Pressure and lack of support: research reveals challenges faced by faculty staff in the UK

Fewer than half of British faculty staff feel able to deal with their workload; report carries recommendations that may inspire changes in Brazil

Roseane Santos

Three people attentively observe projects displayed on panels at a university; one of them is pointing to the content and another writing in a notebook

A survey of 240,000 staff members from more than 75 higher education institutions in the United Kingdom has revealed a worrying situation: fewer than half of the academics believe that they can maintain a healthy work-life balance. Access the survey here.

Conducted by consultancy People Insight in partnership with the University & Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), the study exposes striking disparities between the responses of faculty and administrative services staff.

According to the report:

Only 43% of faculty staff feel they can manage their workload comfortably;
The situation is also unfavorable when it comes to mental health and institutional support: only 44% say that they receive adequate support from their institutions;
48% say they are able to balance their work and personal lives.

The rates are considerably higher among administrative staff:

63% claim to be comfortable with their workloads;
61% feel supported in terms of well-being;
71% state that they have struck a balance between their personal and professional lives.

Nevertheless, these figures are below the average for other sectors, according to the digital journal Times Higher Education (THE).

Satisfaction vs. benefits

Another critical outcome of the study is the low level of satisfaction with benefits packages offered to faculty staff: only 38% of the academics surveyed are satisfied, compared to 54% of administrative professionals, a rate that mirrors the average across other sectors.

Moreover, although hybrid working has conferred greater flexibility and strengthened comradeship among teams, there has been a downturn in perceptions of interdepartmental collaboration since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey warns that different arrangements, with working hours conflicting between departments, limit opportunities for face-to-face interaction.

Hybrid working agreements, which are likely to vary among departments, may be contributing to this problem, as conflicting working times make for less in-person engagement, which is essential for effective collaboration between different areas of an institution.

Small advances and large gaps

Among administrative professionals, the perception of their work-life balance has improved slightly since 2021, increasing by three percentage points; this is attributed to greater flexibility for partial remote working.

However, there has been no progress in respect of academics, highlighting the need for institutional policies more geared toward their specific requirements.

Despite the difficulties, 87% of faculty staff consider their work to be interesting and challenging, and 80% report a strong sense of personal achievement—higher figures than those observed in other sectors.

This serves to demonstrate the involvement of academics in their activities, even under adverse conditions.

Practical recommendations: Pathways for transforming the academic environment

Based on the results, the report proposes five key recommendations for higher education institutions. Despite their focus on the British context, they provide practical takeaways for universities from other countries, including Brazil:

1. Enhancing interdepartmental collaboration: incentivizing interdisciplinary projects, inter-team communication channels, and shared events calendars to strengthen collaborative work.

2. Offering effective workload management support: Implementing time management training, regular meetings for task redistribution, and improvements to administrative systems.

3. Strengthening well-being and balance initiatives: generating mental health and active listening programs, and awareness-raising campaigns on making the most of leaves of absence, vacations, and flexibility

4. Improving recognition and rewards systems: establishing clear practices of staff appreciation, with formal acknowledgement, financial rewards, and incentives for the teaching career.

5. Adopting a continuous listening approach: conducting frequent organizational satisfaction surveys, setting up focus groups, and implementing action plans based on employee necessities.

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