Surfing the wave of change

1
Surfing the wave of change

• Stress and survival in a time of increasing
  change
• Scott Buckler

2
What is stress?
Skill
Challenge
Disease S x C x F S emotional stressor(s) C
your personal stress, management style,
general state of health F other factors such as
environment, medical history, genetics, etc.
(Cunningham, 200112)
3
Have I got news for you?

• Times Higher Education Supplement
• HSE to act on staff stress (23/2/07)
• Corporate push spawns 24/7 culture (23/3/07)
• HSE must act decisively to protect our staff,
  union says (6/10/06)
• New stress-busting rules target academic angst
  (7/4/06)
• Academics suffer more stress than AE staff
  (17/2/06)
• Time to press the panic button (17/6/05)
• More stress in post-92s (18/3/05)
• Staff stress could lead to court (14/1/05)

4
Stress in higher education - effects

• Kinman, Jones Kinman (2006)
• 49 of academics have stress that requires
  medical attention
• 62 state they cannot cope in their job
• Stress levels are higher than AE consultants
  (44)
• Stress levels are twice the national average (27)

5
Stress in higher education - causes

• Kinman (1998), Davis (2005)
• Constant organisational change
• Tytherleigh, Webb, Cooper Ricketts (2005)
• Continuing trend
• Greater accountability, value, efficiency,
  quality
• Staff in new universities were more likely to
  suffer from stress than those in old universities
• Kinman Jones (2003)
• 75 too many changes, specifically quality
  assurance
• 66 changes have damaged quality of education

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The cost of stress

• Sickness absence
• Accidents
• Staff turnover
• Insurance claims
• Legal claims
• Poor service
• Poor quality
• Low productivity
• Difficult working relationships
• Lack of innovation
• Low morale
• Poor decision-making

• Litigation
• (1999) Beverly Lancaster (housing officer) 67k
  stress following a job transfer
• (1999) Muriel Benson (teacher) 47k overwork as
  a teacher
• (2000) Mr A (teacher) 300k stress-related
  illness
• Liability
• Employers with a claims history from stress cases
  can expect dramatically increased insurance
  premiums with the average stress-related payout
  at 100k

(Williams Cooper, 200229/35)
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Is your institution breaking the law?

• Health Safety at Work Act 1974
• Employers have a duty of care
• Workplaces are safe and healthy
• Management of Health Safety Regulations 1993
• Assess the nature and scale of risks
• Take measures to control the risks

8
Sources of stress

• Organisational change
• ½ x 2 x 3 P (Productivity Profit)
• Half as many peoplepaid twice as well, producing
  three times as much (Handy, 20029)
• Blending home with work
• Technology
• 24/7 working environment
• Other?

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Institutional environments
(Adapted from Cunningham, 2001113)
10
Yerkes-Dodson Law (1908)
High
Reducing the amount of stress improving
effectiveness
Performance
Line of optimum performance
Low
Low
High
(Adapted from Williams Cooper, 200251)
Arousal (Stress)
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Levels of intervention

• Primary
• Remove/moderate effect of stress by
• Removing/moderating the source of the problem
• Typically involves addressing management style or
  process
• Secondary
• Remove/moderate impact on the employee by
• Enhancing their capacity to cope
• Typically achieved through workshops
• Tertiary
• Treatment of the person already suffering from
  stress by
• Healing a damaged individual and
• Increasing their capacity to cope with stress
• (Williams Cooper, 2002124)

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Stress Management

• Demands
• work-loads, patterns, environment
• Control
• autonomy of the individual
• Support
• from others management, colleagues, etc.
• Relationships
• positive working, avoiding conflict
• Role
• understanding, avoiding conflicting roles
• Change
• how change is managed implemented
• (Health Safety Executive, 2005)

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Stress 3

• For further information, visit
• www.stress3.org

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References

• Cunningham, J.B. (2001) The Stress Management
  Sourcebook Second Edition. Los Angeles Lowell
  House.
• Davis, C. (2005) More Stress in Post-92s. Times
  Higher Education Supplement (online)
  http//www.thes.co.uk/search/story.aspx?story_id2
  020429 (Date accessed 3/1/07)
• Handy, C. (2002) The Empty Raincoat. London
  Arrow Books, Ltd.
• Health and Safety Executive (2005) Tackling
  Stress The Management Standards Approach.
  Sudbury HSE Books
• Kinman, G. (1998) A Survey into Causes and
  Consequences of Occupational Stress in UK
  Academic and Related Staff. London Association
  of University Teachers
• Kinman, G. Jones, F. (2003) Running Up the
  Down Escalator Stressors and Strains in UK
  Academics. Quality in Higher Education, 91, pp.
  21-38
• Kinman, G., Jones, F. Kinman, R. (2006)
  Well-being of the UK Academy, 1998-2004.
  Quality in Higher Education, 121, pp. 15-27
• Tytherleigh, M.Y., Webb, C., Cooper, C.L. and
  Ricketts, C. (2005) Occupational stress in UK
  higher education institutions a comparative
  study of all staff categories. Higher Education
  Research Development, 241, pp. 41-61
• Phillips, T. (2006) UCU News College and
  University Health Fears as Inspectorate Ignores
  Modern Risks.
• http//www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid1835
  (Date accessed 3/1/07)
• Williams, S. Cooper, L. (2002) Managing
  Workplace Stress A Best Practice Blueprint.
  Chichester John Wiley Sons, Ltd.