University staff: Can't balance work and life

According to an annual satisfaction and well-being survey, the University of Copenhagen has made strong progress as a satisfying workplace, reports KUnet.dk.

Last year the University made progress on 10 out of 11 points raised, including the staff’s personal development and ability to “exert influence on our own work.” The staff’s level of well-being remains equivalent to other benchmarked organisations.

But it’s not all good news. One problem reported by virtually all staff groups was the imbalance between work hours and work loads. The result is parallel to the student part of the survey showed that 45 per cent of students were stressed.

Workload issues

Academic staff have reported that their workloads are far too heavy and affect their private lives, while technical and administrative staff also list workload as their biggest problem.

In terms of satisfaction with workload, the University of Copenhagen is well below the organisations with which it usually compares itself. Many members of staff also feel that they lack adequate feedback from their immediate line managers.

Rector Ralf Hemmingsen says the study reveals that “getting the work/life balance is one obvious priority”, but is pleased with the progress on the points raised by the survey. Maintaining these high levels are “crucial to employee satisfaction”.

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