The mental health, safety and wellbeing of our staff and students remain the university’s priority as the global pandemic continues. We decided undertake a second survey, similar to the first survey held in June 2020 to find out how staff are feeling about their general sense of wellbeing, how staff have adapted to remote working and for some returning to campus-based working, the support and guidance staff have received from colleagues, at home and from the wider university. By having two similar surveys, it will enable comparisons to be made to understand if staff feeling has changed since the first survey and to check if previous actions have made a difference.
Survey Results
The response rate for the survey was 59% (1039 out of 1762 staff members) which is consistent with previous university staff surveys.
Although some of the responses to the questions have decreased, the survey responses overall continue to be positive (see further details below). There is a decrease in the Support and Work Life Balance; Planning Ahead and Communication and Guidance sections, whilst the Positive and Negative section remains constant. The six highest scoring responses are:
- 95% of respondents want to continue to work from home on a regular basis (0% change compared to June 2020 survey)
- 93% of respondents want to continue to use Teams for meetings (1% increase compared to June 2020 survey)
- 89% of respondents understand and support the need to be flexible in their approach to their role next (2% decrease compared to June 2020 survey)
- 86% of respondents feel reasonably confident and effective in using on-line technology for work (4% increase compared to June 2020 survey)
- 85% of respondents I feel their line manager has allowed them sufficient flexibility and autonomy to work effectively throughout this challenging period (1% decrease compared to June 2020 survey)
- 84% of respondents feel well informed by the university about the actions we have taken so far (4% decrease compared to June 2020 survey)
The lowest scoring responses mainly focused on the Planning Ahead section of the survey. They are:
- 46% of respondents wanted to continue with online catch ups with students (3% increase compared to June 2020)
- 50% of respondents feel reasonably ready to start planning for any move back to on-campus working later this year (7% decrease compared to June 2020)
- 56% of respondents feel able to make a contribution to discussions about planning (9% decrease compared to June 2020)
- 63% of respondents feel confident that their wellbeing, health and safety are a key priority for the university (7% decrease compared to June 2020)
- 64% of respondents are aware of what the university is doing to prepare for next academic year (10% decrease compared to June 2020)
You can see the University Summary Report for further details.
Next steps
Following the survey, actions will be considered which focus on the priority areas highlighted from the survey results. Your local Faculty/Directorate results will be shared with you by your PVC/Director and local actions created to meet local areas of improvement.
If you are finding things difficult and need further support there are resources available in the Wellbeing Hub or you can contact our Employee Assistance Programme.
