If you're a current RMIT staff member aged 18 or over and based in Australia, you're invited to take part in the Mental Wellbeing Survey 2024.
The Mental Wellbeing Survey is part of RMIT’s institution-wide commitment to mental health and wellbeing. We believe that feeling well is fundamental to living and working well. We know that mental health and wellbeing is an issue that staff care deeply about.
The Mental Wellbeing Survey is an annual check-in on how staff feel at RMIT Australia and what staff think about the University’s approach to supporting mental health and wellbeing. It’s anonymous and all responses are de-identified.
The Mental Wellbeing Survey is part of a broader, collaborative research project involving academic staff in the College of Design and Social Context and researchers in the Health, Safety and Wellbeing area. The project has received human research ethics clearance from the College Human Research Ethics Advisory Network for the College of Design and Social Context (protocol number: 26406).
In 2024, the Mental Wellbeing Survey is being run concurrently alongside the Staff Engagement Survey. Implementation of both will help to create a clearer, more nuanced picture of how staff experience RMIT as an organisation and a workplace.
In early August 2024, staff at RMIT Australia will receive an e-mail from “RMIT via CultureAmp” with links to both surveys. The link for the Mental Wellbeing Survey will direct staff straight to the survey, which is hosted on Qualtrics—an independent survey management platform licensed by RMIT.
Both surveys open for responses on Tuesday 6 August 2024 and close on Monday 19 August 2024.
The Mental Wellbeing Survey should take most people around 10-20 minutes to complete.
The MWS should be available via any computer, mobile, or tablet device with Internet access.
If you encounter issues with accessing the Mental Wellbeing Survey, reach out to RMIT’s Wellbeing and Psychosocial Safety team via e-mail at RMITWellbeing@rmit.edu.au.
Participation in the Mental Wellbeing Survey 2024 is open to staff currently employed at RMIT in Australia who are aged 18 years and over.
We understand that staff at other RMIT sites—such as RMIT Vietnam and RMIT Europe—may also be interested in participating. While this is not possible for 2024, we are working to find ways to open up the Mental Wellbeing Survey to international staff in future years.
No, participation is voluntary and anonymous. All responses are de-identified.
The Mental Wellbeing Survey is the University’s annualised, multi-year effort to better understand mental health and wellbeing among RMIT Australia staff. This specific approach sets the Mental Wellbeing Survey apart from the Staff Engagement Survey, which focuses on the broader experience of working at RMIT.
The Staff Engagement Survey does include some wellbeing-related questions. However, the Mental Wellbeing Survey specifically incorporates standardised, validated measures that pertain to individual mental health and wellbeing as well as RMIT Australia’s broader organisational climate.
This means that while there may be some similarity across both surveys, the Mental Wellbeing Survey takes a deeper dive into how RMIT Australia—as an organisation and an institution—affects staff mental health and wellbeing.
The Mental Wellbeing Survey is also a research project governed by human research ethics, designed to contribute to the global peer-reviewed evidence base on mental health and wellbeing in higher education. To this end, it has received clearance from the College Human Ethics Advisory Network for the College of Design and Social Context (protocol number: 26406).
At the individual level, the Mental Wellbeing Survey
measures mental health and wellbeing (Mental Health Continuum—Short Form,
comprising 14 questions), emotional exhaustion (two questions from the Burnout Assessment Tool), and
work-related engagement (two questions from the Utrecht Work Engagement
Scale).
At the relational level, the Mental Wellbeing Survey asks
two questions—about frequency and impact respectively—in relation to seven
psychosocial factors that can be prominent in workplaces:
At the organisational level, the Mental Wellbeing Survey measures how RMIT Australia’s organisational climate shapes psychosocial safety—that is, freedom from psychological and social risks or harms at work (Psychosocial Safety Climate, comprising 4 questions).
The Mental Wellbeing Survey also includes an open-ended question about how aspects of the university setting affect staff mental health and wellbeing, and further asks a range of demographic-related questions.
As outlined above, participation in the Mental Wellbeing Survey 2024 is voluntary and anonymous.
Once the Mental Wellbeing Survey closes, the survey data are initially managed by the principal investigator, who de-identifies all responses received.
The de-identified responses are then shared with researchers in the Health, Safety and Wellbeing area, who complete quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data.
