University Workplace Research Articles

Breathing Uneasily: Employees' Stories of Coping With Poor Indoor Air Quality in the Workplace.

This phenomenological study aimed to elucidate the lived experiences of employees suffering from poor indoor air quality (IAQ) in their university workplace. It addresses gaps in understanding IAQ's personal impacts from occupants' perspectives. Prior research on sick building syndrome and indoor air pollution utilized quantitative methods to assess physical health outcomes. However, few studies have adopted qualitative approaches to uncover the meanings ascribed to adverse IAQ experiences and their influences on psychosocial well-being. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with five university employees who attributed their chronic illnesses to poor IAQ in their 60-year-old office building with a history of IAQ concerns. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using qualitative techniques including thematic coding to extract key themes conveying shared experiences. Employees depicted the building itself as fundamentally "sick" and stigmatized, compelling complex coping behaviors hindering productivity. Communication breakdowns, mistrust in leadership, and strained workplace relationships were prevalent. A sense of betrayal, powerlessness, and a sense of detachment from the workplace emerged with home as a refuge. Although technically adequate, poor IAQ profoundly damaged perceived health, quality of life, relationships, and satisfaction. The accounts emphasize IAQ's psychosocial dimensions, advancing theoretical links between indoor environments and well-being. Supportive policies, transparency, communication, participatory processes, and human-centered strategies emerge as ways to nurture productivity, well-being, and organizational health.

Exploring (in)congruence between academic employers and academic parents' aspirations for, and enactment of, gender justice in relation to family leave

The gender pay gap (13.7% in 2022 in the UK Higher Education (HE) sector) provides an overall snapshot of gender inequality in a specific setting. The causes of the gender pay gap are multifaceted but inextricably linked to the transition to parenthood. However, despite the transformative potential of family leave policy and practice as a strategy to progress gender equality, there has been less focus on HEIs' approaches to supporting transition to parenthood as a strategy to tackle the gender pay gap. I employ the Capability Approach (CA) combined with a discursive conceptualisation of gender to explore how gender norms shape parents' decision-making within university workplace cultural contexts. This study contributes evidence of incongruence between parents' gender justice aspirations, their experiences and HE employer gender justice strategies. The study identifies the need to explore how gender justice is framed, and translated in practice, within HE employer EDI strategies.

Socially Responsible Leadership and Job Engagement in University Context: Mediation of Psychological Safety

Purpose - This study looks into the connection between job engagement (JE) and socially responsible leadership (SRL) in public universities in Uganda.Methodology - The study is quantitative in nature and consisted of personnel working at Uganda's public universities supplied data. The information was gathered using a five-point Likert scale in an organized questionnaire. Expert judgment and content validity were used to assess the validity of the instrument. Warp PLS and smart PLS-SEM analysis was run on 214 legitimate responses among 250 public university staff. Findings - The findings demonstrated a positive correlation between JE and SRL. PS and SRL were found to be positively correlated. Furthermore, the results showed a positive correlation between PS and JE. Additionally, the findings demonstrated that PS acts as mediation in the relationship between SRL and JE. Originality – The study contributes to the understanding of the approaches related to improving employee job engagement in the education sector. The study adds to the body of knowledge concerning the association between job engagement and psychological safety a crucial aspect of socially responsible leadership by examining data from developing countries in addition to other countries which had previously been ignored. Practical implications - This study contributes to the corpus of research on SRL and PS, especially in the context of universities, in terms of JE. Additionally, it provides advice on how to use PS and SRL to enhance university workplace conditions such as JE. By emphasizing the crucial roles that a psychologically safe environment and leadership style that is socially responsible play in promoting positive social interactions at work, our article advances the understanding of social exchange theory.

The Effects of Electronic Monitoring in the University Workplace: Bangladeshi Academics' Perceptions of Work Performance Monitoring

The Effects of Electronic Monitoring in the University Workplace: Bangladeshi Academics' Perceptions of Work Performance Monitoring

Beyond mere respect: new perspectives on dignity for healthcare workplace learning.

