Educating Professionals Creating and Applying Knowledge Engaging our Communities GIVING VOICE TO HEALTH AND SAFETY: CALD WORKERS’ EXPERIENCES IN AGED CARE Dr Valerie O’Keeffe Prof Maureen Dollard Funded by SafeWork South Australia Commissioned Research Grants

Greater globalisation and worker mobility has led to increasing workplace diversity Aged care services are expanding due to the rapid growth in the aging population, leading to workforce shortages. Culturally & linguistically diverse (CALD) workers are filling the void Due to language and cultural differences, CALD workers are likely to experience difficulties in communication which may place them at greater risk of injury or illness arising from work BACKGROUND

To reveal how CALD direct care workers navigate Australian interpretations of work, health & safety as a work practice through understanding and communicating about health & safety enacting health and safety To identify mechanisms by which work health & safety communication could be improved AIMS

METHODS Ethnographic method involving participant observations across two residential sites of an exemplary aged care services organisation in metropolitan Australia Observations – day, evening shifts 4-7 hours 24 shifts at site A and 33 shifts at site B Semi-structured interviews with 51 direct care workers and 22 residents

METHODS Participants 49 females and 2 males Age mean = 41.03, SD = years 31% care workers 24% nurses (5 registered & 7 enrolled) 15% managers 53% of the sample self-identified as CALD 28% of participants had originated from countries in the Asia-Pacific Time in Australia mean = 8.06, SD = 3.24 years, range 0.5 – 20.0 years l

METHODS

FINDINGS There is a different order of complexity to communication between people who do not share a language and culture, and people who do. Each bring different resources to how they interpret what each other means, and how they respond and act on the basis of their interpretations. Cultural beliefs and practices were more influential than language barriers

FINDINGS Four themes emerged regarding communication at work: Communicating health & safety Perceptions of cultural identities Managing health and safety while caring Working well together

FINDINGS Underpinning each theme was the issue of reticence Reticence may arise from: Fear of being perceived as unintelligent or incapable Requiring time to process meaning Culturally based due to differing perceptions of appropriate workplace behaviour

FINDINGS Most communication difficulties arose from failing to listen, often due to work pressures and feeling rushed Giving voice to health & safety requires creating opportunities, structures and a supportive psychosocial environment that promotes feelings of safety, inclusiveness and respect, particularly for overcoming reticence Using plain English

CONCLUSIONS Cultural as well as linguistic differences impact on communication and participation of CALD workers in health and safety at work Reticence and different practices for showing respect may limit CALD workers active participation and hence their sense of belonging in contemporary Australian workplaces

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Provisions for consultation and participation are established in WHS law, though are often limited in practice by workplace culture and a lack of awareness of differences in communication practices by different participants, especially CALD and possibly new workers At a policy level greater guidance is needed on implementing effective consultation practices in workplaces

Dr Valerie O’Keeffe Research Fellow Centre for Work + Life University of South Australia (08) for-Work-Life/