Introduction Public safety personnel (PSP) (e.g., paramedics, firefighters, police and correctional officers) are at-risk of using alcohol and other drugs in ways that could be considered harmful, potentially in response to the high exposure to traumatic events as part of their job. While existing research has investigated help-seeking for mental health problems in PSP, to our knowledge, no studies have explored help-seeking for substance use, representing a critical gap. This study aimed to identify perceived barriers and facilitators to help-seeking for alcohol and other drug use among PSP, and examine their relationship with demographic, occupational, substance use and mental health characteristics.Methods An online survey was completed by 539 PSP. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified two barrier domains (attitudinal, structural) and three facilitator domains (workplace, interpersonal, structural). Structural equation modelling was used to examine associations with participant characteristics and endorsement of barriers and facilitators.Results Confidentiality and career harm were the most endorsed barriers, while managerial support and workplace culture were the most endorsed facilitators. Psychological distress was positively associated with both barrier domains, while alcohol-related harm was negatively associated with barrier and facilitator domains. Age was the only significant demographic correlate, with older participants less likely to endorse workplace facilitators.Discussion and Conclusions These findings highlight key modifiable factors that may promote help-seeking and inform tailored workplace interventions to support PSP in managing substance use. Further research exploring the use of alcohol or other drugs in PSP is needed to better support those working to protect our communities.

OBJECTIVE:This study investigated the rates of workplace trauma exposure, probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol and other drug use among Australian public safety personnel (PSP). It also identified factors associated with hazardous or harmful alcohol and other drug use. METHOD:Data were collected through an online survey distributed to PSP in three Australian agencies between May and October 2021. A total of 539 PSP completed the survey. The survey included questions about demographic and work-based characteristics, trauma exposure, PTSD and alcohol and other drug use. RESULTS:Most participants (86.8%) had experienced at least one type of traumatic event at work. Probable PTSD was identified in 39.4% of respondents. Hazardous or harmful alcohol use was reported by 33.1% of participants, while 13.3% reported harmful drug use. Analyses revealed that probable PTSD and higher numbers of workplace traumatic event types were significantly associated with greater odds of hazardous or harmful alcohol use (ORs 1.88 and 1.04, respectively). Identifying as female and meeting criteria for probable PTSD was associated with greater odds of harmful drug use (OR = 1.86) and identifying as male with lower odds of harmful drug use (OR = 0.23). CONCLUSION:The study highlights the high prevalence of trauma exposure, probable PTSD and hazardous or harmful substance use among Australian PSP. The findings suggest a need for targeted interventions to address the mental health and substance use challenges in this population, particularly those aimed at mitigating the effects of workplace trauma and providing support for PTSD and substance use disorders.

Work design is fundamental Human Resource Management (HRM) responsibility, which is crucial for employee well-being. Current HRM research on work design largely relies on variable-centered approaches. We argue that a person-centered approach uncovers more complex interaction patterns that are often obscured and provides a more holistic view of work design. Additionally, work design research often neglects occupational specificity, focusing on universal work characteristics. While this is important for generalizability, it can miss important industry and occupational variations, such as in healthcare. In this research, we focus on both universal work characteristics (feedback, autonomy, and support) and a dominant occupation-specific work characteristic in healthcare, emotional demands. Results from Latent Profile Analysis (LPA; N = 1344, 88.7% female) revealed four profiles of work design: Active (moderate demands, high resources), Moderately Active (moderate resources, moderate demands), Moderate Strain (low resources, moderate demands), and High Strain (low resources, high demands). Healthcare workers in the Active profile reported the highest thriving, followed by the Moderately Active, Moderate Strain, and High Strain profiles. The High Strain profile showed the highest burnout, followed by the Moderate Strain profile. The Moderately Active and the Active profiles did not differ in their burnout. Workers with supportive leadership were more likely to be in the Active profile, whereas those with precarious contracts were more likely to be in the High Strain profile. This study contributes to contemporary HRM research by accounting for the complex interplay of work characteristics that are associated with different types of well-being in healthcare and provides guidance for HR practitioners about work design profiles that are most impactful for well-being.