Although dignity in workplace learning in healthcare is gathering interest, we know little about stakeholders' conceptualizations in this area across professional groups. Dignity breaches in workplace learning are common, often with serious and long-lasting consequences for the affected. Conceptualizations shape behaviours and experiences. To prevent dignity violations in students' learning, it is thus important to understand stakeholders' understandings of the topic. This study therefore explores the dignity conceptualizations around workplace learning that students, placement educators and university staff hold across seven allied health professional groups. Using a social constructionist perspective, we conducted individual and group narrative interviews (n = 51) with students, placement educators and university workplace learning staff from seven allied health professional groups. We used the 5-step Framework Analysis to explore and develop themes, identifying differences and similarities across stakeholder groups. We identified eight distinct, yet interrelated, dimensions of dignity from participants' narratives: dignity as respect, dignity as self-x (the various relationships we have with ourselves), dignity as feeling safe, dignity as understanding otherness, dignity as supporting others, dignity as equality, dignity as professionalism, and dignity as belonging. Dignity as respect was identified across all participants, although mutual respect and a culture of respect were only present in academic participants' talk. The remaining seven dimensions all present important factors extending our understanding of the construct of dignity. In line with existing research, our study identifies the absence of an unambiguous, positive conceptualization of dignity in workplace learning among stakeholders. It adds novelty in two ways: by identifying dignity dimensions that require informed action beyond respecting others, and by revealing a tension between dignity as professionalism and dignity as equality. We suggest revising existing dignity concepts in workplace learning to address this tension and to reinforce that active care, team integration and skilled support are all non-negotiable elements of dignified behaviour within workplace learning.

University workplace health promotion programmes: Getting the balance right

University workplace health promotion programmes: Getting the balance right

“Subjectivities, academic work and mothering practice”: Navigating obscure and unspoken disciplines

AbstractA robust and important body of scholarship is exploring the multiple and layered complexities of mothering and paid work. In this paper, we theoretically and empirically contribute to this work by exploring how, at the level of the self, women with children understand themselves in relation to their paid work and their mothering. We have examined this focus using a post‐structural feminist lens inspired by Foucauldian ideas related to the subject and technologies of the self. This perspective has focused our attention on the informal practices in an Australian university workplace, where we locate and problematize tensions between industrial and policy provisions designed to support mothers and mother's everyday workplace experiences. Our findings arise from focus groups, in‐depth interviews, and our personal narrative accounts and elucidate how despite well‐established policy supports, formal and informal workplace practices shape and discipline how mothers come to understand themselves and their paid work in the academy. We find that policy provisions for families in the workplace operate to conceal and legitimate gendered workplace practices, contributing to subjectivities formed through doubt, fear, shame, anxiety, isolation, and guilt. More productively, subjectivities were also born through agency, resistance, and revision, albeit wrapped by additional labor, personal, and professional costs.

Influences of Preventive Voice Training on the Vocal, Mental Health, and Voice-Related Self-Concept of University Teachers and Academic Advisers: A Pilot Study

The aim of the study was to investigate whether the vocal self-concept and potential vocal and related mental health problems of university teachers and academic advisers can be improved by participating in preventive voice training. University teachers and academic advisers show an increased susceptibility to occupational risk factors related to their voice and an increased prevalence of developing a voice disorder in the course of their employment. An experimental, prospective, longitudinal study was conducted to examine whether voice training (1) improves physiological vocal function, vocal performance, vocal self-concept, and mental health of university teachers and academic advisers; (2) reduces unfavorable influencing factors at the university workplace; and (3) fewer voice problems are reported from the perspective of university teachers and academic advisers. This study showed that voice training has positive influences on the voice (function and quality), voice self-concept, and well-being of university staff. Workplace prevention programs can help to reduce the high prevalence of voice disorders among university teachers and advisers and counteract the risk factors. They should therefore be firmly integrated into continuing education/university health management and everyday life to cope with certain work-related vocal stresses and to maintain psychological and vocal well-being throughout the university career. Gender and age-related aspects should be considered.

