Consumerisation in UK Higher Education Business Schools: Higher fees, greater stress and debatable outcomes

For many UK Higher Education Business Schools, the continued recruitment of UK, EU and International students is crucial for financial stability, viability and independence. Due to increasingly competitive funding models across the sector many institutional leaders and administrators are making decisions typical of highly marketised consumer environments. Thus, this paper explores, academics’ perceptions of the impact of consumerisation in UK Higher Education Business Schools. To achieve this 22 Business School academics were interviewed within three UK Higher Education institutions (HEIs) in the North of England. Participants had a minimum of three years teaching experience. Data was analysed using template analysis taking an interpretive approach. The findings indicate that academics perceived the introduction of tuition fees to have been the catalyst for students increasing demonstration of customer-like behaviour: viewing the education process as transactional, with the HEI providing a ‘paid for’ service. It is argued that these changes in UK Higher Education have created tensions between university leaders and academics, creating genuine dilemmas for those with decision-making responsibilities who must balance academic integrity and long term institutional financial viability

Mindful networks? Navigating and negotiating life and work in academia.

In this chapter I unpack my use of social networks (and social media) as a means of being more mindful about the role of research and scholarship in the construction of my academic identity. I have found it to be a restless, shifting identity that has to be carefully and continually navigated and negotiated. On the one hand, I explain how participation in social networks has actively shaped my sense of academic community and also the scholarly relationships that contribute strongly to my academic health and wellbeing. On the other hand, I question the extent to which social networking and the use of social media in academia allow truly mindful practices to be enacted. For example, I sometimes worry that social networking for academic purposes through social media contributes to the acceleration of higher education practice – never switching off, always being connected – potentially further exacerbating academics’ levels of labour, stress and pressure. By reflecting upon and analysing my scholarly use of Twitter and Instagram I explore how this practice (usually) keeps me acting mindfully as an academic and evaluate the extent to which it enables me to engage better in the complex cognitive and emotional demands of working in higher education. Finally, I reflect upon my recent change of both role and institution, which saw me unexpectedly and temporarily suspend my regular use of social media for academic purposes.N/

Work characteristics and determinants of job satisfaction in four age groups: university employees’ point of view

Contains fulltext : 79843.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)PURPOSE: To investigate (a) differences in work characteristics and (b) determinants of job satisfaction among employees in different age groups. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire was filled in by 1,112 university employees, classified into four age groups. (a) Work characteristics were analysed with ANOVA while adjusting for sex and job classification. (b) Job satisfaction was regressed against job demands and job resources adapted from the Job Demands-Resources model. Results : Statistically significant differences concerning work characteristics between age groups are present, but rather small. Regression analyses revealed that negative association of the job demands workload and conflicts at work with job satisfaction faded by adding job resources. Job resources were most correlated with more job satisfaction, especially more skill discretion and more relations with colleagues. CONCLUSIONS: Skill discretion and relations with colleagues are major determinants of job satisfaction. However, attention should also be given to conflicts at work, support from supervisor and opportunities for further education, because the mean scores of these work characteristics were disappointing in almost all age groups. The latter two characteristics were found to be associated significantly to job satisfaction in older workers

Model of work-related ill health of academic staff in a South African Higher education institution

No Abstract.South African Journal of Higher Education Vol. 22 (2) 2008: pp. 404-42

Career Progression and Development of Professional Staff in Higher Education

This chapter explores some of the unique issues and opportunities for career progression and development of professional staff in higher education, providing a broad overview of the existing literature in this space and discussing some of the key issues and findings that have emerged in recent publications. It then introduces the career-focused chapters of this book, Professional and Support Staff in Higher Education, situating them within a scholarly context, providing a critical exploration of their contributions to this burgeoning field, and identifying some of their implications for higher education institutions in the current climate of change

Perceptions of mental workload in Dutch university employees of different ages: a focus group study

Contains fulltext : 118943.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: As academic workload seems to be increasing, many studies examined factors that contribute to the mental workload of academics. Age-related differences in work motives and intellectual ability may lead to differences in experienced workload and in the way employees experience work features. This study aims to obtain a better understanding of age differences in sources of mental workload. 33 academics from one faculty discussed causes of workload during focus group interviews, stratified by age. FINDINGS: Among our participants, the influence of ageing seems most evident in employees' actions and reactions, while the causes of workload mentioned seemed largely similar. These individual reactions to workload may also be driven by differences in tenure. Most positively assessed work characteristics were: interaction with colleagues and students and autonomy. Aspects most often indicated as increasing the workload, were organisational aspects as obstacles for 'getting the best out of people' and the feeling that overtime seems unavoidable. Many employees indicated to feel stretched between the 'greediness' of the organisation and their own high working standards, and many fear to be assigned even less time for research if they do not meet the rigorous output criteria. Moreover, despite great efforts on their part, promotion opportunities seem limited. A more pronounced role for the supervisor seems appreciated by employees of all ages, although the specific interpretation varied between individuals and career stages. CONCLUSIONS: To preserve good working conditions and quality of work, it seems important to scrutinize the output requirements and tenure-based needs for employee supervision