian workplace health and safety

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is taking centre stage in economic growth and business operations alike. Public discourse about the practical and ethical implications of AI has mainly focussed on the societal level. There is an emerging knowledge base on AI risks to human rights around data security and privacy concerns. A separate strand of work has highlighted the stresses of working in the gig economy. This prevailing focus on human rights and gig impacts has been at the expense of a closer look at how AI may be reshaping traditional workplace relations and, more specifically, workplace health and safety. To address this gap, we outline a conceptual model for developing an AI Work Health and Safety (WHS) Scorecard as a tool to assess and manage the potential risks and hazards to workers resulting from AI use in a workplace. A qualitative, practice-led research study of AI adopters was used to generate and test a novel list of potential AI risks to worker health and safety. Risks were identified after cross-referencing Australian AI Ethics Principles and Principles of Good Work Design with AI ideation, design and implementation stages captured by the AI Canvas, a framework otherwise used for assessing the commercial potential of AI to a business. The unique contribution of this research is the development of a novel matrix itemising currently known or anticipated risks to the WHS and ethical aspects at each AI adoption stage.

The impact of COVID-19 on Western Australian medical imaging clinical practice and workplace.

IntroductionMedical imaging plays a key role in the management of patients with coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19). This field is at risk from the impacts of the pandemic on the practice and workplace of medical imaging professionals (MIPs). Recent research has explored this impact internationally and in various states of Australia; however, the impact of the pandemic on Western Australian (WA) MIPs is yet to be examined.MethodsThis cross‐sectional study aimed to address this issue by surveying clinically practicing WA MIPs on their experience of the impact of COVID‐19. The survey was conducted online between the 1st and the 31st of May 2021 and encompassed 101 clinical sites.ResultsFifty‐one valid (17.1%) responses were recorded, and a majority (66.7%) of the participants were employed in public hospitals. The results showed that most participants (94.1%) perceived an impact on their clinical practice, with expressions of insufficient access to personal protective equipment (PPE). The use of all the appropriate PPE items were dependent on whether the participants were employed in a public hospital, private hospital, or a private practice (P = 0.001). Perceived imaging volume decrease across modalities did not differ significantly among the workplaces, except for interventional radiology (P = 0.006). The participants also expressed concerns about inadequate psychological support.ConclusionsCOVID‐19 has enhanced infection control procedures and modified the routine imaging patterns. Specifically, WA medical imaging centres have altered their PPE and cleaning procedures based on updated health advice. Efforts should be taken to strengthen the support provided to the staff members and to ensure adequate access to PPE supplies.

‘Women in industry are not meant to be weightlifters’: Gender and the Australian industrial workplace safety film

ABSTRACT ‘Utilitarian’ films - those not for the purposes of art or entertainment - include instructional films addressing workplace safety. Large quantities of these were made in Australia between WW2 and the advent of video and were viewed by many workers in different industries. Their content, social significance and relationship to a wider dispositif of media and labour is therefore a fertile source of information about how work was performed and how it was discursively conceptualised. We can glean information from these films about the presumed class, proclivities, and attitudes that Australian workers were assumed to have. Their address is also gendered, almost exclusively targeting men. In analysing one unusual workplace safety film targeted at women workers, Don’t Be Scalped (R.D. Hansen, 1960 Fortune films and the NSW Department of Labour and Industry), aspects of working-class male subjectivity commonly spoken to in workplace safety films are thrown into relief. This article examines how gendered address in industrial safety films constructs and perpetuates gendered inequalities in broader discourses about health, danger and industrial labour. Don’t Be Scalped illustrates how gender difference is one way this form of utilitarian text polices and normalises attitudes to safety through targeted and specific forms of subjectification.

Worker and manager perceptions of the utility of work-related mental health literacy programmes delivered by community organisations: a qualitative study based on the theory of planned behaviour

ObjectivesReluctance to seek help is a leading contributor to escalating mental injury rates in Australian workplaces. We explored the benefit of using community organisations to deliver mental health literacy programmes...

