The Future of Work @ Macquarie University
The Future of Work @ Macquarie University Project
To support effective responses to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on current and future challenges to the way we work, Macquarie University has commissioned the Centre for Workforce Futures to conduct a research study on ‘The Future of Work @ Macquarie University’, as part of its Operating Plan and ‘Ways of Working’ area of focus.
The study aims to ensure a strong foundation in the literature, combined with the inclusion of employees’ voices through an Ideas Generation Process and focus groups involving University staff. To this end, the project team seeks as many staff as possible to contribute ideas, and unique perspectives on current and future ways of working at Macquarie.
The research team is being led by Professor Lucy Taksa (Director, Centre for Workforce Futures), Professor Jean-Philippe Deranty (Philosophy Department and Deputy Director, Centre for Workforce Futures) and Centre members, Associate Professor Yvette Blount, Dr Troy Sarina and Dr Bona Anna.
Professor Taksa: “Staff input into this important study is absolutely vital. Tapping into the collective creativity and expertise that exists across our Macquarie community is essential for the project to deliver viable recommendations for a sustainable, efficient and equitable future of work at Macquarie. Together with the other members of the research team, I encourage as many people as possible to contribute their knowledge and their ideas to the qualitative dimensions of this project".
ONLY Macquarie University staff members can participate in this research project.
All Macquarie University staff members are invited to contribute their ideas by engaging with the Ideas Generation Process through the Limesurvey platform specifically on the five major challenge themes developed for the project:
- working arrangements
- work locations
- collaboration, communication and consultation
- new technologies, technological resources and support
- workplace health and safety.
Staff participation in this research engagement is voluntary.
Please see the Project advertisement and the Participant Information and Consent Form.
For further details see https://www.mq.edu.au/thisweek/2021/02/01/be-part-of-the-future-of-work-macquarie-university-research-study/.
Contact details for the research team from the Centre for Workforce Futures (CWF) are as follows:
Professor Lucy Taksa (Director, CWF, (02)98508514, lucy.taksa@mq.edu.au);
Professor Jean-Philippe Deranty (Department of Philosophy and Deputy Director, CWF, (02)98506773, jp.deranty@mq.edu.au);
Associate Professor Yvette Blount (Department of Accounting and Corporate Governance and CWF, (02)9850 8514, yvette.blount@mq.edu.au);
Dr Troy Sarina (Department of Management and CWF, (02)98501050, troy.sarina@mq.edu.au); and
Dr Bona Anna (CWF, bona.anna@mq.edu.au).
Ideas Generation Process
Only those staff who have received an email invitation from Brian Balsun-Stanton, Solutions Architect (Digital Humanities), Arts Faculty, Macquarie University, will be able to contribute to the Ideas Generation Process. We invite those staff members who have not received an invitation but would like to contribute to the project to email Brian at brian.ballsun-stanton@mq.edu.au.
Focus Groups will be organised following the analysis of deidentified data from the Ideas Generation Process by the research team.
Focus Groups
Focus Groups will be organised using an EOI process to select 50 staff members, encompassing representative staff from the following diagonal slices of the university staff community: Academic/professional staff, organisational units (including Faculties/portfolios /divisions), levels/seniority, diversity groups, type of employment (continuing/fixed/casual), managers and workers.
Focus Groups will commence with the same key questions posed as part of the Ideas Generation Process.
Staff interested in participating in focus groups for this project should email Dr Bona Anna at bona.anna@mq.edu.au.
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the way work is organised and the higher education sector responded to these circumstances through changes to teaching, research and administrative services with increases in work from home and increased use of online technologies.
As the pandemic progresses, it seems that some of the major changes to how we work will persist post-COVID. A key emerging issue is how to provide a framework that ensures flexible options enabling staff well-being and decent work, and helps managers to supervise staff remotely, to set appropriate objectives, and to create opportunities for new approaches to performance and productivity.
While much is being written by many consulting groups, industry peak bodies, and governments, about the pros and cons of remote work / working from home and the use of a variety of technologies, to date little has been published on the higher education sector.
Accordingly, the project team is reviewing scholarship relating to changes in work organisation generally and more specifically in the higher education sector prior to and during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
To ensure the inclusion of employees’ voices, a core component of the Future of Work study is an Ideas Generation Process that seeks to obtain creative contributions from Macquarie staff initially through the Limesurvey platform and subsequently through focus groups. The project will result in a report to the University Executive and scholarly publications in accordance with ethics approval No. 52020925224143.