MEDIA RELEASE: 21 June 2023
Thursday, 15 June 2023: SuperFriend, a leading workplace mental health not-for-profit organisation, has announced key findings from Australia's largest workplace mental health survey, the 2022 Indicators of a Thriving Workplace. The national survey, encompassing nearly 10,000 Australian workers across 19 industries, has identified critical insights and recommendations for the Public Administration and Safety industry.The 2022 survey identified five core Domains that play a crucial role in fostering a thriving workplace: Leadership, Connectedness, Safety, Work Design, and Capability. These Domains were used to evaluate industries and score their performance against a national average. Additionally, the survey assessed industries on key psychological hazards, with the lowest scoring including Inappropriate Workload, Low Recognition, Poor Change Management, Poor Management Support, and Low Job Control.
The Public Administration and Safety industry received its highest Domain score in Capability, indicating workers are well-equipped to support their mental health. The survey identified Leadership as the lowest-scoring Domain, aligning with two poorly controlled psychological hazards: Poor Change Management and Poor Management Support. The results highlight the need for improvement in the industry’s leadership practices.
SuperFriend's CEO, Darren Black, emphasised the importance of addressing these challenges, stating, "The findings from SuperFriend’s survey highlight an opportunity for workplaces in the Public Administration and Safety industry to enhance their Leadership Domain score. Leaders must model organisational values and create avenues for workers to provide input into decision-making processes.
By fostering a culture of transparency and collaboration, leaders within the Public Administration and Safety industry can promote a mentally healthy workplace environment, which is good not only for workers but also for improved business outcomes,”
Said Darren.
This year is the eighth year that SuperFriend has conducted the Indicators of a Thriving Workplace survey, and the 2022 survey introduced updated measurement tools to capture more factors influencing workplace mental health than ever before.
