Workplace mental health research
I have recently been invited to join the Advisory Committee of SuperFriend which has been collecting data relating to Workplace Mental Health for the last 9 years.
This resulted from an invitation via Dr Niki Ellis who is a Director on the SuperFriend Board and Chair, SuperFriend Expert Advisory Committee based in Sydney. Niki has been a leader in OHS in Australia including as the CEO of ISCRR (The Institute for Safety Compensation and Recovery Research) in Melbourne for many years.
There is a link to their survey analysis at https://www.superfriend.com.au/research/workplace-mental-health-statistics. The Thriving Workplace Survey involved 10,000 Australian workers who completed an online survey in August 2023. This survey contains more than 100 questions about factors known to influence mental health.
These have been collated into five domains – Connectedness, Safety, Leadership, Work Design and Capability. Results included that 38% of workers reported experiencing either high or very high levels of psychological distress in the four weeks prior to completing the survey. Almost one in three workers reported some symptoms of burnout, while one in 20 reported being “completely burned out”.
The research team have a range of projects that are providing inputs to Safe Work Australia, insurance companies and other research bodies in Australia and internationally. Have a look on their website for an interesting range of findings.
David C Caple AM
Director
David Caple and Associates P/L
