StressBuster
Dr Niki Ellis is a world expert on well being at work and a leading trouble-shooter in workplaces with big problems. In each programme she enters a different workplace with a specific stress problem and uses her experience in medicine and organisational health to discover what has gone wrong and why. An action plan is agreed and we follow the progress as organisations attempt to implement it. Whatever happens we learn a lot on the way about stress, workplace psychology and well being.
Express Link
Express-Link Couriers, is a rapidly expanding transport company. The company survives in the highly competitive, deadline driven industry. Living up to their mission to deliver “anything, anywhere, 24 hours a day” brings its own pressures. While most of the staff are dedicated and loyal, dealing with unpredictable workflows, training of new employees and satisfying customer demands all contribute to raising stress levels. Some staff, including the boss, Mark Thalmann, are suffering medically from these increased levels of stress. He‘s an employer who cares about his staff and is anxious to improve their conditions. Can Stressbuster Niki Ellis turn them into Express without stress?
Director Of Photography: Philip Bull | Editor: Beckett Broda
Police Communications
The Police operations call centre receives 000 and general enquiry calls from the public and dispatches jobs to the police on the street. Twenty four hours a day the call centre operators are controlling what’s happening on the beat from talking down potential suicides to literally guiding cop cars through the streets in high speed pursuits.
Superintendant Alf Fordham has been given the job of increasing the efficiency of an already stretched work force. Alf has been in the job for only a few months and already there has been an improvement. But at what cost to staff who are more stressed than ever?
Director: Max Walker | Director Of Photography: Philip Bull | Editor: David Fosdick
Swan Care
Swan Care is a largely government funded aged care facility. With an aging society it is facing an increasing work load. The nature of the work is also becoming more challenging. Government policy encourages old people to stay in their own homes longer. This means when they move to Swan Care they are older and in worse health.
Ironically, Swan also has an aging staff. Battling to recruit the right people with the right motivations recruitment is a challenge. Absenteeism is on the increase. THE older carers see their job as a calling, while younger casual staff don’t all appear to have the same commitment.
The older carers are suffering physical and mental fatigue. Stressed out staff means stressed out residents. How might Stressbuster Niki Ellis help? Can she improve the quality of the carer’s working conditions to improve their health and well being?
Director Of Photography: Ulrich-Stephan Krafzik | Editor: Beckett Broda
RSPCA
The Queensland RSPCA is an independent charity, providing animal care and protection services. With almost no government support but increasing numbers of strays and abandoned animals the service is being stretched to breaking point, particularly because the organisation refuses to turn away any animal in need. However, many of the animals left with the RSPCA are unsuitable for adoption and must be put down.
In the end the staff suffer.The emotional drain has become a serious problem called compassion fatigue. It’s eroding the RSPCA’s ability to provide the high level of care to animals that is its raison d’etre.
How might Stressbuster Niki Ellis help? Can StressBuster Niki Ellis teach the RSPCA to focus more on the health and well being of their people and not just the animals.
Director Of Photography: Philip Bull | Editor: Beckett Broda
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reviews
"We welcome the return of the impeccable Who Do You Think You Are?"
"A documentary that confronts, questions and raises many issues:medical ethics,personal choice and funding priorities - but none more so than the rights of the disabled, and of a mother and father."
"… is full of emotion,heartache,frustration and determination."
"… essentially a story of courage"
‘The filmmaker creates a perceptive, multilayered understanding of the young refugees’ experiences’
‘Delightful’
‘It is hard to remain dry-eyed as the schools multicultural soccer team sings Advance Australia Fair in the bus home from a match.'
"... already acknowledged as the world's most exciting visual and physical theatre company...the reason to go and see Stalker is the way they marry jaw dropping spectacle with real purpose."
"This is engaging and entertaining telly that also has something important to say"
"Set in WA, this is one reality series we all should watch."
"Setting this documentary apart…is the effort it makes to humanise the poachers and explain the circumstances which compels them to hunt."
"A dose of Reality TV without the hype"
"All three groups of fishermen feature in Lobster Tales, an ABC documentary that will change the way you look at these delicious crustaceans forever."
“The great achievement of Lobster Tales, a delightfully oddball WA-made documentary on the lucrative local crayfish industry ... strikes such a lovely balance between the lobsters and fishermen that it’s more like a well-wrought tragi-comedy than a traditional nature doco"
“Even for non-lobster-lovers, this quirky feature provides plenty of interest ... the highlight is the underwater photography by Leighton de Barros which is up-close and stunning."
"shows ordinary people doing extraordinary things ... the program usues the magic of TV to bring an important WA story to life"
“Though it’s not easy to watch a widow finally open up about her murdered husband (nor is it comfortable watching local Iraqis genuinely praise Saddam Hussein), Salam Father is yet another reason why the terms "SBS" and "quality documentary" fit like a hand in glove."
“A sense of reconciliation emerges in the program and there's considerable poignancy as elements of a family torn apart by war, politics and circumstance are reunited…"
“This is the compelling story of a family torn apart by war, envy, corruption and greed and how a quest for answers also helped heal old wounds. It might also help people look beyond the descriptions "refugee" and "asylum seeker" to see the person and their story…A powerful piece of television, made more authentic by Ziusudras' first-hand narration of this tale.”
"This documentary never becomes bogged down in legalese and is a compelling tale of one family's devotion to their son"
"A remarkable story and a clever and affecting piece of storytelling"
"An emotional journey...unflinchingly captured on camera"
Koori queens proudly get out and about in this high-spirited and affirming documentary."
"We get a rare glimpse into the world of indigenous gay men in tonight's Sissy ... an energetic, inventive and occasionally touching Western Australian-made documentary that looks at the lives of three colourful drag queens."
"Considering the double whammy served up by homophobia and racism, Sissy insists on having a good time while handling thought-provoking material."
[Shaun Micallef’s] quest to discover if there is ‘‘greater purpose than being a semi-professional Australian TV personality’’ makes for a funny and watchable journey.
Filled with wit, warmth and revelations, Stairway To Heaven will intrigue even non-believers.
"It's a compelling story and you made a compelling film out of it. Just terrific."
"A fascinating insight into the world of the night"
“Surprising, raunchy, hilarious, crazy! Expect the unexpected!”
"Puppetry most certainly is an art from and some of the performances here will take your breath away"
“I have been directly or indirectly involved in WDYTYA productions in the U.S., Canada and the U.K …I must say that this one [Andrew Denton's episode] of the very best I have seen”
"...it's the most engaging detective series in years"
"... surprising, extraordinary and often moving"
"A compelling, lovely adaption of an excellent British format"
"One of the reliable pleasures of this series is just how great it looks. The production values are always first-class and wherever we are in Australia or the world, you can't quibble with the scenery. Who Do You Think You Are? is about much more than looking pretty, though, blending history and biography to create a package that's accessible, entertaining and educational. (FOUR STARS)"
“It's the perfect mix of history and celebrity..."
"... this program has about it a quiet authenticity that allows the subject’s story to unfold of its own accord."
"The series is more than a peek into the backgrounds of the famous; it also chronicles the social and cultural evolution of our national identities via these celeb family histories. 4/5 stars"
"Each episode is essentially a feature documentary, well-researched and produced, and presented usually with a humorous or deeply emotional touch... This show is seriously habit-forming"
This series is fascinating and so well done...
(pick of the week)
"... explores the family histories of its subjects with class and humour. Verdict: A Hit."