*Wellbeing Survey results*.
02 May 2008
Full report available online.
Results from the University's second Staff Stress Survey, undertaken between November 2007 and January 2008, are in. A total of 4,547 staff responded - up significantly from 3,654 in the first survey in 2005-06.
Overall, results indicate only moderate level of stress risks in most areas - similar to findings at other universities. The higher stress risks faced by academic staff identified in 2005 have decreased; risks for academics are now similar to those for other staff. Stress risks have increased slightly for other groups.
Main concerns are strained relationships at work and increased risks faced across all areas by staff reporting a disability. Given the significant changes within the University, it is unsurprising that the risk of stress arising from change has also increased.
The Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) indicator tool was again used to conduct the survey, examining six key areas.
Demands: Main stress risks are the pace of work and difficulty meeting demands from different sources. While risks faced by academic staff have decreased, they remain at the highest risk of stress arising from demands placed upon them.
Control: Most staff, particularly academics and research staff, report high levels of control. This can protect them from other stress risks.
Support from managers and colleagues: In general, staff report good levels of support from managers and colleagues. Academic staff feel less able to rely on managers or colleagues to help them with work problems. Manual staff report less supportive feedback and less encouragement from line managers.
Relationships: A relatively high incidence of strained workplace relationships was reported. Bullying is not a major problem when the University is compared with the HSE normative database, although staff numbers reporting being bullied have increased since 2005-06.
Role: Action is needed to reduce stress risks arising from lack of clarity regarding role. Most organisations also have high risks when benchmarked against the HSE database. Manual staff have relatively low risks in this area.
Change: Stress risk arising from change and how it is managed has increased slightly since 2005-06.
What happens next?
An initial action plan will respond to the findings and Brainbox Research, the consultancy firm that conducted the survey, will run staff focus groups over the next two months to explore what can be done by the University, managers and individuals to reduce stress risks and help staff cope more effectively with stresses.
Subsequent ideas will help to refine the action plan to improve staff wellbeing, developed after the first survey. A preliminary revised plan will be published in June and a final version in October. The 2009 survey will gauge progress.
Andrew Mullen, Deputy Director of HR, said: "Although there has been an increase in risks identified in some areas, overall these results show that measures taken by the University to reduce stress are having a positive effect during a period of significant change.
"The survey provides a vital measure of progress and will help us to revise our plans to address staff wellbeing. It is a testimony to the value of the survey that so many staff participated.
"Again, we aim to repay this contribution by continuing to develop and build on existing wellbeing activities. We cannot rest on our laurels and must strive for continuous improvement to maintain the University's exemplary work in the area of wellbeing."
The full Staff Survey Stress Report is available at: