Team of international researchers take 2023 Sam Richardson Award for outstanding study of employee resilience

The Institute of Public Administration Australia’s (IPAA) Sam Richardson Award for the most influential paper published in the Australian Journal of Public Administration in 2023 goes to Associate Professor Geoff Plimmer, Professor Joana Kuntz, Professor Evan Berman, Professor Sanna Malinen, Professor Katharina Näswall, and Dr Esme Franken.

Their research finds that employee resilience – the ability to continually adapt and flourish at work even when faced with challenging circumstances – plays a critical role in meeting the demands inherent in public sector work.

High demands can deplete employee resilience, resulting in strain, exhaustion, or even burnout. On the other hand, the researchers find that higher levels of resource constraints at the organisational level are associated with higher resilience.

In Australia, the APS Employee Census in 2023 and 2024 reported that 33 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively, agreed or strongly agreed that they feel burned out by their work, highlighting the need to better understand workplace demand and employee resilience.

To tackle some of these trends, the researchers recommend minimising role uncertainty, making organisational goals clear, and keeping a close eye on inter-agency collaboration to manage complexity.

The study draws on data collected in the New Zealand public service, but the results have wide-ranging relevance to Australia’s – or any – public service setting.

IPAA President Andrew Metcalfe AO FIPAA noted that we live in an increasingly complex world that will continually challenge employee resilience, and that creating work environments where public servants can innovate and rise to meet those challenges is of the utmost importance.

“The public sector is actively talking about this very issue. This research offers critical insights that will spark further reflection and help shape strategies within departments to improve employee resilience,” he said.

The judging panel for this year’s award included leading public administration academics, experienced public administration practitioners, and young professionals from across the IPAA divisions. The researchers’ paper, was selected from a competitive field of five shortlisted articles.  

List of authors and affiliations

• Associate Professor Geoff Plimmer, School of Management, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
• Professor Joana Kuntz, School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
• Professor Evan Berman, Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), Department of Public Management, Sao Paulo School of Business Administration (EAESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil
• Professor Sanna Malinen, Department of Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand,
• Professor Katharina Näswall, School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
• Dr Esme Franken, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

For further information about the Sam Richardson Award, please click here. 

Media contact: Julia Ahrens, E: julia.ahrens@act.ipaa.org.au, M: 0402 190 656  

About IPAA  

The Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) is a member-based organisation promoting excellence and pride in public service across Australia.  IPAA is a non-profit and non-partisan organisation open to all public servants, academics, and others interested in public administration.