In this episode Matt sits down with Dr Kat Page, organisational psychologist, author of Good Work, and one of the researchers behind the model that sits underneath most workplace mental health strategies in Australia. We get into why fixing the work is only half the job, what the new psychosocial legislation is actually producing on the ground, and what makes work good for the people doing it.
What we cover
• Where the integrated approach to workplace mental health came from, and how a 2014 paper ended up cited by the World Health Organisation, the International Labour Organisation and Beyond Blue
• Why removing the harm from work does not guarantee thatanyone is well
• The six C's of good work: clarity, control, connection,contribution, competence and care
• The gap between having evidence in place for a regulator and actually doing the work
• Why small businesses sit furthest from the minimum standard, and the one thing they can do that large organisations cannot
• How to tell a credible wellbeing provider from snake oil
• What Kat tells wellbeing and HR people who are worn out from trying to shift their leaders
Chapters
00:16 - Welcome and introduction
01:31 - Meet Dr Kat Page
02:07 - Why she wrote Good Work
06:21 - Where protect, promote and respond came from
10:58 - The three threads, and how the model went global
12:39 - The craft table: the model in one analogy
14:12 - Distress at work that didn't come from work
16:31 - Individual or systemic, and why we pick sides
17:31 - The question she gets asked on every podcast
18:35 - Why fixing the work isn't enough on its own
19:47 - What the legislation is actually producing
22:07 - The six C's of good work
24:48 - Which occupations carry the most risk
27:11 - The small business gap
29:57 - Data, or just having the conversation
31:10 - How to spot wellbeing snake oil
33:37 - For the practitioners who are worn out
35:56 - Wellbeing's marketing problem
36:25 - Human happiness in anAI-led workplace
36:55 - The one thing Kat does for her own wellbeing
You can also watch episode #72 on YouTube or join the community on Substack.
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