In recent years, the Australian university sector has undergone large-scale organizational change, including restructuring, downsizing and government funding cuts. At the same time, research from across the globe reports an alarming increase in the occupational stress experienced by university staV. We report on the ® rst phase of a longitudinal investigation of occupational stress. A total of 22 focus groups were conducted with a representative sample of 178 academic and general staV from 15 Australian universities. The groups focused on understanding staV 's experience of occupational stress, and perceptions of the sources, consequences and moderators of stress. Both general and academic staV reported a dramatic increase in stress during the previous 5 years. As a group, academic staV reported higher levels of stress than general staV. Five major sources of stress were identi® ed including: insuYcient funding and resources; work overload; poor management practice; job insecurity; and insuYcient recognition and reward. The majority of groups reported that job-related stress was having a deleterious impact on their professional work and personal welfare. Aspects of the work environment (support from co-workers and management, recognition and achievement, high morale, exible working conditions), and personal coping strategies (stress management techniques, work/ non-work balance, tight role boundaries and lowering standards), were reported to help staV cope with stress. The ® ndings provide a timely insight into the experience of stress within universities.
This article presents results from a study of occupational stress in Australian university staff. The authors report data on psychological strain and job satisfaction from nearly 9,000 respondents at 17 universities. Academic staff were generally worse off than general staff, and staff in newer universities were worse off than those in older universities. At the aggregate level, selfreport measures of psychological well-being were highly correlated with objective measures of university well-being (investment income, student-staff ratios, and recent cuts in staffing levels and in government operating grants).
These studies confirm the mediating role of intershift-shift recovery in the evolution of adaptive end-of-shift fatigue states to maladaptive persistent fatigue traits. The OFER scale is suggested as a potentially valuable new tool for use in work-related fatigue research.
Unpredictable internal shift rotations, including night duty, which are traditional and typical in nursing, are inimical to maintaining nurses' health. More creative approaches to rostering for nurses working multiple shifts are a necessary step towards reducing wastage from the profession due to chronic work-related fatigue. Younger nurses in particular, may need more support than is currently recognized if they are to be retained within the profession.
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