A newly released report from People Insight and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) has highlighted a growing divide in how academic and professional services staff perceive their working environments within UK universities.
The report — A Tale of Two Perspectives: Bridging the Gap in HE Employee Experience — draws on feedback from over 240,000 individuals across more than 75 higher education institutions, making it the most extensive analysis of sector-specific employee experience ever conducted.
While there are signs of positive momentum in some areas, such as a stronger sense of community and modest improvements in career development, the data also indicates a worrying trend: the dismantling of COVID-era support structures has contributed to renewed siloed working and an uneven recovery. Academic staff, in particular, continue to report less favourable experiences than their professional services colleagues across several key indicators.
- Only 43% of academic staff feel they can comfortably manage their workload, compared to 63% of professional services staff.
- Academic staff are far less likely to feel supported on wellbeing, with only 44% agreeing their university supports their health and wellbeing at work.
- While 87% of academic staff find their work interesting and challenging, only 55% feel valued for what they do.
- Satisfaction with total benefits among academic staff stands at just 38%, well below averages from other sectors.
