Less than half of academics feel they can “comfortably manage” their workloads while satisfaction with benefits packages sits well below other sectors, according to a major survey.

Some 240,000 employees across more than 75 UK higher education institutions were polled on their attitudes to work and careers, revealing continued disparities between academic and professional services jobs.

In comparison with the 43 per cent of academics who are happy with their workload, 63 per cent of professional services staff say the same, the , conducted by consultancy People Insight and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (Ucea) finds.

Academic staff also had less favourable views on their well-being and work-life balance, with only 48 per cent of academic staff saying they feel they can strike the right balance between work and home life and 44 per cent saying they felt their university supported them adequately with their health and well-being at work.

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The percentage is higher among professional services staff, at 61 per cent, but both were still below the average when compared with other sectors.

The survey further finds that satisfaction with total benefits among academic staff is just 38 per cent, well below averages in other sectors.

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And hybrid working – which increased massively during the pandemic – has had both positive and negative effects.

While “camaraderie within teams” and a sense of community at work has significantly improved, there was a decline in the perception that different parts of the sector work well together.

“Hybrid working arrangements, which are likely to vary across different departments, may be contributing to this issue, as conflicting schedules reduce opportunities for face-to-face interaction – essential for effective cross-departmental collaboration,” the report says.

But while there was no change in perceptions of work-life balance among academic staff since a similar survey was conducted in 2021, professional services staff report an improvement of three percentage points, which the report attributed to “the flexibility that allows many to work from home part of the week instead of being on campus every day”.

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Campus collection: Well-being in higher education

Also on the positive side, there has been “significant progress” in meeting employees’ career development aspirations, increasing from 39 per cent to 46 per cent.

“While there have been notable improvements in certain areas over the last few years, such as career development and work satisfaction, further targeted efforts are needed to ensure a more equitable and supportive working environment for all,” the report concludes.

Writing in the foreword, Ken Sloan, a board member at Ucea and vice-chancellor of Harper Adams University, says the “current challenges facing our sector only emphasise the importance of keeping [employee experience] at the heart of any employment provision and change”.

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com