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ON CAMPUS
Last one standing
Mass redundancies left academics with ‘ survivors guilt ’.
By Eleanor Campbell
Tenured academics feel exploited , trapped in their jobs and experience a sense of ‘ survivor ’ s guilt ’ from seeing their colleagues being made redundant during COVID-19 , a survey has shown .
Researchers from Curtin University and Murdoch University spoke with 35 full-time academics and faculty staff across five West Australian universities .
The findings , published as part of a collaborative research project , found the majority wished to leave their jobs or exit the higher education sector altogether .
“ A lot of people feel like they ’ re trapped because they look across the sector and the grass isn ’ t any greener anywhere else ,” lead author Craig Whitsed told Campus Review .
“ They don ’ t see conditions becoming better within the institution , the demands seem to be ever present , so if they could get out , they would .”
During 2021 , nearly one in five people lost their jobs in Australian universities , with casual staff accounting for two-thirds of 11,143 full-time equivalent job losses .
Staff who remained said they felt increasingly disconnected from their
workplace and have experienced burnout symptoms such as anxiety , depression and exhaustion .
“ They ’ re feeling a sense of survivor guilt because they ’ ve got their colleagues walking out the door and not coming back ,” said Whitsed .
“ There ’ s a sense of loss when you ’ ve got a close colleague leaving and you ’ ve been working with that person for an extended period of time . It does affect you when they go .”
Most participants said that they felt routinely exploited by university management and described a “ toxic workplace culture ”.
Amid thousands of job cuts and a sudden pivot to online learning , academics said they have been expected to carry extra workloads while maintaining pre-pandemic levels of research output .
Frustrations over working conditions have boiled over in recent months , with university staff strikes taking place across major NSW universities .
A SILVER LINING When asked the question , ‘ What brings you joy at work ?’, relationships with colleagues , teaching and students were at the heart of most participants ’ responses .
According to Whitsed , the majority spoke about their role as educators and mentors , and expressed a sense of passion towards their field of expertise .
There ’ s a sense of loss when you ’ ve got a close colleague leaving .
“ The teaching side of it was really important ; the fact that you feel energised when you come out of a class ,” he said .
“ Also , most of the staff who participated said they felt most comfortable and supported within their immediate team with whom they work .
“ What has happened with COVID is that it ’ s become more disconnected . People have become more isolated .”
For most participants , areas that once brought joy in the workplace have now reached a point of diminishing returns .
Many reported feeling that they have to compromise on their teaching quality or research output in order to meet increased workloads .
The biggest takeaways for universities , Whitsed said , is for management to understand the impact that changes in the work environment have had on academic staff .
“ As universities engage in enterprise bargaining in an era of increasing interest rates and inflation and so on , it ’ ll be interesting to see how they engage with the unions , engage with their staff against that backdrop and what kind of conditions they work out in relation to that ,” he said . ■
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