Research projects

Addressing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Challenges

ESG captures the idea that firms should not be evaluated just on their commercial performance but also on their environmental, social, and governance performance. This numeric evaluation is aimed at giving ESG concerns a “legitimate” seat on the table along with other financial indicators of firm performance.

Closing Gender Pay Gaps

Gender pay gaps aren’t just a problem for women – they’re a problem for employers. Our research shows that firms sabotage their own diversity efforts when they appoint women to senior leadership roles but pay them less than men. When there’s a gender pay gap among executives, adding women to the executive team lowers the firm’s return on assets.

Evaluating Wellbeing SA’s Healthy Workplace Check (HWC) Tool

Healthy, safe and thriving workplaces can have a profound positive impact on the people and economy of South Australia (SA). Research evidence shows that workplace safety, employee health and wellbeing lead to increased productivity, reduced workforce injuries and illness, enhanced employee engagement and job satisfaction combined with a stronger sense of community cohesion.

The Future Workplace project

As nations and organizations construct future working approaches, there is an emerging assumption that the use of “new ways of working” accelerated in the pandemic will continue: The FUTURE WORKPLACE project is working with large firms to establish the impact of the design of the workplace on individual and team engagement in discretionary performance, focusing on the “above and beyond” activities that allow groups and teams to get more done, more effectively and efficiently, while building organizational trust and commitment.

Rebuilding Life after migration

We aim to conduct an in-depth of investigation of the diverse contextual factors impacting the settlement experiences of refugee and migrant background youth, and the role of support services. The study will provide the settlement sector and service providers with crucial new knowledge on how to foster the wellbeing of these young people. Conducted across three countries, Australia, Canada, and USA, and involving 1200 surveys and 54 focus groups, the research study will be one of the most comprehensive studies of refugee and migrant youth settlement in the world.

Digital communication and work stress in Australian University Staff: a multilevel study

In the Australian higher education sector, high email volumes and increasing levels of psychological strain (work stress) can affect employees' health and well-being. These pressures are likely to have additional direct consequences on the recruitment and retention of high quality academic staff and the teaching of future professionals with implications for future GDP.

Tranquillising Work Stress: Corporate Climate and Antidepressant Use

This National project will investigate the plausible link between distress at work and Australia’s high levels of antidepressant use, through creative linkage of data from the Australian Workplace Barometer (10-year longitudinal study) to antidepressant medication data (via the national Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme).

Bullying at work: manage the risk

When policies, procedures, and processes for managing people and tasks do not operate effectively within organisations, there is a risk that workers will feel mistreated, bullied, burnt-out, and distressed. With this in mind, we have developed a novel, evidence-based risk audit tool which allows organisations to take a proactive approach to risk management to improve the psychosocial work environment.

Stress Café: tools for workplace wellbeing

The StressCafé is a unique resource for sharing information about workplace stress in different occupations in Australia and overseas. The Centre for Workplace Excellence is undertaking a range of research within the StressCafé, focusing on equipping organisations with the best knowledge and tools for happy, supportive and productive workplaces.

Breaking free: How organisations become front runners in gender diversity

This project aims to understand why a few exceptional organisations make substantive progress toward gender equality when so many of their competitors fail. Gender equality has social and economic value but despite decades of equal opportunity legislation and investment in gender initiatives, gender inequality persists in organisations all around the world..

National Review into Work Conditions & Discrimination among Pregnant & Parent Workers in Australia

There is a steadily increasing number of working parents in Australia, but since 2014 there has been no follow-up nationally-focused investigation of the prevalence, nature, and consequences of workplace discrimination or general work conditions for parents.

Unlocking the Secrets of Workplace Stress: The Cortisol Connection and Psychosocial Safety Climate Role

The Australian Workplace Barometer (AWB) project aims to provide science driven evidence of Australian work conditions, through a national monitoring system.

From Workspaces to Workplaces: Does Circularity in Buildings Make People Return to CBDs

The failure to incentivize in-person work as the transition toward flexible working arrangements seems irreversible poses significant challenges for existing office spaces including in CBDs, potentially diminishing their role as hubs of economic and social activity. This project explores whether implementing circular, sustainable practices in office design and management can address these challenges by creating workspaces that employees are eager to use.