The Supporting Staff Wellbeing in Higher Education report by Gail Kinman and Siobhan Wray examining working life in UK Higher Education institutions is based on a survey of 2046 academic and academic related staff regarding the psychosocial hazards they encounter, how they feel about the tasks they do and the availability and usefulness of support mechanisms to manage their wellbeing. The psychosocial safety climate of their institutions was also examined along with mental health and work-life balance.
Key findings were
- Over three quarters (79%) of respondents said they need to work ‘very intensively,’ ‘often’ or ‘always.’
- Half (52%) said they experience unrealistic time pressures ‘often,’ or ‘always.’
- Many show signs of burnout, with 29% reporting feeling emotionally drained from work ‘every day.’
- More than two in ten academics work a further two working days per week.
- Common barriers to obtaining support for wellbeing were lack of time due to a heavy workload and an inflexible schedule as well as lack of information about where to get it.
This study of UK HE employees has highlighted the initiatives that are currently available to support the wellbeing of employees and the type of support they find (or would find) most effective. The findings show that wellbeing related to key psychosocial hazards, i.e. job demands, support from managers and colleagues, role and relationships, in the higher education sector in the UK continues to be below minimum recommended standards. Moreover, the overall level of job control (an important resource for HE employees) has not improved over time. Reflecting the findings of the survey conducted in 2014, a high proportion of HE employees report being obliged to undertake tasks they consider to be unreasonable or unnecessary on a regular basis. Average working hours in the sector continue to be long, with more than two out of every ten respondents on academic contracts regularly working the equivalent of two extra days per week. Unsurprisingly, perceptions of the psychosocial safety climate in UK universities are typically poor – considerably more so than in studies of other organisations. The importance of improving the psychosocial safety climate in UK universities is intensified by the findings that the risk of burnout is high, and the level of self-reported mental wellbeing considerably lower than population norms. Interference between work and personal life is a common cause of stress and burnout and the findings of this study show that HE employees continue to have difficulties in achieving a healthy balance.
The findings of this survey provide evidence that the psychosocial safety climate, and consequently staff wellbeing, may be improved if institutions take steps to reduce demands, increase support, control and role clarity, improve the quality of working relationships, and review tasks that might be considered unreasonable and unnecessary. Working with employees to identify opportunities for change and shape interventions will be particularly helpful. By highlighting employees’ support needs at the organisational and individual levels, the findings of this survey provide a foundation to help UK universities build a systemic and sustainable approach to wellbeing. As well as ensuring that individual support needs are met, it is crucial to promote a workplace culture where help-seeking is not stigmatised but encouraged and a range of interventions available that are fit for purpose and accessible to staff. These actions will help institutions meet the challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak and ‘build back better’ in terms of a healthy and more productive workforce.
Key recommendations regarding support needs are -
Workplace culture, employee voice and communication
• Prioritising staff wellbeing
• Mechanisms to monitor the psychosocial safety climate
• A culture of openness that normalises conversations about stress and mental health
• Awareness of the risks of implementing individually focused solutions to structural problems
• Training for all on equality, diversity and inclusion, including an awareness of neurodiversity
• Policies and practices to identify and address bullying harassment and discrimination at an early stage
• Opportunities to co-produce and evaluate support initiatives
• Support initiatives that are fit for purpose, high quality and informed by evidence
• Information on the available support initiatives that is centralised and accessible
• Wellbeing and support policies that are put into action
• A commitment to communicate and address the findings of staff wellbeing surveys and risk assessments
• Mechanisms to formally assess the impact of change initiatives on staff wellbeing
• A regular review of support initiatives to inform continuous improvement
• Mechanisms to identify barriers to accessing support and how they can be minimised
Managing workload
• Mechanisms to identify the causes of workload pressure and manage this at source
• Workload management initiatives that accurately reflect workload and working hours
• Awareness of the risks of long working hours for staff wellbeing, work-life balance and performance
• More autonomy and flexibility to enable staff to manage workload
• More administrative support for routine tasks
• Institution-wide policies for managing emails, including clear guidance on expectations for response
• Support for early career staff to help them manage expectations regarding workload and wellbeing
Psychological support and counselling
• A counselling service for staff where the number of sessions is not capped, and counsellors have an understanding of the sector
• Psychological support and counselling that can be accessed via different modes, such as face-to-face, telephone and online
• A wide range of coaching and mentoring programmes
• Improved support for staff with significant caring responsibilities and personal difficulties, such as bereavement
• Psychological support for staff who feel socially isolated when working remotely
• Guidance and support for staff to support students with mental health problems
Support from managers
• Awareness of the pressures of the job and how the responsibilities and requirements of the various roles can lead to overload
• Training for managers to support staff wellbeing and how to access support, with regular opportunities for updating
• Appraisal and supervision procedures that include questions about well-being, clear mechanisms for referral opportunities to revisit and monitor
• Procedures to identify signs of struggle in remote workers and training on how to provide support • Initiatives to ensure staff feel appreciated, valued and respected
• Support for line managers to protect their own wellbeing
Wellbeing and work-life balance
• A ‘tool-box’ of individual support initiatives to facilitate physical, mental and working health
• Mechanisms to ensure that support initiatives are accessible to all staff
• Guidance on work-life balance and healthy remote working, with particular focus on setting boundaries • Access to flexible working options (above the legal requirement)
• A requirement for employees to take their full quota of annual leave
• An awareness of the risks of presenteeism and provision of cover for staff who are on sick leave
• Encouragement to take regular breaks from work during the day
• A requirement to implement recommendations for reasonable accommodations from occupational health
Social support
• Support to promote positive working relationships, including informal opportunities to meet with colleagues
• Mechanisms to identify and manage conflict at an early stage
National support initiatives
• Regular audits of the sector to monitor psychosocial hazards and employee wellbeing, assess change over time and identify areas of best practice and concern
• Commitment to monitor the psychosocial safety climate in the sector and a consideration of including this as a Key Performance Indicator
• Access to sector schemes or peer groups outside of the employing institution to communicate information about new initiatives, share best practice and discuss support needs and potential solutions
• An independent ‘third-party’ that can evaluate how wellbeing services operate at an institution level and deal with staff concerns without fear of reprisals
• An anonymous national hotline for reporting bullying/harassment
