Staff satisfaction declining, new survey finds

A new University survey has found that levels of satisfaction among its staff over issues such as workload and pay have declined since 2019.

50% (6565) of staff completed the survey, which was conducted by People Insight, in Spring 2022. These findings will inform further actions: improvements in training and commitments to tackling bullying, harassment, and discrimination.

75% of respondents were proud to work for the University, although this is 14 percentage points lower than in 2019. 71% of respondents are satisfied with their job overall, which is also lower than the 2019 survey.

The survey found that 52% of respondents feel that the University offers a good pay and benefits package, which is 23 percentage points lower than in 2019. However, the survey notes the significant impact that Covid-19 may have played in this decline.

The overall score for “wellbeing” was 58% across nine question items, a comparative decline since the 2019 and 2017 surveys. This “mixed picture” indicated that “a sizeable proportion of staff who responded to this survey report that they have an excess workload”.

One-third of respondents agree that the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) manage and lead the University well, with 22% disagreeing. This support for the SLT has fallen by 25 percentage points since 2019.

Continuing this, in the section “What single thing do we most need to change?”, answers centred on: high workloads, insufficient staffing levels, rewards and job security, and people management. One example response stated: “Invest in staff and existing infrastructure so we can work more efficiently”.

Professional service staff were notably more positive towards pay and benefits, workload, and support than academics and research staff.

These statistics, demonstrating a consistent decrease in staff satisfaction, have come to light at the same time as a prolonged period of UCU strikes. 70,000 lecturers and other university staff are striking across UK universities over pay, working conditions, and pensions.