Exposure to Inclusive Language and Well-Being at Work Among Transgender Employees in Australia, 2020.

Objectives. To provide empirical evidence of the positive effects of exposure to inclusive language on trans employees' well-being. Methods. We leveraged unique data from a large Australian national survey of workplace diversity and inclusion (2020 Australian Workplace Equality Index Employee Survey), focusing on a subset of trans respondents (n = 453). We derived self-reported and aggregate-level measures of exposure to trans-inclusive language and created a multidimensional index of employee well-being. We examined their relationships using fully adjusted random-intercept multilevel regression models. Results. We found strong, positive, and statistically significant associations between different indicators of exposure to inclusive language at work and trans employees' well-being. These relationships were large in magnitude and emerged in the presence of an encompassing set of sociodemographic and workplace controls, including other markers of workplace diversity and inclusion (e.g., victimization experiences and identity disclosure). Conclusions. Our results provide robust evidence indicating that efforts to foster inclusive language at work can yield substantial, positive effects on trans people's feelings of belonging and inclusion, thereby contributing to their overall socioeconomic integration. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(3):482-490. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306602).

Careers of New Chinese Professional Women

This paper considers a specific cohort of new Chinese professional women born under the one-child policy in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It explores their perceptions and experiences of career in Australia through qualitative data collected from twenty-one professionals. This paper seeks to unpack the complexities of their career planning, pathways, and change, including their use of the WeChat platform to mediate their careers. I argue that new Chinese professional women's experience of career is ambivalent. They aspired to achieve some degree of 'freedom' through choosing to further their career in Australia; simultaneously, they attempted to build homeland connections and fulfil familial obligations as Dushengnv. As a result of constant negotiation, their career pathways were full of 'nonlinear' changes. WeChat works specifically as one important platform that structures the ambivalence experienced – it allows them to establish connections with family in China and the local ethnic community, but it may also limit their ability to develop networks in the Australian workplace; it offers opportunities for entrepreneurship, yet it complicates their social positions. The paper contributes to broader knowledge of new Chineseprofessional women's careers.

Application of a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Principal Component Regression (PCR) Chemometric Method for the Quantification of Respirable Crystalline Silica (Quartz), Kaolinite, and Coal in Coal Mine Dusts from Australia, UK, and South Africa.

This article describes the approach used to assess the performance of a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and principal component regression (PCR) chemometric method when measuring respirable quartz, kaolinite, and coal in samples from a variety of mines from different countries; relative to target assigned values determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD). For comparison, FTIR results using the partial least squares regression (PLSR) method are also available. Bulk dusts from 10 Australian mines were scanned using XRD and grouped into three sets based on the levels of quartz, kaolinite, and feldspar within their crystalline mineral composition. Prediction samples were generated from 5 of these Australian mine dusts, Durrans coal dust, 2 mine dusts from the UK, and a single South African mine dust (71 samples in total) by collecting the aerosolized respirable dust onto 25-mm diameter polyvinylchloride filters using the Safety in Mines Personal Dust Sampler (SIMPEDS) operating at 2.2 l min-1. The predicted values from the FTIR chemometric methods were compared with assigned target values determined using a direct on-aerosol filter XRD analysis method described in Method for the Determination of Hazardous Substances (MDHS) 101. Limits of detection (LOD) and uncertainty values for each analyte were calculated from a linear regression between target and predicted values. The uncertainty was determined using the calibration uncertainty equation for an unweighted regression. FTIR results from PCR and PLSR are very similar. For the PCR method, the LOD for quartz, kaolinite, and coal were 5, 25, and 71 µg, respectively. For quartz, an LOD of 5 µg corresponds to an airborne quartz concentration of 10 µg m-3, assuming a 4-h sampling time and collection flow rate of 2.2 l min-1. The FTIR measurement met the expected performance criteria outlined in ISO 20581 when sampling quartz for more than 4 h using a flow rate of 2.2 l min-1 at a concentration of 0.1 mg m-3 (100 µg m-3), the current workplace exposure limit in Great Britain. This method met the same performance criteria when measuring exposures at the Australian Workplace Exposure Standard (WES) concentration of 0.05 mg m-3, although in this case a sampling period greater than 8 h was needed.

