Leigh-ann Onnis is a Senior Lecturer with the College of Business, Law and Governance at James Cook University with an interest in remote workforces, management and remote health.  Starting her career in Human Resources in Melbourne in the early 1990s, Leigh-ann’s interest in ‘people’ and ‘work’ has developed over many years. Leigh-ann has lived in regional and remote northern Australia for more than fifteen years and prior to her current role at JCU, has worked in HR and research roles with Menzies School of Health Research, WA Country Health Services and Queensland Health’s Remote Mental Health Team. It was a management role in the Kimberley that first ignited Leigh-ann’s interest in combining her passion for people management and her interest in public health.  Leigh-ann completed a PhD in 2016, entitled ‘A Sustainable Remote Health Workforce: Translating HRM Policies into Practice’ which is a culmination of her passion for management, health and remote northern Australia.

Leigh-ann's  research activities have included working with JCU's Indigenous Education and Research Centre, in a Business Development role supporting the establishment of the National Centre for Family Wellbeing, evaluating research impact for Indigenous SEWB programs and investigating continuous quality improvement (CQI) approaches for evaluating SEWB and management programs.

Teaching

• BX3261: Business Negotiation (Level 3; CNS)
• LB5935: Integrated Global Capstone Project (Level 5; ONL)

Interests

Research

• Human Resource Management, management and leadership, remote workforce sustainability, remote health, social and emotional wellbeing, and wellbeing at work.

Experience

• 2022 to present - Senior Lecturer, James Cook University (Cairns)
• 2020 to 2022 - Research Associate, Edith Cowan University (Remote office)
• 2017 to 2020 - Senior Research Officer, James Cook University (Cairns)
• 2016 to 2017 - Research Assistant, James Cook University (Cairns)
• 2010 to 2013 - Research Assistant, Queensland Health (Cairns)
• 2007 to 2008 - Research Support Officer, Menzies School of Health Research (Darwin)

Research Disciplines

• Human resources and industrial relations (3505)
• Health services and systems (4203)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Expanding knowledge (2801)

Awards

• 2022 - CBLG Award for Research Impact in Society
• 2021 - ANZAM Conference: Overall Best Paper Award
• 2021 - ANZAM Conference: Public Sector, NGOs and Not-for-Profit Stream Award (Best Paper)
• 2019 - CBLG Research Recognition Awards
• 2016 to 2017 - JCU On-time Completion Publication Scholarship
• 2013 to 2016 - Australian Postgraduate Award, PhD Research Scholarship
• 2014 - ANZAM Doctoral Conference Travel Award
• 2014 - ANZAM Conference: HRM Stream Award (Best Paper)
• 2012 to 2013 - FNQ Hospital Foundation Research Award ($2500)

Memberships

• 2019 - Member, Australia and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM)
• 2013 - Professional Membership (CAHRI) Australian Human Resources Institute

Other

• 2017 - Fellow of the Cairns Institute

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Bentley T, Caponecchia C, Onnis L, Brunetto Y, Farr-Wharton B, Cattani M, Neto A and Vassiley A (2023) A systems model for the design of occupational health and safety management systems inclusive of work-from-home arrangements. Applied Ergonomics, 109.
• Bentley T, Onnis L, Vassiley A, Farr-Wharton B, Caponecchia C, Andrew C, O'Neill S, Neto A, Huron V and Green N (in press) A systematic review of literature on occupational health and safety interventions for older workers. Ergonomics,
• Farr-Wharton B, Bentley T, Onnis L, Caponecchia C, Neto A, O’Neill S and Andrew C (2023) Older Worker-Orientated Human Resource Practices, Wellbeing and Leave Intentions: A Conservation of Resources Approach for Ageing Workforces. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20 (3).
• Franken E, Bentley T, Shafaei A, Farr-Wharton B, Onnis L and Omari M (2021) Forced flexibility and remote working: opportunities and challenges in the new normal. Journal of Management & Organization, 27 (6). pp. 1131-1149
• Onnis L, Kinchin I, Pryce J, Ennals P, Petrucci J and Tsey K (2020) Evaluating the implementation of a mental health referral service "Connect to Wellbeing": a quality improvement approach. Frontiers in Public Health, 8.
• Onnis L, Moylan R, Whiteside M, Klieve H, Smith K and Tsey K (2020) Integrating the Family Wellbeing Program into practice: a conceptual model. Australian Social Work, 73 (4). pp. 435-448
• Onnis L, Hakendorf M, Diamond M and Tsey K (2019) CQI approaches for evaluating management development programs: a case study with health service managers from geographically remote settings. Evaluation and Program Planning, 74. pp. 91-101
• Onnis L (2019) Human resource management policy choices, management practices and health workforce sustainability: remote Australian perspectives. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 57 (1). pp. 3-23
• Tsey K, Onnis L, Whiteside M, McCalman J, Williams M, Heyeres M, Lui S, Klieve H, Cadet-James Y, Baird L, Brown C, Watkin Lui F, Grainger D, Gabriel Z, Millgate N, Cheniart B, Hunter T, Liu H, Yang Y, Yan L, Lovett R, Chong A and Kinchin I (2019) Assessing research impact: Australian Research Council criteria and the case of Family Wellbeing research. Evaluation and Program Planning, 73. pp. 176-186

Books

• Onnis L (2019) HRM and remote health workforce sustainability: the influence of localised management practices. Management for Professionals. Springer Singapore, Singapore

Conference Papers

• Onnis L and Pryce J (2019) Competing commitments and contextual challenges: the influence of management practices and HR outcomes on remote health workforce sustainability. Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Australian & New Zealand Academy of Management Conference. In: 33rd Annual Australian & New Zealand Academy of Management Conference: wicked solutions to wicked problems, 3-6 December 2019, Cairns, QLD, Australia
• Onnis L (2019) Clinician-to-manager transitions in remote health work contexts: lessons from a pilot study. Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Australian & New Zealand Academy of Management Conference. In: 33rd Annual Australian & New Zealand Academy of Management Conference: wicked solutions to wicked problems, 3-6 December 2019, Cairns, QLD, Australia

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 30+ research outputs authored by Dr Leigh-Ann Onnis from 2011 onwards.

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.