Early and slow weight loss responders' perceptions of an adaptive diabetes prevention trial: A qualitative perspective.

Behavioural weight loss interventions demonstrate success on average, yet participants who respond more slowly may benefit from an augmented, tailored approach. Thus, an augmented intervention for early, slow weight loss responders was implemented. This qualitative analysis explored participants' perceptions of and experiences of the 12-month weight loss programme to inform future intervention development and implementation. Individual interviews were conducted post-treatment. In-person, in-depth interviews were offered prior to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic; videoconferencing interviews were offered following the pandemic onset. A Midwestern US university workplace. Adults ⩾21 years old with overweight or obesity and prediabetes (n = 39) were recruited and volunteered to participate in a semi-structured interview. Content analysis identified recurring themes among early and early slow weight loss responders. Social support received during weekly group sessions was a critical intervention component. Some early slow responders expressed difficulty with self-regulatory strategies such as setting specific yet attainable goals, and requested additional contact prior to the maintenance study phase - treatment randomisation at month 5 disrupted group dynamics. Early slow responders who received the intervention via videoconferencing believed the format interfered with their ability to establish friendships with other participants and gain insight and support from others' lived experiences. Weight loss interventions may be more efficacious when considering participant heterogeneity during implementation of behavioural strategies. Findings suggest early slow weight loss responders may benefit from greater emphasis on goal setting and striving, agentic thinking, and social support. Future research is needed to examine the implications of these insights on intervention outcomes.

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication and Nigerian University Workplace Peacefulness

The study investigated Nigerian university workers’ perceptions of the verbal and non-verbal communication variables that are important to workplace peace. The study used a mixed methodology with poetic inquiry triangulated with quantitative methodology. The researchers posed and answered seven research questions. The data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire constructed using Google Forms, from where the qualitative data were extracted and analysed using thematic and structural coding. The quantitative data analysis was done using simple percentages. The results showed that communication could engender conflict when it is improper, disrespectful, insensitive, inconsiderate and poorly channelled. For verbal communication, participants considered fluency and appropriate choice of words as very important to workplace peace. For non-verbal communication, politeness, attentiveness, and greetings were rated as most important to workplace peace. Civility and communication training were recommended for university staff.

Designing for the Embedding of Employee Voice

Previous research on employee voice has sought to design technological solutions that address the challenges of speaking up in the workplace. However, effectively embedding employee voice systems in organisations requires designers to engage with the social processes, power relations and contextual factors of individual workplaces. We explore this process within a university workplace through a research project responding to a crisis in educational service delivery arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Within a successful three-month staff-led engagement, we examined the intricacies of embedding employee voice, exploring how the interactions between existing actors impacted the effectiveness of the process. We sought to identify specific actions to promote employee voice and overcome barriers to its successful establishment in organisational decision-making. We highlight design considerations for an effective employee voice system that facilitates embedding employee voice, including assurance, bounded accountability and bias reflexivity.

Supported or stressed while being assessed? How motivational climates in UK University workplaces promote or inhibit researcher well‐being

AbstractAcademic culture now places high expectations on researchers to demonstrate research productivity alongside teaching, leadership and knowledge exchange. In two studies of researchers across career stages in UK higher education institutions (HEIs), we examined workplace climate within academic departments as (1) supportive of researchers' needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, (2) publish‐or‐perish focused and (3) hyper‐competitive. In Study 1 (multiwave from 2018 to 2020), need support predicted researchers' lower turnover intention 2 years later, even when controlling for concurrent need support, and career and economic conditions. In Study 2, need support correlated with academic well‐being (lower job strain and turnover intention, greater job satisfaction) in a nationwide sample of 2951 researchers. Study 2 found that need support related to improved, and a hyper‐competitive motivational climate related to undermined, well‐being. Results were mixed for publish‐or‐perish climate. Performative demands can have deleterious effects on researcher well‐being.

