University Staff: Casualties of the "Knowledge Economy"
14 July 2000
A new survey of 1700 university staff has found that work overload and work-related stress are becoming serious problems in Australian universities.
Analysis of the survey, entitled Unhealthy Places of Learning: Working in Australian Universities, has been published by the National Tertiary Education Union. It will be launched by ACTU President Sharan Burrow at the NTEU Women’s Conference, Sunday 16th July at at 12.30pm. The venue will be Ground Floor, 120 Clarendon Street South Melbourne.
NTEU President Dr Carolyn Allport said that unless Government and university management took action on workloads, universities and their staff would be unable to contribute fully to the growth of the `Knowledge Economy’ of the twenty-first century.
`As a result of funding cuts and management decisions, staff numbers have fallen by over 3% since 1996, and student: staff ratios have increased by 20% over the same period,’ she said. `Our survey shows that staff are bearing the brunt of these decisions, with the vast majority working in excess of a forty-hour week. Over 50% of staff find their job often or always stressful, with 67% of women falling into this category.’
The survey showed that workloads and stress for both academic and general staff were exacerbated by the introduction of new technologies and insufficient resources for professional development.
`We need Government to restore funding for staff development, which has been cut by 50% since 1996,’ said Dr Allport. `We also need workload regulation to be viewed more constructively, as a key issue affecting the quality of higher education provision.’
‘University staffs are knowledge workers. They will be at the cutting edge of the knowledge economy, and they need adequate resources and support to do their jobs. We can’t afford the level of burn-out we’re currently seeing in higher education institutions.’