Dear participant,
We are inviting young Australians in the workforce from 18 years of age to 30 years of age to participate in a research project, which examines how workplace factors impact the wellbeing of young workers.
The project is being undertaken as part of a Master of Psychology (Organisational) degree. It is our hope the research will help grow the body of literature investigating how to improve workplace environments for young people.
About the Study
Young workers make up a large proportion of the labour force and have been found to face unique challenges in the workplace. This study aims to examine specific workplace and leadership characteristics that impact young workers. Specifically, the study will examine the role of leaders and how they may influence job demands (e.g., aspects of the job that require mental, emotional and/or physical effort) and job resources (e.g., aspects of a job that contribute to the achievement of work goals, reduce job demands, or stimulate personal growth and development) for young Australian workers.
Your Participation and Consent
This Plain Language Statement contains information about the research project. Its purpose is to explain to you as openly and clearly as possible what will be involved in this project so that you can make a fully informed decision regarding your participation. Participation is entirely voluntary therefore taking part in the project is completely up to you.
Once you have read this Plain Language Statement and agree to participate you must click the agree box to start the questionnaire. You do not need to sign a consent form as your submission of anonymous data implies consent. Participation is voluntary and your survey data will not be included unless you have submitted your responses by clicking the submit button at the end of the survey. If you wish to withdraw, you can do so by closing the browser before submission. However, it will not be possible to remove survey data once collected, even if withdrawal occurs prior to fully completing the survey since all data will not be identifiable. By agreeing to the Plain Language Statement, completing the online questionnaire, and submitting your responses to the secure Deakin server, you are providing consent to participate in this research. Your decision to take part or not to take part, or to take part and then withdraw, will not affect your relationship with the researchers or Deakin University.
Confidentiality
All survey responses will remain completely confidential. Participants are NOT asked to disclose their name and no findings, which could identify any individual participant, will be published or disseminated in any way. We are only interested in aggregated information (i.e. average scores), and individual participants will not be identifiable.
Please note: To protect your anonymity, please do not provide any identifying information.
As per University ethics requirements, all data from the electronic survey will be securely stored for seven years on a password-protected computer at Deakin University, accessible only by researchers.
The results of this study will be submitted as partial fulfillment for our Master of Psychology (Organisational) at Deakin University, and may also be published in conference proceedings and peer-reviewed literature. The identity of any individual will not be disclosed in any publication.
Aggregate level results in the form of a summary report will be available to participants if requested (please email bsaunders@deakin.edu.au and petersons@deakin.edu.au if you would like to receive a copy of the study findings).
Survey Completion
Participation is voluntary and you have the right to withdraw from further participation at any stage during the survey until it is completed.
This online survey is comprised of a Plain Language Statement and questionnaire that takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes to complete. If you agree to take part in the project, you should fill out the questionnaire, which asks about your experiences in the workplace. There are also some general questions about you, to help interpret the information that you give.
This survey does contain questions related to experiences of bullying in the workplace. An example reads as follows “Have you experienced social exclusion from co-workers or work group activities”. This information provides valuable insight, however, if you feel participating may put you at risk then it is advised that you do not continue. For those who do wish to participate, there is contact information for mental health resources at the end of the document that will provide support in the event you experience discomfort when participating.
Your information will be completely anonymous so no one can track your responses. All data is password protected and stored on Deakin cloud site. No one apart from the researchers will access this data in its raw form. Submission of the survey will be assumed as providing informed consent.
Questions
If you would like to contact the researchers about any aspect of this study, please contact Scott Peterson, Brady Saunders, or Vicki Kavadas who is the Principal Supervisor:
Scott Peterson
School of Psychology, Deakin University
Email: petersons@deakin.edu.au
Brady Saunders
School of Psychology, Deakin University
Email: bsaunders@deakin.edu.au
Vicki Kavadas (Principal Supervisor)
School of Psychology, Deakin University
Email: v.kavadas@deakin.edu.au
Complaints
The ethical aspects of this research project have been approved by a human ethics panel at Deakin University.
If you have any complaints about any aspect of the project, the way it is being conducted or any questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact:
The Human Research Ethics Office, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burdwood Victoria, 3125,
Telephone: 9251 7129, research-ethics@deakin.edu.au.
Please quote project number HEAG-H 23 2021
Should completing this survey open up feelings of stress or discomfort, please contact the following support services:
Lifeline 13 11 14 - available 24/7
Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 - available 24/7