Effects of indoor environment factors on productivity of university workplaces: A structural equation model

How are the indoor environment factors affecting the work productivity of office users in university buildings? Statistical analyses were undertaken on data probing building usage and self-reported indoor environment quality (IEQ) perception from a survey of 157 postgraduate students and 89 staff members at a university in New Zealand. Results of the partial least squares structural equational modelling confirmed the positive correlation among the IEQ within an office, the wellbeing and comfort as well as three dimensions of work productivity. IEQ factors relating to aesthetics and views were found to have the strongest effect on wellbeing and comfort as well as productivity for postgraduate students, whereas factors related to spatial and cleanliness are the most important for staff members. For both cohorts, the wellbeing and comfort in the office have significant direct effects on contextual performance, which indirectly further affects office users’ ability in time management and task performance. The findings highlight the importance of the inclusion of design features that are productivity and wellbeing oriented across the building and the need for appropriate consultation with university office building users (e.g., students and staff) to achieve optimised design solutions.

Radon detector development using a PIN photodiode

An active device for radon detection in air has been developed in the frame of a project carried out by the Physics Department of the University of Torino with the aim to create a monitoring network of radon concentration in the University workplaces.
 The device uses a commercial planar photodiode, sensitive to alpha particles, and a dedicated electronic chain integrated in an approx. 30 mm by 50 mm printed circuit board (PCB), designed in order to minimize the power consumption. The device can be used not only as alpha particles counter (using the digital output) but also for alpha spectroscopy, connecting the analog signal output from the shaper amplifier to a Multichannel Analyzer (MCA).
 In this paper, the first prototype of the detector will be presented with the preliminary experimental results.
 The spectroscopic performances of the device were tested, integrating the sensor in a commercial aluminum box and acquiring the alpha particle spectrum from a calibration source and from rock samples used as radon sources.
 The radon sensitivity of the detector, in terms of (Counts per hour)/(Bq m−3), was assessed by the comparison with a calibrated commercial radon detector (RAD7 Durridge Inc.).
 In conclusion, the final prototype will be presented. It is characterized by a new 3d printed plastic case in black PA12 for light shielding, covered by a conductive paint in order to minimize the electromagnetic noise.

Working it out: Will the improved management of leaky bodies in the workplace create a dialogue between medical sociology and disability studies?

This article focuses on the workplace as a significant site of convergence between the disciplines of medical sociology and disability studies. As disability remains on the margins of sociological exploration and theorising relating to health and work, disabled workers remain on the margins of the workforce, subject to disproportionate rates of unemployment, under employment and workplace mistreatment. The article focuses on the experiences of people with 'leaky bodies', focussing specifically on employees who experience troubling menstruation and/or have gynaecological health conditions. It brings together data from three studies conducted between 2017 and 2020; interviews with disabled academics (n=75), university staff with gynaecological health conditions (n=23), and key stakeholders in universities (n=36) (including university executives, line managers and human resources staff). These studies had separate, but linked foci, on the inaccessibility of workplaces, managing gynaecological health conditions at work and supporting disabled people at work respectively. Drawing on the Social Relational Model of disability and theories of embodiment, we explore the experiences and management of workers with leaky bodies in UK University workplaces. Data illustrates how workplace practices undermine embodied experiences of workers with 'leaky' bodies by maintaining workplaces which ignore their material reality. We highlight that addressing embodied needs alongside acknowledging disabled people as an oppressed political category represents a theoretical meeting point for disability studies and medical sociology.

Coming out in the university workplace: a case study of LGBTQ + staff visibility

This article explores the issue of workplace visibility and signs and symbols of LGBTQ + identity in a UK university. A poststructuralist Butlerian theoretical framework underpins this article. Sexual and gender identities are understood as multiple and fragmented, and constructed in relation to others and within the systems of power and knowledge that exist in universities and society more widely. An anonymous survey and focus group discussions were conducted with LGBTQ + staff in a higher education institution in England awarded university status in 1992. Results showed that staff felt relatively comfortable coming out to their peer-groups in the workplace but were less confident in coming out to students. Signs and symbols of LGBTQ + identities were fundamentally important to LGBTQ + staff members in helping them feel safe in the workplace and indicating to LGBTQ + students that they were potentially a source of support. The visibility of LGBTQ + senior leaders was important in empowering staff to believe that they too might progress within the university.

