NSW Government sector resource kit

What it looks like

Workers that have a high-demand job but feel they have limited ability to make decisions about how and when they do their work.

The NSW Government serves and supports over eight million citizens. Priorities and workload of government sector staff can change quickly based on the needs of our citizens and in response to economic, legislative, and environmental factors such as bushfires and other natural disasters.

Results from the 2022 PMES show that only 34% of all Government employees surveyed didn’t experience burnout; less than 2/3 of those surveyed had received the training and development required to do their job well and only 60% were satisfied with their ability to access and use flexible working arrangements.

What you can do

• Create clear job descriptions to support role clarity
• Have good work design. Thrive at Work shows you how to identify the five themes of work that's designed well
• Support flexible working 
  • The NSW Public Service Commission has flexible working resources for managers 
  • These documents will guide you through learning about and implementing Healthy Hybrid Habits in your workplace 
    • Healthy Hybrid Habits - Team Agreement Workbook (PDF 4.86MB) 
    • Healthy Hybrid Habits - Team Agreement Conversation Guide (PDF 1.06MB)
    • Healthy Hybrid Habits - Example Team Agreement (PDF 286.74KB)
    • Healthy Hybrid Habits - Team Agreement Template  (PDF 521.51KB)
  • Learn how to support your team working remotely

  • 

    videocam

What it looks like

Workers may feel unsupported by management or their team.

The PMES survey results in 2022 showed that:

• 66% of government employees surveyed felt that their organisation wouldn't act on the results of the PMES survey
• Only 53% felt that if they raised a grievance in their organisation, it would be handed in a fair and objective manner
• Overall, 45% of those surveyed were not satisfied with the feedback and performance management or the learning and development offered in their organisations
• Less than two thirds who were surveyed felt that there were effective resources in their organisation to support overall employee wellbeing 

What you can do

• Support overall employee wellbeing by:
  • Building a positive an inclusive culture
  • Promoting positive and productive workplaces
• Rolling out mental health training for managers and workers, then embedding these into your staff induction process 
  • Free training is available through iCare that is tailored for government sector workers and focuses on capability building
  • Having a zero tolerance to bullying. Checkout SafeWork Australia's guide for preventing and responding to workplace bullying
• Raising any safety concerns to SafeWork NSW by either:
  • Using the Speak Up Save Lives app,
  • Using the request for service form or; 
  • Contacting SafeWork on 131 050
• Support procedural justice by building cultural competence and celebrate diversity - for people to feel safe, healthy, and productive, it's important they feel valued, understood, included, and treated fairly. This is supported at work through:
  • Policies and systems that support inclusive recruitment
  • Participation and opportunities for development or advancement
  • Workforce training to ensure attitudes and behaviours are inclusive
  • The value and benefits of diversity are understood and supported 
• Everyone's Business is a free cultural capability training package for the NSW public sector. It's designed to help users understand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and how past policies and practices continue to affect the community today 
• Many vendors offer online or in person training packages, such as SBS' inclusion program

What it looks like

Workers that are not recognised for their contribution and achievements are likely to develop work related stress.  

In the 2022 PMES survey, only 49% of the government employees surveyed felt they were adequately recognised by their organisation for their contributions, and more than half felt they were not being paid fairly for the work they did. 

What you can do

• have effective one on one meetings and use these as an opportunity to give regular and timely feedback on task performance, performance reviews and skill development
• recognise workers for individual and team accomplishments and create a culture of acknowledging the contributions of workers and teams 
• provide and promote career and skill development opportunities such as acting in higher grade roles, secondments to other areas or training

What it looks like

Poorly managed or communicated organisational change such as a restructure or a change in workload. 

Regular election cycles can lead to changes such as restructures, new leaders and role changes and cause uncertainty for employees. The Government sector sometimes has complex governance structures, administration and approval processes that can make it difficult to implement change.  

In the 2022 PMES, results showed that only 39% of employees surveyed felt that change was managed well in their organisation. An overall satisfaction score of 55% was calculated for communication and change management for the Government Sector.

What you can do

• keep staff involved and informed - send communications throughout the process so staff know what is happening, when and why and what’s coming up (no sudden surprises)
• be transparent and manage expectations
• provide and promote regular consultation and feedback opportunities within teams and across the organisation.  Find out what specific factors are affecting your staff by consulting your people to assess the factors that are impacting your teams
• promote and offer additional support services, programs and resources to help staff stay well through any period of uncertainty
• check out the Government of South Australia’s comprehensive toolkit to help navigate the change process in a supportive and effective way