A qualitative study of the UK academic role: positive features, negative aspects and associated stressors in a mainly teaching-focused university

Darabi, Mitra; Macaskill, Ann; Reidy, Lisa

doi:10.1080/0309877x.2016.1159287

Cited by 67 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Darabi, Macaskill and Reidy 45 The data analysed in this paper does not provide evidence of a causative link between negative stress and the elements of psychological well-being. Rather, correlations have been explored.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 53%

Perceptions of psychological well-being in UK law academics

Wilson

Strevens

2018

The Law Teacher

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This study provides evidence that changing and increasing expectations of University, of students, and of academics of themselves has had an impact upon the perceptions of wellbeing in the Law Teachers who responded to this survey. A total of 185 UK Law Teachers completed a large survey which included demographic questions (age, academic qualifications, and experience), four questionnaires and a series of open-ended questions. Although most reported depression, anxiety and stress levels within the normal range, those who reported high stress levels were significantly more likely to report lower hope scores and higher obstruction of values scores as well as significantly less environmental mastery and self-acceptance. The results reported here indicate the importance of autonomy to Law Teachers. It is suggested that this is an issue that requires further investigation because of the potential for levels of psychological distress to increase.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 53%

Perceptions of psychological well-being in UK law academics

Wilson

Strevens

2018

The Law Teacher

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“…However, while Winefield et al (2003) found that non-academics were generally more satisfied with their jobs, our study did not identify significant differences between the two groups regarding the factor job and career satisfaction. We believe this may be due to the fact that our variable includes a career-focused element and it might be that although academics are more stressed, they are satisfied with their jobs and careers because they have much job autonomy, especially when it comes to research (Darabi, Macaskill & Reidy, 2016). This may also be the reason to justify our unexpected finding that academics tend to report higher levels of general well-being than non-academics: their individual sense of achievement with Running Head: OVERTIME AND QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE IN ACADEMICS 20 research (Darabi et al, 2016) may potentially be an important factor for well-being, compared to that of non-academics, whose jobs are more oriented to the collective functioning of the HEI that they work for.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overtime and quality of working life in academics and nonacademics: The role of perceived work-life balance.

Fontinha¹,

Easton²,

Laar³

2019

International Journal of Stress Management

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While academic jobs generally provide a good degree of flexibility, academics also tend to work extra hours which can then lead to a poorer work-life balance. In this study, we compare academic vs. non-academic staff and anticipate that academics will generally report a poorer Quality of Working Life, a broad conceptualization of the overall work experience of employees. Secondly, we investigate whether the negative relationships between being an academic and Quality of Working Life variables are made worse by working extra hours, and moderated by the perception of having a balanced work-life interface. Our sample consisted of 1474 academic and 1953 non-academic staff working for nine Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the United Kingdom (UK). Data were analyzed via structural equation modelling.Results showed that academics tend to report a poorer Quality of Working Life than non-academics within HEIs, and this is exacerbated by their higher reported number of extra hours worked per week. The work-life balance of employees was found to moderate the negative relationships between academics (vs. non-academics) in variables such as perceived working conditions and employee commitment. We additionally found curvilinear relationships where employees who worked up to 10 extra hours were more satisfied with their job and career and had more control at work than those who either did not work extra hours or worked for a higher number of extra hours. These results extend previous research and provide new insights on work-life balance among academics and non-academics, which in turn may be relevant for the wellbeing practices of HEIs and wider HE policy making.

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“…Over the past 20 years, there has been a significant change in the academic environment [ 1 ] resulting in the experience of occupational stress among academics. [ 2 ] Occupational stress in academia has been associated with job dissatisfaction, impaired work performance, poor psychological well-being, reduced employee engagement, among others. [ 3 , 4 ] Most academics experience a high level of occupational stress in Australia and New Zealand, [ 5 ] Canada, [ 6 ] UK; [ 2 , 7 ] South Africa (Dhanpat, Braine, & Geldenhuys as cited in [ 8 , 9 ] and in Nigeria.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of cognitive behavior therapy on occupational stress among science and social science education facilitators in open and distance learning centers and its implications for community development

Ugwuanyi

Okeke

Agboeze³

et al. 2020

Medicine

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Background: Extensive review of literature showed that no available study in Nigeria has explored the impact of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) on the management of occupational stress among open and distance learning (ODL) centers science and social science education facilitators. Thus, this study determined the impacts of CBT on the management of occupational stress among science and social science education facilitators in ODL centers in South-South Nigeria. Methods: A randomized controlled trial experimental design was adopted for the study with a sample size of 68 science and social science education facilitators in ODL centers in South-South states, Nigeria. Perceived stress scale (PSS) and Occupational stress index (OSI) were used for data collection. Using Cronbach alpha method, internal consistency reliability indices of 0.81 and 0.85 for PSS and OSI respectively were obtained in the Nigerian context. A 12-week cognitive behavior therapy intervention was conducted after which the participants in both the intervention group and the non-intervention group were administered posttest, while a follow-up assessment was administered after 2 months. Data collected were analyzed using mixed-design repeated-measures analysis of variance for the within-groups and between-groups effects. Results: It was found that CBT intervention led to a significant decrease in the occupational stress among science and social science education facilitators in ODL in the South-South region of Nigeria. Conclusion: Cognitive behavior therapy is effective in the management of occupational stress among science and social science education facilitators in distance learning centers.

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A qualitative study of the UK academic role: positive features, negative aspects and associated stressors in a mainly teaching-focused university

Cited by 67 publications

References 32 publications

Perceptions of psychological well-being in UK law academics

Perceptions of psychological well-being in UK law academics

Overtime and quality of working life in academics and nonacademics: The role of perceived work-life balance.

Impacts of cognitive behavior therapy on occupational stress among science and social science education facilitators in open and distance learning centers and its implications for community development

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