JOB (RE)DESIGN IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR
ViVA applied scientific-approaches and data-driven job design analytics to create a road map on cost savings and job re-design initiatives in the education sector.
PROJECT LEAD
PROJECT TEAM
PARTNERED WITH
Software Solutions, Beamible
Context
In the education sector, teachers and principals often manage excessive workloads, frequently exceeding their contracted hours. This emotionally demanding overwork adversely impacts their health and wellbeing, contributing to staff attrition, and making it difficult to attract and retain talented personnel. These challenges ultimately affect learning outcomes for students.
Challenge
A school-based education provider sought to understand how teachers and principals spent their time and how they perceived these demands. Additionally, they aimed to explore the impact on their health and wellbeing to guide improvements in job design.
Approach
The ViVA human factors team reviewed scientific literature to identify industry trends in workload, work-related stressors, and patterns of staff attrition. The team conducted in-depth studies at a representative sample of schools, engaging directly with teachers and principals to capture a wide range of their experiences. Using software-based solutions, ViVA conducted task analyses, including time studies, assessments of perceived work efficiency, identification of energising versus stressful tasks, and workload distribution. ViVA and project partners applied cost analytics to the data to identify actionable insights.
Outcomes
The insights gained from the job design studies revealed significant opportunities for improving work efficiency. These findings helped the school district evaluate job redesign strategies with the potential to realise millions of dollars in annual savings while mitigating psychosocial risks for teaching staff and improving the employee experience.