Summary Volunteers represent a global workforce equivalent to 61 million full‐time workers. A significant decline in volunteering has highlighted the urgency to better understand and address turnover amongst volunteers. To address this, we conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis of turnover amongst volunteers. We also examined whether staying or leaving has different predictors. The meta‐analysis integrated and synthesized 117 studies, encompassing 1104 effect sizes across 55 335 volunteer workers, to identify and quantify relationships between turnover and the broad range of variables that have been examined in the volunteer work domain. Amongst the strongest predictors of volunteer turnover were attitudinal variables, in particular, job satisfaction (ρ = −.58), affective commitment (ρ = −.58), engagement (ρ = −.54) and organizational commitment (ρ = −.54). Contextual variables that showed the largest effects included communication (ρ = .62), organizational support (ρ = −.61) and the quality of the relationship between volunteers and their leader (leader‐member exchange, ρ = −.55). We synthesize our findings into an integrative framework delineating the predictors of volunteer turnover. In doing so, we extend turnover research to consider non‐remunerated work contexts and provide a basis for developing turnover theory that is responsive to the unique experience of volunteers.

Working in social care is fraught with challenges fueled by changing policies, funding structures, societal expectations, and high relational demands, leaving employees in this sector particularly vulnerable to poor well-being. In this study, we focus on the importance of a supportive work context-specifically coworker instrumental support and leaders' role clarity-in enabling employee role clarity, and how this can foster better mental health and reduce fatigue from ongoing changes in the sector. We ran a multilevel moderated mediation model on a sample of 270 social care employees matched with 47 leaders across two disability care organizations in Australia. Results showed that coworker instrumental support promotes role clarity, which in turn is associated with lower psychological distress and change fatigue, and higher job satisfaction. The positive relationship between coworker instrumental support and role clarity, and the subsequent relationships with well-being, were stronger when employees had leaders who themselves had role clarity. Our findings highlight the importance of a supportive work context and role clarity as malleable levers in enabling a sustainable social care workforce and provide new theoretical and practical insights for human resource management in the social care sector.

Employee alcohol and other drug use can negatively impact the workplace, resulting in absenteeism, reduced productivity, high turnover, and worksite safety issues. As the workplace can influence employee substance use through environmental and cultural factors, it also presents a key opportunity to deliver interventions, particularly to employees who may not otherwise seek help. This is a systematic review of workplace-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of problematic substance use. Five databases were searched for efficacy, effectiveness and/or cost-effectiveness studies and reviews published since 2010 that measured use of psychoactive substances (i.e., alcohol, cannabis, hallucinogens, inhalants, opioids, sedatives, hypnotics, anxiolytics, and stimulants) as a primary or secondary outcome, in employees aged over 18. Thirty-nine articles were identified, 28 describing primary research and 11 reviews, most of which focused solely on alcohol use. Heterogeneity between studies with respect to intervention and evaluation design limited the degree to which findings could be synthesized, however, there is some promising evidence for workplace-based universal health promotion interventions, targeted brief interventions, and universal substance use screening. The few studies that examined implementation in the workplace revealed specific barriers including lack of engagement with e-health interventions, heavy use and reluctance to seek help amongst male employees, and confidentiality concerns. Tailoring interventions to each workplace, and ease of implementation and employee engagement emerged as facilitators. Further high-quality research is needed to examine the effectiveness of workplace substance use testing, Employee Assistance Programs, and strategies targeting the use of substances other than alcohol in the workplace. Systematic review registration https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=227598, PROSPERO [CRD42021227598].