Power & consent by Rachel Doyle SC: Challenging the secrecy, blame & shame that occurs in cases of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces

None. Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

The Risk Management Practices of Health Research Ethics Committees May Undermine Citizen Science to Address Basic Human Rights

Abstract Lack of supportive workplaces may be depriving babies and mothers of the health advantages of breastfeeding. This citizen science pilot project set out to engage women in photographing and sharing information on the available facilities for breastfeeding and expressing and storing breastmilk in Australian workplaces. While some useful insights were gained, the project failed in the sense that 234 people ‘liked’ the project Facebook page set up to recruit participants, but only nine photographs were submitted. The heaviest loss of participation occurred after the ethics committee requirements were explained, in particular, the requirement for employer consent to take a photograph, or alternatively, for a participant to agree to bear the risk of taking a photo without permission. The ethics committee also made stipulations about the formality of language to be used. Thus, the project’s potential role as an enabler for health action was neutered. We argue that the ethics requirements worked contrary to our purpose and possibly acted to reinforce the powerlessness some women experience at work.

Impacts and implications of heat exposure in the Australian workplaces

Impacts and implications of heat exposure in the Australian workplaces

How supportive are workplace environments for sitting less and moving more? A descriptive study of Australian workplaces participating in the BeUpstanding program

Desk-based workers are highly sedentary; this has been identified as an emerging work health and safety issue. To reduce workplace sitting time and promote physical activity it is important to understand what factors are already present within workplaces to inform future interventions. This cross-sectional study examined the prevalence of supportive environmental factors, prior to workplaces taking part in a ‘sit less, move more’ initiative (BeUpstanding). Participants were 291 Australian-based workplace champions (representing 230 organisations) who unlocked the BeUpstanding program’s online toolkit between September 2017 and mid-November 2020, and who completed surveys relating to champion characteristics, organisation and workplace characteristics, and the availability of environmental factors to support sitting less and moving more. Factors were characterized using descriptive statistics and compared across key sectors and factor categories (spatial; resources/initiatives; policy/cultural) using mixed logistic regression models. Of the 42 factors measured, only 11 were present in > 50% of workplaces. Spatial design factors were more likely to be present than resources/initiatives or policy/cultural factors. Centralised printers were the most commonly reported attribute (94%), while prompts to encourage stair use were the least common (4%). Most workplace factors with < 50% prevalence were modifiable and/or were considered modifiable with low cost. Organisations that were public sector, not small/medium, not regional/remote, and not blue-collar had higher odds of having supportive factors than their counterparts; however, workplaces varied considerably in the number of factors present. These findings can assist with developing and targeting initiatives and promoting feasible strategies for desk-based workers to sit less and move more.

Refugees at Work: The Preventative Role of Psychosocial Safety Climate against Workplace Harassment, Discrimination and Psychological Distress.

It is widely recognised that employment is vital in assisting young refugees’ integration into a new society. Drawing on psychosocial safety climate (PSC) theory, this research investigated the effect of organisational climate on young refugee workers’ mental health (psychological distress) through stressful social relational aspects of work (e.g., harassment, discrimination). Drawing on data from 635 young refugees aged between 15 and 26 in South Australia, 116 refugees with paid work were compared with 519 refugee students without work, and a sample of young workers from Australian Workplace Barometer (AWB) data (n = 290). The results indicated that refugees with paid work had significantly lower psychological distress compared with refugees with no paid work, but more distress than other young Australian workers. With respect to workplace harassment and abuse, young refugee workers reported significantly more harassment due to their ongoing interaction and engagement with mainstream Australian workers compared with unemployed refugees. Harassment played a vital role in affecting psychological health in refugees (particularly) and other young workers. While refugee youth experienced harassment at work, overall, their experiences suggest that their younger age upon arrival enabled them to seek and find positive employment outcomes. Although PSC did not differ significantly between the employed groups, we found that it likely negatively influenced psychological distress through the mediating effects of harassment and abuse. Hence, fostering pathways to successful employment and creating safe work based on high PSC and less harassment are strongly recommended to improve refugees’ mental health and adaptation.

