Quality of working life of academics and researchers in the UK: the roles of contract type, tenure and university ranking

Fontinha, Rita; Laar, Darren Van; Easton, Simon

doi:10.1080/03075079.2016.1203890

Cited by 42 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…The temporality of contracts (e.g. permanent vs. temporary staff) may also influence the relationships observed in this research as previous work in the sector has already shown (Fontinha, Van Laar and Easton, 2016). Then again, the current grouping of employment roles meets the purpose of our research, which was to focus on the moderating effect that two specific task characteristics (low and high structured) and two different role positions (with and without leadership responsibilities) can have on the relationship between governance practices and well-being.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Governance and Well‐being in Academia: Negative Consequences of Applying an Agency Theory Logic in Higher Education

Franco‐Santos

Nalick

Torres

et al. 2017

British J of Management

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This study examines the relationship between alternative university governance practices and staff well‐being. Specifically, it investigates how people in academic and professional services roles are managed and how various governance mechanisms such as the use of performance measures and targets influence their sense of vitality and stress. Drawing from agency theory and stewardship theory research, the authors expected universities to align their governance practices to the nature of their employment roles to enhance well‐being. Based on data collected in the UK, the authors find that, for some academic roles, there is a misalignment between the responsibilities and job demands and the way institutions govern people in such roles, which is shown to affect their well‐being. These results suggest that well‐being responses to governance mechanisms change, depending on the role an employee performs and the position he or she occupies. Interestingly, these data suggest that the governance and well‐being experiences of academic leaders are more closely aligned with those of professional service leaders than with those of academics without leadership positions. Taking these data together, this investigation notes several shortcomings in the internal governance practices of higher‐education institutions that can have unexpected consequences and require close attention and further research.

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Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Governance and Well‐being in Academia: Negative Consequences of Applying an Agency Theory Logic in Higher Education

Franco‐Santos

Nalick

Torres

et al. 2017

British J of Management

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“…Work-Life Balance. This construct was measured using the three HWI items of the WRQoL1 scale (Easton & Van Laar, 2012;Fontinha et al, 2016) and refers to the perceived context provided by the organization to have a balance between work and personal life. This factor has a sub-scale reliability of  =.85 in these data and picks up on the importance of balancing home and work demands (Dorsey, Jarjoura & Rutecki, 2003).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This scale 6 contains six factors: individual's perceptions of whether their organization provides them with a balanced home-work interface (HWI)this will be an independent variable in our model named work-life balance; perceptions about the physical working conditions available (WCS); job and career satisfaction (JCS); perceptions regarding the level of control over decision making at work (CAW); levels of stress, or its absence, at work (SAW); and general well-being (GWB). A seventh factor, which assesses level of employee commitment to the organization (ECO) has been used in ongoing research and development of the WRQoL scale, and is also used here (Fontinha et al, 2016). We focus on these dimensions, the dependent variables in our model, in order to characterize the quality of working life of academics and non-academics working in nine HEIs in the United Kingdom.…”

Section: Academics Vs Non-academics' Quality Of Working Lifementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Blanch, Sahagún, Cantera, & Cervantes, 2010;Dehghan, Tahmineh & Asadi, 2011;Easton & Van Laar, 2013;Vagharseyyedin, Vanaki, & Mohammadi, 2011). Three items representing employees' commitment to the organization were added to the scale and validated in a recent study (Fontinha et al, 2016). We used this updated 26-item version of the scale in this study.…”

Section: Data Collection and Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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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“…By contributing to a broader and more holistic understanding of research 'productivity' that encompasses the quality of intellectual engagement, our findings could be used to support positive iQoL among stakeholders in academia, including faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows, students and administrators. Previous research has addressed related concepts, such as quality of work life (QWL) [28], quality of working life [29], or quality of academic worklife (QAWL) [18], that mainly address the various tasks associated with one's professional role. However, our conceptualization of iQoL contributes a unique focus on the intellectual, or 'thinking' aspects of academic life that extend beyond a traditional work boundary.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tackling Complex Social Challenges within Neoliberal Constraints: The Context Shaping ‘Intellectual Quality of Life’ (iQoL) in a Canadian University Context

et al. 2020

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The contemporary academic environment in Canada has undergone reorganization based on neoliberal principles, and has increased attention focused on the importance of supporting interdisciplinary initiatives to address complex problems affecting global society. The purpose of our study was to examine the experience of people participating in a specific university-funded interdisciplinary research initiative. As there is a strong emphasis within this program on reporting on the outcomes of the funding that supports interdisciplinary collaboration, our aim was to explore how participation may shape one’s intellectual quality of life (iQoL) and how one’s iQoL could be conceptualized and understood. Using a pragmatic constructivist case study, focus group and individual interviews were undertaken with 30 participants involved with university-funded interdisciplinary research teams. Findings illustrate that their iQoL was shaped by their capacity to engage in and achieve what they viewed as their core work and its outcomes. Related sub-themes addressed the social and relational climate, institutional environment and structure, and expectations and resources. We argue that further development of iQoL as a unique construct is required to adequately measure the full range of people’s experiences in academia, particularly when aiming to address ‘wicked’ social and global problems within a predominantly neoliberal context.

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Quality of working life of academics and researchers in the UK: the roles of contract type, tenure and university ranking

Cited by 42 publications

References 50 publications

Governance and Well‐being in Academia: Negative Consequences of Applying an Agency Theory Logic in Higher Education

Governance and Well‐being in Academia: Negative Consequences of Applying an Agency Theory Logic in Higher Education

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

Tackling Complex Social Challenges within Neoliberal Constraints: The Context Shaping ‘Intellectual Quality of Life’ (iQoL) in a Canadian University Context

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