Vivien Forner

The University of Sydney · Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies

Background: Increasingly high turnover rates in volunteer organisations have reached critical levels. Australian volunteer emergency service organisations are struggling to maintain adequate volunteer numbers to continue to deliver vital services to the community. The experience volunteers have with their leader is one of the strongest predicto...

Self-determination theory (SDT), offers a theoretical framework for enhancing employee motivation and stimulating positive outcomes such as commitment, well-being and engagement, in organizations. This paper aims to investigate the application of SDT among leaders and delineate practical managerial approaches for supporting basic psychological need...

This paper is part of the Volunteering Australia's Volunteering Research Papers series, to capture evidence on topics related to volunteering, outline key insights for policy and practice and inform the development of the National Strategy for Volunteering. Key Insights: 44% of the global volunteer workforce stopped volunteering over a four-year p...

Volunteers represent a global workforce equivalent to 61 million full‐time workers. A significant decline in volunteering has highlighted the urgency to better understand and address turnover amongst volunteers. To address this, we conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis of turnover amongst volunteers. We also examined whether staying or le...

People’s motivational processes, well-being, and performance are likely to be facilitated through the support of others. Self-determination theory argues that interpersonal supports for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are crucial to achieve these outcomes. In the present study, we provide a comprehensive examination of this formulation based...

Working in social care is fraught with challenges fueled by changing policies, funding structures, societal expectations, and high relational demands, leaving employees in this sector particularly vulnerable to poor well‐being. In this study, we focus on the importance of a supportive work context—specifically coworker instrumental support and lead...

Background: Health and Social Care (HSC) workers face psychological health risks in the workplace. While many studies have described psychological injuries in HSC workers, few have examined the determinants. Previous research has primarily focused on hospitals, lacking systematic reviews of community-based settings. Objective: To systematically...

Not-for-profit and volunteer-involving organizations(VIOs) have not had enough access to the expertise of industrial and organizational (I-O)psychologists, and volunteer managers rarely have access to professional development opportunities that stem from I-O psychology knowledge (Tippins et al.,2023). Through collaborative research partnerships wit...

In the face intensifying extreme weather events and changing climate, it is more urgent than ever to ensure emergency management sectors are adequately equipped and effective. Addressing the key issues facing the volunteer workforce will be essential to strengthen the resilience to climate change.

Successful utilisation of research-generated knowledge and interventions can help volunteer organizations improve leadership and retain volunteer members. Australia's volunteer organisations have experienced unsustainably high volunteer turnover, coupled with the changing nature of volunteerism, whereby the future sustainability of the sector to m...

The leadership capability of Australia’s four Prime Ministers 1996 – 2015 has been widely debated by political commentators, financial analysts and the general public. The success of these senior leaders has been questioned, as has their management of their office, staff, and colleagues. This article will investigate the performances of these four...

Oades et al (2011) proposed a framework for a positive university, however the well-being of university staff may be a long way from this vision. Over the last 20 years significant changes have occurred in colleges and universities impacting upon the working life of academics (Bakker et al, 2010). These changes include reductions in government fund...

Interest and investment in leadership development continues to grow, yet the content taught in many leadership programs often lacks a theoretical foundation and empirical support. Self Determination Theory (SDT) is a theory of motivation that posits a need-based approach to facilitating motivation, wellbeing and optimal functioning in others. SDT p...