Collaborating for policy impact: Academic-practitioner collaboration in industrial relations research

Knowledge co-production between academics and practitioners is increasingly a focus for university workplace contexts. While there is emerging interest in how social science academics can engage with industry to generate impact, little attention has been paid to how one form of practitioner organisation, trade unions, engages with academics to influence policy and member outcomes. In this article, we examine a case of research collaboration with an education trade union based in New South Wales, Australia, to explore the process of knowledge co-production with this partnership and its impact on education policy. In examining this decade-long partnership, we contribute to the literature on union strategy by depicting collaboration with researchers as a unique strategy for influencing policy outcomes (in this case, addressing teacher workload), while also contributing to emerging scholarship on knowledge co-production as a means to generate impact beyond the academy. As such, this article contributes a rare example of ‘cross-over’ between the worlds of academia and industry, which may inform future engagement and impact processes.

Understanding change in the university workplace: are metaphors of bereavement helpful?

ABSTRACT This article considers the difficulty of implementing change in a university workplace and discusses the popularity of ‘the Valley of Despair’ change curve as a way of predicting and managing resistance to change. The Valley of Despair is based on Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s (1970; 2005) work with the dying and bereaved, and posits that people going through change will experience a predictable series of emotions: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance (a sequence often termed ‘DABDA’). Questions are raised about both the validity of this model and its value as a lens through which to view change in the Higher Education sector. It is suggested, however, that other metaphors of bereavement may provide helpful insights to those hoping to guide university staff through change.

Administrative staff learning and using English to communicate with international students

ABSTRACT Purpose The lack of attention given to administrative staff calls for a study to consider their concerns regarding the learning and use of English to communicate in internationalized universities. This case study aimed to investigate how adequately administrative staff have learned and used English to communicate with international students in an internationalized university in Taiwan. Design/methodology/approach This case study drew on questionnaire and interview data to examine 15 administrative staff's learning and use of English for communication in an internationalized university. Findings The data analysis revealed the linguistic diversity and varying nature of communicative circumstances across university workplaces. The administrative staff were found to have applied multiple strategies to maximize the effectiveness of their English language learning and use for communication. They prioritized the learning opportunities for practicing English to address workplace communication needs. Originality/value These findings suggested that the disciplinary knowledge about English language learning and use for communication obtained from English for Specific Purposes (ESP) research and other fields should be used to broaden the English as an International Language (EIL) paradigmatic scope for research and pedagogy. We argue for a paradigmatic partnership to address the disciplinary limitations of EIL while simultaneously extending the established knowledge of EIL about English language learning and use for ESP and EIL communication.

Employee Perceptions of the Effectiveness of E-training to Meet Performance Evaluation Requirements

Saudi universities have moved to e-training programmes, including ‘Ithrai’ and other platforms, due to their potential effectiveness and cost-efficiency. However, limited efforts have been made to evaluate the effectiveness of e-training programmes in the context of university workplaces in Saudi Arabia using Job Performance Evaluation Charter JPEC. The purpose of this study is to address this gap in the literature by examining the effect of e-training on meeting JPEC requirements for employees in the public university context in Saudi Arabia. This study highlights that e-training approaches are important to ensure that employees have acquired essential competencies and skills using JPEC as the foundation for their evaluation. In addition, it is important to take into account the different levels of knowledge among employees and encourage cooperation in order to overcome the various knowledge gaps among them as a result of their different abilities in dealing with technology. Participants highly agreed on the impact of e-training in terms of meeting the requirements for evaluating job performance in the area of employee professional development with a mean of (4.19). This research, however, is subject to several limitations. First, the study occurred at one Saudi university and is geographically limited. It also relied on a small sample size and it may not be possible to generalise the reported perceptions to the whole institution or Saudi Arabia as a whole. Other researchers could replicate the study by including different institutions in different geographical regions. Second, all the data were self-reported and may suffer from social desirability bias. Thus, readers should interpret the findings with caution.