New research into independent optometry practices reveals how teamwork, recognition, and patient-first values underpin strong workplace culture, while challenges in innovation and resourcing remain.
When Queensland optometrist Ms Shaina Zheng embarked on a Master of Business Administration (MBA), she didn’t expect one of her assignments to spark such a relevant conversation for Australian optometry. Yet her decision to focus her integrated workplace project on workplace culture in independent optometry has provided rare insights into how small practices foster collaboration, recognition, and patient-first care – and where challenges remain.
Zheng has worked at Eyecare Plus Mermaid Beach since 2017, where she and her husband are co-owners. Balancing practice ownership with family life, she gradually shifted toward the business side of optometry. That transition opened her eyes to a gap in the profession.
“Workplace culture wasn’t something I’d ever been exposed to during university,” she says. “It’s only in recent years that I even came across the term – and I realised how little we talk about it in optometry.”
As part of her MBA, Zheng designed a survey exploring culture across independent practices. While workforce surveys earlier in 2025 revealed troubling dissatisfaction among optometrists who felt “unheard and unsupported”, she suspected the independent sector might tell a different story. Her project set out to test that hypothesis with data rather than assumption.
Casting a wide net
Unlike many professional surveys, Zheng’s was not limited to optometrists. She invited participation from all roles within independent practices: optical dispensers, receptionists, managers, owners, and clinicians.
“I wanted the results to reflect culture as a whole,” she explains. “It’s not just about one role. In a small practice, every team member contributes to the culture, and everyone feels it if things aren’t working.”
Distributed through networks such as Eyecare Plus, industry media, and professional groups, the survey asked respondents to rate 10 cultural domains – including teamwork, recognition, innovation, and staffing resources – on a seven-point scale from “never” to “always”.
The results, Zheng says, were “overwhelmingly positive”. All 10 domains scored significantly above neutral with an agree or above threshold, with seven reaching a high-confidence positive rating even under stricter analysis.
For a profession grappling with workforce pressures, this was heartening. “It was really encouraging to see independent practices scoring well across the board,” she says. “It suggests there’s something about the independent environment that supports positive culture.”
Among the strongest findings were teamwork and recognition.
Respondents frequently described their practices as feeling “like family”. Many cited examples of colleagues stepping in to help each other, without letting the team down.
“In a healthy workplace culture, if someone is struggling, others step up,” Zheng explains. “That came through strongly in the comments.”
This sense of mutual support contributes to wellbeing and retention – critical factors for a sector facing workforce shortages. Small teams, she notes, often foster closer bonds that translate into resilience.
One survey participant captured it well: “All staff members feel like family.”
Recognition also emerged as a major driver of motivation and loyalty. But Zheng emphasises it doesn’t have to mean grand gestures or formal reviews.
“The research, and my own experience, shows the value of recognising strengths
and contributions day-to-day,” she says.
“It could be as simple as acknowledging how someone’s strengths add value to the team.”
She encourages owners and managers to make recognition an ongoing habit rather than something reserved for annual performance reviews. “Continual conversations are more personal.”
Patient-first care and the resourcing challenge
Another theme was the link between patient-first care and workplace culture. While many respondents celebrated the autonomy to prioritise patient needs without strict financial KPIs, some voiced frustration at resource constraints.
Medicare fees were a recurring concern. “Several respondents expressed a desire to provide better care – like upgrading equipment – but felt they couldn’t afford it,” Zheng explains.
For some practices, this tension between aspiration and resources created limitations to innovation or high-quality patient care. Yet the majority still highlighted the independence from corporate-style KPIs as a positive, enabling them to focus on patient outcomes over sales targets.
“I found it interesting that many participants consistently described the absence of financial KPIs as a supportive or motivating aspect of their workplace culture,” Zheng reflects. “They felt free to recommend what was best for the patient. But at the same time, without some form of measurement, sustainability and innovation can become difficult. It’s about finding balance.”
In fact, innovation and growth mindset – alongside with financial and staffing resources – was one of only three domains that did not achieve strong significance with a stricter strongly agree or greater threshold was applied.
Zheng attributes this to the structural limitations of small independents. “Without the economies of scale that corporates enjoy, it can be harder for independents to invest in the latest diagnostic technology
or product lines,” she says.
Membership in networks like Eyecare Plus helps bridge that gap by enabling sharing of knowledge and resources. “Looking back, the support we received was vital in making our independent journey more manageable,” she reflects. “Having role models, people to ask questions of, and opportunities to learn from others has been invaluable.”
One of her biggest takeaways is the need to make culture visible. The research shows many independents already cultivate positive environments – and this shows there is an opportunity to make culture measurable, potentially through cultural KPIs.
“If we can make culture something we actively resource and measure, we can strengthen it further,” she says.
She also sees potential for independents to model best practice for the wider profession. “If principles like teamwork, recognition and patient focused care are contributing to positive culture in independents, perhaps those lessons could be applied more broadly across optometry.”
A career pathway worth promoting
For Zheng, the findings highlight an opportunity to reframe the independent pathway as a compelling career choice.
“When I graduated, the corporate pathways were the most visible. We didn’t really hear much from independents at university,” she recalls. “But this survey shows independents can offer supportive, resilient workplaces. That’s something worth promoting to the next generation.”
By demonstrating measurable positive workplace culture, independents could attract more clinicians who are seeking workplaces where collaboration, recognition, and patient care come first.
“Ultimately,” Zheng says, “Independents demonstrate that a positive workplace culture is achievable. By serving as role models, they help elevate standards across the sector.”
Who is Shaina Zheng?
Shaina Zheng BOptom MBA GAICD is a co-owner optometrist at Eyecare Plus Mermaid Beach in Queensland and Vice President of The Dry Eye Society, where she contributes to professional education, clinical best practice, and industry collaboration.
Her formal research at QUT led to the development of the Positive Optometry Culture Framework, an evidence-based model for building high-performing, psychologically safe teams. She is also the founder of Impact Culture Group, an initiative applying this framework across healthcare to support team wellbeing, improve patient outcomes, and strengthen sustainable models of care.
