For aged care providers, workforce sustainability is a pressing financial concern. The high prevalence of psychosocial risks, including high emotional demands and excessive workload driven by complex legislative and organizational factors, often leads to staff burnout and high rates of personal leave.

This risk isn't just a humanitarian issue; it represents a substantial drain on resources.

Fortunately, recent research confirms that primary, organizational-level interventions focused on modifying the work environment offer an effective and cost-efficient strategy to address these challenges. Governa.ai leverages AI technology to implement the specific work redesign solutions proven to reduce job demands and secure a net cost benefit for your organization.

The Unseen Costs of Unmanaged Demands

Job demands in aged care, such as high time pressure and emotional demands, show the strongest associations with negative outcomes like emotional exhaustion and symptoms of mental ill-health. When employees are experiencing high levels of job demands, they are more likely to take personal leave—a form of voluntary absence typically associated with recovery from ill health or burnout.

Addressing these demands is crucial because organizations are facing the challenge of addressing the psychosocial risks posed by increased levels of job demands experienced by employees.

The Data: Work Redesign is a Cost-Effective Strategy

A comprehensive evaluation of a participatory work redesign intervention in aged care demonstrated clear financial savings directly tied to reducing demands:

• Absenteeism Reduction: Intervention sites successfully reduced the rate of personal leave and associated costs. Intervention sites were associated with an estimated average cost reduction of 119.4 AUD per employee.
• Cost Contrast: In stark contrast, comparison sites (which did not implement the full redesign) were associated with marked increased costs of 397 AUD per employee. When directly compared, the difference between intervention and comparison estimates reached 516.9 AUD per employee.
• Net Benefit Achieved: Even after factoring in the estimated costs of implementation (which included workshops and planning), the average reduction of absenteeism costs was calculated to be 81.4 AUD per employee (ranging from 52.2 to 110.5 AUD). This adjusted figure represents a net cost benefit for the organization.

This financial efficacy was directly linked to the intervention’s success in its primary goal: reducing job demands. The analysis found that efficacy was predominantly observed in job demands, with time pressure and emotional demands resulting in mean estimates that were >95% contained in the cost-saving quadrant. This significant finding confirms that reducing these specific demands is the most reliable way to achieve cost-saving outcomes.

Governa.ai: Automating the Cost-Saving Intervention

How did the successful interventions reduce demands? By focusing on systemic solutions, which included implementing new settings or functionalities in the technological system to remove duplication of documentation tasks and provide better informational support. These actions directly remove and/or reduce stressful staff demands.

Governa.ai is built to provide this exact systemic modification:

• AI-Powered Precision: Our platform leverages cutting-edge AI to ensure every piece of evidence is accurately categorized, actively saving time and reducing errors in administrative work. This directly reduces the administrative requirements identified as a contributor to high job demands.
• Simplified GRC Management: Governa.ai streamlines compliance, risk management, and incident reporting into a single system, reducing reliance on multiple vendor apps and eliminating fragmentation.
• Targeting Time Pressure: Tools like Policy Mapping and Management and Evidence Mapping and Management simplify complex regulatory requirements, empowering staff and reducing the heavy administrative workload that contributes to high time pressure.

By utilizing Governa.ai, organizations can implement the evidence-based strategy of work redesign to optimise job demands in an effective and cost-efficient manner. This protects your staff from psychosocial risks while protecting your budget from escalating absenteeism costs.

Don’t let unmanaged administrative burden erode your workforce and your balance sheet. Contact Governa.ai today to learn how AI-powered work redesign can deliver a net cost benefit to your organization.