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Stress and strain blamed on 'bullying culture'
27 November 2008
A culture of strained working relationships is endemic in UK universities, according to a survey of almost 10,000 academics by the University and College Union (UCU).
One third of UCU members questioned agreed with the statement that "relationships at work are strained", and fewer than 3 per cent of respondents said that there was "never" any friction or anger between colleagues.
The UCU blamed a bullying culture in academe for the sense of discord, as more than half of a total of 9,700 respondents to the survey reported having been subjected to some form of bullying or personal harassment during their career.
Gill Evans, project leader for the Improving Dispute Resolution programme funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, said that the results should not come as a surprise.
"The root of the problem is the shift from the old collegial assumption that academics were all essentially equals and free to express their view to (one of) top-down line management," she said.
"With line management you get patronage and mutual mistrust. Without old-fashioned tenure people can lose their jobs, so they try not to rock the boat. But then they feel resentment that they dared not say what they thought, and that poisons the atmosphere," she said.
Professor Evans said a collegial working environment "involves lots of discussion and it can make decision-making slow", but added that "speedy decision-making is not necessarily good decision-making".
UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: "Good institutions are ones that are aware of the problem and (are) proactively trying to tackle it. Poor ones are those who refuse to accept there may be a problem or try to place the blame elsewhere."
hannah.fearn@tsleducation.com.
Readers' comments
UCU is a bit slow to identify the problem - a problem they knew was there for a long time since Dr Petra Boynton told them about it in 2005. Once again we have to ask the question: what action will follow from the UCU rhetoric?
Greetings; <br> I'm not knowledgable about the UCU and bullying in the UK, but am familiar with the problem in the USA where it is not just a problem in education, but also in health care, and elsewhere. Ms. Fearn suggests that the chain of command that exists contribites to the problem. The assumption that co-workers and colleagues are 'essentially equal and free to express their views," would certainly tend to reduce the possibility of bullying, compared to a setting where a hierarchy or top-down management controls relationships and communication on the job. <p>Also I'm aware that high stress occupations such as exist in health care with therapists, nurses, physicians, etc. working with patients on life support in intesive care units and emergency departments of hosptials also increase the likeliness of people becoming the target of bullies. Workers need to have the freedom to express their opinions without being retaliated against by those who disagree. Written, concrete, and consistently enforced policies that specifically address bullying are needed, as well as management who do not consider themselves exempt from those policies. <p> Also as Ms. Fearn writes, ongoing dialogue on these issues is needed in the workplace to make a safer work environment for everyone. Thanks for the article. <br>Sincerely; <br>Leonard Nolt