Factors impacting workplace investment in sit-stand workstations from the perspective of purchasing decision-makers

This explanatory sequential mixed-method study explored the factors associated with the investment (or not) in sit-stand workstations (SSWs) and alternative initiatives to reduce prolonged sitting at work from the perspective of furniture purchasing decision-makers in Australian workplaces. Participants (n = 270) from >200 organisations across 19 industry sectors completed an online survey. Seven interviews were conducted in a sub-sample of participants from organisations without SSWs. The majority (80%) of workplaces reported having invested in SSWs. Workplaces without SSWs, opposed to those with SSWs, were more likely to be private (79.6% vs. 43.5%), of small/medium size (70.4% vs. 35.6%) and without a wellness program (57.4% vs. 22.2%) (all p < 0.05). Financial implications were the main reason for not investing in SSWs. Exercise and stretch breaks were alternative initiatives to reducing sedentary behaviour at work. Better evidence on the return on investment is needed to support purchasing decisions on SSWs.

Emotional Distancing Identity Work by Sri Lankan Skilled Immigrant Women in Australian Workplaces

The identities of skilled immigrant women are often challenged and threatened as they enter the host country workforce. Skilled immigrant women hence seek avenues to stablize their identities to acquire a more socially acceptable self as they navigate the host country workforce. This study draws on 31 in depth interviews data of Sri Lankan skilled immigrant women in Australian workplaces to understand the identity work strategies employed in the sensemaking process through which they establish their identities. We find that Sri Lankan skilled immigrant women in their attempts to secure the first employment opportunity in Australian workforce engaged in emotional distancing from the initial identities they held when they arrived in Australia. Our analysis further discusses the identity negotiation process moving from sensebreaking to sensemaking with identity work posited as the intermediate process between the two stages. We contribute to identity scholarship by furthering the understanding of identity work strategies employed by skilled immigrant women in their early stages of the migration and propose a future research agenda regarding immigrants’ identity work in host country work places.

Longer-term effectiveness of eLearning and blended delivery of Mental Health First Aid training in the workplace: 2-Year follow-up of a randomised controlled trial

IntroductionEvidence relating to long-term outcomes of online education programs is largely lacking and head-to-head comparisons of different delivery formats are very rare. The aims of the study were to test whether eLearning Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) or blended training (eLearning plus face-to-face course delivery), implemented in an Australian public sector workplace, were more effective than a control intervention at 1-year and 2-year follow-up, and whether blended MHFA training was more effective than eLearning alone. Material and methodsAustralian public servants (n = 608 at baseline) were randomly assigned to complete an eLearning MHFA course, a blended MHFA course or Red Cross eLearning Provide First Aid (PFA) (the control) and completed online questionnaires pre- and post-training and one and two years later (n = 289, n = 272, n = 243 at post, 1- and 2-year follow-up respectively). The questionnaires were based on vignettes describing a person with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Primary outcomes were mental health first aid knowledge, desire for social distance and quality of support provided to a person in the workplace. Secondary outcomes were recognition of mental health problems, beliefs about treatment, helping intentions and confidence, personal stigma, quality of support provided to a person outside the workplace, self-reported professional help seeking and psychological distress. ResultsAt 1-year follow-up, both eLearning and blended courses produced greater improvements than PFA training in knowledge, confidence and intentions to help a person with depression or PTSD, beliefs about dangerousness and desire for social distance. At 2-year follow-up, some of these improvements were maintained, particularly those relating to knowledge and intentions to help someone with PTSD. When eLearning and blended courses were compared at 1-year follow-up, the blended course led to greater improvements in knowledge and in confidence and intentions to help a person with depression. At 2-year follow-up, improvements in the quality of help provided to a person with a mental health problem outside the workplace were greater in participants in the blended course. ConclusionsBoth blended and eLearning MHFA courses led to significant longer-term improvements in knowledge, attitudes and intentions to help a person with a mental health problem. Blended MHFA training led to an improvement in the quality of helping behaviours and appears to be more effective than online training alone.Trial registrationACTRN12614000623695 registered on 13/06/2014 (prospectively registered).Trial registry record url: https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=366410&isReview=true

