#AroundTheTraps @WePublicHealth

Mark Ragg
Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Workforce matters, Public health, AroundTheTraps

Every week, a different guest tweeter takes charge of Croakey’s rotated, curated Twitter account, @WePublicHealth, and uses the account to cover specific health issues or events. Last week Rebecca Zosel of Zosel Consulting and the Australian Public Health Consultants Network tweeted about life without a regular gig, about the network she helped establish and about Around the Traps, a semi-regular column in @CroakeyNews. Here’s a summary.

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Nearly 3 in 10 workers worldwide (and in Australia) are self-employed and the number is growing

Flexible working arrangements are on the rise. Since the 1990s, more than half of new jobs in advanced economies have been temporary, part-time or self-employed. Source: https://oecd-ilibrary.org/employment/in-it-together-why-less-inequality-benefits-all_9789264235120-en…

The public health workforce is changing. Self-employed workers – consultants, contractors, business owners, freelancers, entrepreneurs – are an important segment of the public health workforce

Lots of people aspire to freelance. Of those who don’t own their own business, one in six (17%) consider it a goal they would like to accomplish

19% juggle freelancing with a full-time traditional job (‘moonlighting’)

The trend towards flexible work is set for continued growth. The future will see a new breed of ‘flexible’ or ‘portfolio’ workers who have no fixed abode and sell their skills and knowledge to multiple employers

New business models which utilise capital & labour in different ways will evolve. The peer-to-peer (P2P) economy taking hold in taxi (@Uber), accommodation (@Airbnb) and employment markets (@freelancer @Upwork @Airtasker) will continue to grow

Many health promotion and public health consultancies have been hit hard by #COVID19 with workloads are falling off a cliff

It’s a buzz word, yes, but it’s true – we are living in unprecedented times, and many organisations are struggling to respond to #COVID19 for a variety of reasons

Organisations are focused internally on adjusting to remote working and on supporting employees who may now be simultaneously working, parenting and supervising children who are remote learning

Priorities are shifting and being reframed for relevance in the pandemic. Funds are being redirected. Organisations are reviewing their service offerings and amplifying, ceasing or pivoting to entirely new and different strategies

Many organisations lack the capacity – time, personnel or expertise – to adjust to evolving work arrangements, respond adequately to #COVID19, or progress core business in the current crisis

How can public health consultants help during the #COVID19 crisis? Let me count the ways

Communications. Assist with crisis communication and general communication support, including report writing, consumer and health professional resources, marketing and social media
Policy. Develop organisational policies, position statements and submissions, including requisite research and stakeholder consultation
Strategic planning and change management. Facilitate robust planning and change management processes, including environmental scans, organisational audits, sector benchmarking and Board/staff consultation
Research support. Conduct literature reviews, develop research summaries, prepare ethics approvals, and undertake data collection, analysis and reporting
Evaluation. Design evaluation plans, evaluate interventions (services, programs, messaging etc) and report on effectiveness, efficacy and efficiency. Undertake process, impact and outcome evaluation
Online learning and training. Develop and deliver online curriculum. Transform in-person learning into effective online courses
Online meetings. Design and facilitate virtual meetings. Transform in-person events into effective online delivery. Provide support for new technology needs
Fundraising. Monitor the field and identify relevant grant opportunities (e.g. recovery funding, research funds). Write submissions, grants and applications for funding
Emergency preparedness. Write emergency preparedness and infection control plans, policies and strategies. Develop emergency plans for priority populations
Project management. Develop evidence-based project plans including budgets and evaluation plans. Oversee project implementation, evaluation and reporting
Workplace support. Provide extra capacity and support as per organisational needs (e.g. policy implementation to support remote work, data entry). Provide management and employee coaching and mentoring
Volunteer management. Create strategies to support volunteer management for organisations mobilising around urgent needs
Technical assistance. Provide assistance around specific technical needs such as infectious diseases, mental health and wellbeing, obesity prevention
Partnerships. Identify partners and develop effective partnerships. Foster strong working relationships and facilitate collaborative action
Community and stakeholder engagement. Develop strategies for community mobilisation and engagement. Facilitate community consultations