The health that workers want: A case study of employee health in the tertiary education industry that has application to other knowledge workers

Employee health is a significant social issue in Australia because of the human suffering involved with work-related and non-work related illnesses and injuries as well as the financial costs to the individual, business and community. However, this significance is not reflected in the amount of funded research on the topic, according to several experts in the field, for example, Mayhew 2000:229-232; Quinlan 2000:213-227; and Wigglesworth 2000:94. Wigglesworth (2000:94) describes this situation as a "current hiatus". The present applied research addresses some of the "current hiatus" in Australian research by adding to the cumulative knowledge about health of workers and is directed primarily towards improving employee health in the workplace. More specifically, the health of employees in the tertiary sector of the education industry is studied because Winefield et al. (2002) reported this population at risk of occupational stress. The significance of applied research is measured by the contribution that it makes to decision making (Chambers 2000:851) and to this end recommendations are developed from its findings to assist occupational health and safety professionals, human resource managers and general workplace managers so that the health of employees is improved.