Working it out: the role of the workplace in return to work: report of the manufacturing industry survey - electronics, wine and brandy, and meat and livestock sectors

The WorkCover Corporation of South Australia (WorkCoverSA) commissioned the Australian Institute for Social Research (AISR) at The University of Adelaide to undertake a research project designed to increase understanding of factors in the workplace that affect the achievement of positive return-to-work outcomes. This included the development of an Index to measure workplace capacity to achieve effective return-to-work (RTW), initially within one industry and subsequently applying this across various industry sectors. The survey instrument, the Workplace Return to Work Index, is designed to be repeated, in order to measure change over time within organisations and collectively in the sector, and to be applied to other industry sectors. As part of the current project, the survey has been tailored to meet the needs of the manufacturing industry, within which the wine and brandy, electronics, and meat and livestock processing sectors operate. The survey is structured around five sub-indexes, each comprised of questions relating to factors that are known to affect workplace injury rates and to affect return-to-work. Therefore, the RTW Workplace Index has these components: Index 1: the conditions of the workplace; Index 2: the degree of control or autonomy workers have in relation to their work role and responsibilities and how these are undertaken; Index 3: the culture of the workplace, for example, supportiveness shown to injured or ill workers, the degree of trust, quality of communication; Index 4: safety in the workplace and the prevention of injury and illness; Index 5: the way in which the workplace responds to injury or illness, including provision for return-to-work. Show less