There are minimal risks in participating in the Mental Wellbeing Survey. The risk is not absolutely zero, though, and participants will be encouraged to seek support if experiencing any negative outcomes—either while taking part in the survey or following survey completion.
There are also very low levels of privacy- and security-related risk. The Mental Wellbeing Survey will be conducted in line with RMIT’s Privacy Statement.
A possible benefit of participating in the Mental Wellbeing Survey is contributing to an enhanced understanding of how RMIT Australia staff experience mental health and wellbeing as part of university life. The survey generates important insights that enable the University to better support staff. In addition, improvements in RMIT’s psychosocial safety climate may have general effects across both staff and students.
If you have any non-urgent queries about the Mental Wellbeing Survey 2024, please contact RMIT’s Wellbeing and Psychosocial Safety team at RMITWellbeing@rmit.edu.au.
If you have any ethical concerns about the Mental Wellbeing Survey, have any questions about your rights as a (potential) participant, or wish to lodge a complaint about the survey or its conduct, please contact humanethics@rmit.edu.au and include the following protocol number: 26406.
Location | Service | Contact details |
---|---|---|
Australia | RMIT Student Connect | 03 9925 5000 |
RMIT Urgent Student Mental Health Support Line | 1300 305 737 (call) 0488 884 162 (text) |
|
Lifeline | 13 11 14 | |
Beyond Blue | 1300 220 636 | |
Medibank Health and Support Line (if you are overseas) | +61 2 8905 0307 | |
RMIT International SOS Assist Line (if you are overseas) | +61 2 9372 2468 | |
RMIT Safer Community Unit (for threatening or unwanted behaviour, including sexual harm) | +61 3 9925 2396 safercommunity@rmit.edu.au |
|
Vietnam | RMIT Vietnam Wellbeing Support (Saigon South Campus) | (028) 3622 4432 Room 1.1.45 on campus |
RMIT Vietnam Wellbeing Support (Hanoi Campus) | (028) 3622 4432 Room 1.1.208 on campus |
|
RMIT International SOS Assist Line | (028) 3829 8520 | |
Health Centre – Ho Chi Minh City | (028) 3776 1360 | |
Health Centre – Hanoi | (024) 3201 2601 | |
Spain | RMIT International SOS Assist Line | +61 2 9372 2468 |
Location | Service | Contact details |
---|---|---|
Australia | Employee Assistance Program | 1300 687 327 eap@convergeintl.com.au |
Lifeline | 13 11 14 | |
Beyond Blue | 1300 220 636 | |
RMIT Safer Community Unit (for threatening or unwanted behaviour, including sexual harm) | +61 3 9925 2396 safercommunity@rmit.edu.au |
|
Report a psychosocial hazard at RMIT | Visit this RMIT SharePoint page | |
Vietnam | Employee Assistance Program | +84.24.44581939 eap@convergeintl.com.au |
RMIT International SOS Assist Line | (028) 3829 8520 | |
Health Centre Ho Chi Minh City | (028) 3776 1360 | |
Health Centre Hanoi | (024) 3201 2601 | |
Spain | Employee Assistance Program | +900.868553 eap@convergeintl.com.au |
RMIT International SOS Assist Line | +61 2 9372 2468 |
The Mental Wellbeing Survey 2024 asks about seven psychosocial factors that can be prominent in workplaces:
If you want to report concerns that relate to the factors listed above—or that relate to other risks to mental health and wellbeing at RMIT—please follow the guidance below.
You can visit this SharePoint page for information about different reporting pathways.
You can report any inappropriate and/or unwanted behaviours—including sexual harm, bullying, harassment, and discrimination—via RMIT’s Safer Community team by calling +61 3 9925 2396 and/or e-mailing safercommunity@rmit.edu.au.
If you’re concerned about fairness, study load, or exposure to traumatic content at university, please consult a staff member you trust at RMIT.
You can also visit RMIT’s student complaints webpage for further information.
As outlined above, the Mental Wellbeing Survey is conducted annually as part of collaborative research. This research brings together academic staff from the College of Design and Social Context and research staff from the Health, Safety and Wellbeing area:
Acknowledgement of Country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.
Acknowledgement of Country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.