Addressing Harassment as Systemic Discrimination: Realising CEDAW’s Promise of Substantive Equality

Harassment is endemic in Australian workplaces, alongside limited community understanding of either its gravity or its pervasiveness. Sexual and sex-based harassment are frequently (mis)understood as simply inappropriate behaviour rather than as part of a wider structural discrimination against women, thereby undermining its seriousness. In this submission to Australian Senate Education and Employment Committees, we focus on the proposed amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act. We argue that they are not enough to recognise and address harassment as a form of systemic discrimination against women, nor to realise the broader promise of women’s rights and substantive equality as set out in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women [CEDAW]. We argue that the scope of SDA should not be limited by “practicability” considerations or restricted to only certain areas or public life. We also recommend that proposed amendments under the Bill should explicitly recognise that the creation of a ‘sexually hostile’ environment at work or in other areas of public life, through sexually explicit material and pornography for example, is a form of harassment, and part of wider structural discrimination against women. Systemic and structural social harms, such as harassment and other forms of discrimination against women, require systemic and structural changes. They should not be addressed via piecemeal legislative amendments limited to certain areas of public life, such as workplaces. Our submission emphasises the importance of a holistic approach in addressing harassment as a systemic problem, as part of wider structural discrimination against women.

You, Me, and Them: Understanding Employees\u2019 Use of Trans-Affirming Language within the Workplace

IntroductionAs the benefits of workplace inclusion become progressively recognized, employers are making greater efforts to cultivate inclusive organizational environments where employees from diverse backgrounds can thrive. Yet academic research has often neglected issues of sexual orientation and gender diversity. We contribute to redressing this knowledge gap by examining processes of workplace inclusion for employees with diverse genders and sexualities, focusing on an under-researched area—the role of language.MethodsUsing a regression framework, we empirically examine how different individual and workplace factors are associated with employees’ inclusive language use toward their trans- and gender-diverse colleagues. To accomplish this, we undertook the first-ever analyses of unique survey data from the 2020 Australian Workplace Equality Index Employee Survey (n ~ 27,000 employees and ~ 150 employers).ResultsOur results highlight the role of employees’ socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., their gender and sexual orientation, age, education, and religiosity) as well as the role of features of the workplace environment (e.g., employer’s size, location, and inclusion culture).ConclusionsWhile use of appropriate language toward individuals with diverse genders and sexualities constitutes an important stepping stone to their workplace inclusion, this study has demonstrated that its adoption remains incomplete and highly segmented.Social Policy ImplicationsThese findings bear important implications for the design, targeting, and implementation of programs aimed at fostering trans-affirming language and the workplace inclusion of individuals from sexual and gender minorities.

“It’s only the skin colour, otherwise we are all people”: the changing face of the Australian nurse