Volunteering represents an important and beneficial civic activity. United Nations estimates that the global volunteering workforce is equivalent to 109 million full-time workers. Although volunteers represent a sizable global ‘workforce’, management research on volunteering is fairly limited. The aim of the current symposium is to showcase how management theories and concepts traditionally developed to study paid workforce can be applied and adapted to study volunteers with the goal of improving volunteering sustainability. Collectively, the five presentations investigate the external (e.g., intergroup relations, leadership) and internal (i.e., cognitions, motivations, identification) factors that predict volunteer turnover. Enhancing and extending our understanding of volunteering ‘work’ will assist organizations in better attracting and retaining volunteers. This is an important managerial challenge, considering the enormous contribution made by volunteers to the society. Designing Effective Recruitment Messages to Get Volunteers Through the Door and Keep Them Presenter: Darja Kragt; U. of Western Australia Presenter: Patrick Dunlop; Curtin Business School Presenter: Hawa Muhammad Farid; U. of Western Australia Paid and Unpaid Workers in the Non-Profit Organization: Intergroup Respect Fosters Cooperation Presenter: Edwin J. Boezeman; Leiden U. Effective Volunteer Leadership: A Quasi-Experimental Study Presenter: Vivien W. Forner; U. of Wollongong The Role of Motives and Motive Attributions on Corporate Volunteering Outcomes Presenter: Mina Askovic; U. of Sydney Business School Presenter: Anya Madeleine Johnson; U. Of Sydney Presenter: Leanne Cutcher; U. Of Sydney Why Volunteers Consider Leaving their Organizations Presenter: Djurre Holtrop; Curtin Uni Presenter: Patrick Dunlop; Curtin Business School Presenter: Christine Soo; U. of Western Australia Presenter: Micah Grishina; The Future of Work Institute

ObjectivesThe primary aim is to evaluate the feasibility of a newly developed, neuroscience-based, alcohol and other drug (AOD) use prevention programme, ‘The Illicit Project’, in Australian older adolescents. The secondary aim is to investigate the impact of the programme on students’ drug literacy levels (a combination of knowledge, attitudes and skills).DesignA pilot study examining the feasibility of The Illicit Project in Australian schools was conducted.ParticipantsStudents aged 15–19 years from two secondary schools and a youth centre and 11 teachers and health professionals from various organisations in Sydney were recruited.InterventionThe intervention consisted of three 90 min workshops delivered by trained facilitators within a month.Primary and secondary measuresStudents completed a drug literacy questionnaire before and after intervention. All participants (students, teachers and health professionals) completed an evaluation questionnaire postprogramme delivery. A paired-sample t-test and descriptive analytics were performed.ResultsStudents (n=169) demonstrated a significant increase in drug literacy levels from preintervention to postintervention (t(169) = −13.22, p<0.0001). Of students evaluating the programme (n=252), over threequarters agreed that The Illicit Project was good or very good (76%), that the neuroscience content was interesting (76%) and relevant (81%), and that they plan to apply the concepts learnt to their own lives (80%). In addition, all teachers and health professionals (n=11) agreed that the programme was feasible and valid for schools and perceived the programme to be effective in reducing the harms and use of AOD.ConclusionsThere is evidence to suggest that The Illicit Project is credible and feasible in the school environment and there are preliminary data to suggest it may help to improve drug literacy levels in young people. A large-scale evaluation trial of the intervention will be conducted to determine the programme’s effectiveness in minimising the harms of AOD in older adolescents.

Older adolescence represents a critical period of brain development whereby the prefrontal cortex, responsible for higher level thinking and emotional regulation, is under construction. During this period, the brain is wired to underestimate risk and overestimate pleasure, which primes young people towards risky, pleasure-oriented experiences. Substance use during this time can hinder brain maturation and lead to development related disorders. However, young people are the most likely to drink at risky quantities, use cannabis, MDMA and cocaine in the previous 12 months than any other age group. Despite this, there are no validated, age-appropriate prevention programs targeting school leavers, which leaves a group of young people to navigate a landscape where drug use is the most common, without formal support. Drug and alcohol prevention programs should be developed for this age group that combine features of universal prevention programs and targeted intervention programs to support the wider range of drug use behaviours relevant to this older audience. This article outlines potential evidence-based strategies that programs could focus on in the future.