Objective: The aim of this paper is to report on the experience of racial discrimination by black sub-Saharan overseas qualified nurses working in rural Australia. Background: The arrival of black African people as skilled professional migrants is relatively new in rural Australia. The presence of black sub-Saharan African nurses in Australian healthcare facilities is changing the face of the Australian nurse. Australia, like other developed countries, has been receiving migrant nurses from the African continent in a bid to reverse its critical nurse shortage. Literature has shown that globally, overseas qualified nurses of colour have encountered work challenges that have included racial discrimination. Study design and methods: A qualitative hermeneutical phenomenological approach was used. Eighteen nurses were purposively selected using personal invite and a snowballing technique. Data collection involved individual face to face interviews and a focus group discussion. Results: The exploration of experiences revealed issues of race and colour among colleagues and between patients and overseas qualified nurses. Overseas qualified nurses experienced incidents of discrimination based on race and skin colour from their colleagues and patients. They felt unwelcome, not trusted and undervalued. They adopted various coping strategies to adjust to being seen differently. Discussion: The literature suggests that overseas qualified nurses tend to be discriminated against in their destination countries. In this paper the migration experience of black sub-Saharan African overseas qualified nurses has shown the power of welcoming people to their new country, the existence of discrimination by race at their healthcare facilities as well as showing the importance of trust and teamwork at the workplace. The study has also shown the resilience of black sub-Saharan African overseas qualified nurses in their time of adversity. Conclusion: There are pockets of racial discrimination that need to be checked within the Australian healthcare system. These undermine the confidence of overseas qualified nurses in their professional practice. Implications for research, policy and practice: The results provided insight into the existence of racism within the workplace. Black African nurses need to feel safe in their workplace and need more support to facilitate their integration. Nurse managers need to be more vigilant in monitoring staff interactions in their Units. Understanding and support for diversity at the workplace by all nurses will improve patient and staff safety. What is already known about the topic? There is a global shortage of nurses. Nurse migration between countries has been taking place for a long time, and the trend will continue. Discrimination against migrant nurses of colour has been identified in various destination countries. What this paper adds: Findings from this study suggest existence of racism against black sub-Saharan African nurses in rural Australian workplaces. Black sub-Saharan African nurses need more support from nurse managers. They may get this through close monitoring of staff interactions in the workplace and intervention when racism is noted. Black sub-Saharan African nurses showed resilience in overcoming adversity in their workplace.

Exposure to Hand-Arm Vibration in the Australian Workforce.

To estimate the prevalence of hand-arm vibration (HAV) in Australian workplaces. The Australian Workplace Exposure Survey (AWES)-Hearing was a cross-sectional telephone survey of Australian workers conducted in 2016-2017. Respondents were asked about the time spent using tools or performing tasks known to be associated with HAV during their most recent working day. We created a library of HAV magnitude levels for each tool/task and estimated each worker's daily HAV exposure level using standard formulae. We categorized each worker as to whether they exceeded the daily occupational limits of 2.5 and 5.0 m/s2. Results were extrapolated to the Australian working population using a raked weighting method. In our sample of 4991 workers, 5.4% of men and 0.7% of women exceeded the HAV action limit of 2.5 m/s2 on their most recent working day. We estimate that 3.8% of the Australian workforce exceeds the HAV limit of 2.5 m/s2 and 0.8% exceeds the 5 m/s2 limit. Men were more likely to exceed the HAV limits than women, as were those with trade qualifications, and those who worked in remote locations. Workers in the construction, farming, and automobile industries had the highest prevalence of HAV exposure. Tool groups that contributed to higher exposure levels included: compactors, rollers, and tampers; power hammers and jackhammers; and underground mining equipment. HAV is common in the Australian working population. Given the health risks associated with this exposure, reduction strategies and interventions should be developed, with engineering controls as the starting point for exposure reduction strategies.

Workplace Healthy Lifestyle Determinants and Wellbeing Needs across the Preconception and Pregnancy Periods: A Qualitative Study Informed by the COM-B Model.

Overweight and obesity present health risks for mothers and their children. Reaching women during the key life stages of preconception and pregnancy in community settings, such as workplaces, is an ideal opportunity to enable health behavior change. We conducted five focus groups with 25 women aged between 25 and 62 years in order to investigate the determinants of healthy lifestyle behaviors, weight management, and wellbeing needs during the preconception and pregnancy periods in an Australian university workplace. Discussions explored women’s health and wellbeing needs with specific reference to workplace impact. An abductive analytical approach incorporated the capability, opportunity, and motivation of behavior (COM-B) model, and four themes were identified: hierarchy of needs and values, social interactions, a support scaffold, and control. Findings highlight the requirement for greater organization-level support, including top-down coordination of wellbeing opportunities and facilitation of education and support for preconception healthy lifestyle behaviors in the workplace. Interventionists and organizational policy makers could incorporate these higher-level changes into workplace processes and intervention development, which may increase intervention capacity for success.