A survey of 2,250 academic staff working in further education colleges, carried out by Professor Gail Kinman from the University of Bedfordshire on behalf of the University and College Union (UCU), has found stress levels have risen consistently since 2008 with staff worn down by constant change.

The report, released today (Friday 15 May) found the proportion of respondents who agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, ‘I find my job stressful’ rose to 87% in 2014, up from 73% in 2012.

A particularly high level of psychological distress was found in this survey – higher than many other occupational groups in the UK. Nearly seven out of ten reported ‘caseness’ levels of distress, where some intervention is recommended.

The equivalent percentage for social workers was 37%, 42% for local authority employees and 47% for the police force.

The survey also found, further education employees have problems balancing the demands of their work with their personal responsibilities. Moreover, almost seven out of every ten respondents (89%) feel pressure to come to work when they are unwell either often or always, and also frequently work at home when they are sick.

Professor Kinman, a Professor of Occupational Health Psychology at Bedfordshire said: "The findings of this survey show that the wellbeing of people working in the further education sector has continued to worsen in the last two years and is now considerably poorer than in other areas of education.

“The survey highlights key areas for improvement with clear benefits for employees and organisations as well as the student experience."

Other key findings include:

· In 2014, 62% of respondents reported they often or always experienced levels of stress they found unacceptable, compared to 45% in 2012 and 40% in 2008.

· Respondents in the 2014 survey reported the lowest wellbeing (equating to highest stress) on the Health and Safety Executive’s stressor categories for change (2.24), followed by job demands which equates to workload (2.30), control (2.69), managers’ support (2.70), peer support (3.42) relationships (3.43) and role clarity (3.48).

· Almost nine participants from every ten agreed (43%) or strongly agreed (46%) that they usually felt worn out after the working day.

· Nearly seven of every ten respondents reported performing tasks they considered unreasonable rather often (42%) or frequently (26%). Only 1% believed they never undertake unnecessary tasks.

Only one in ten respondents were very (9%) or extremely (1%) satisfied with their job. Satisfaction with intrinsic factors, such as fellow workers and variety, was high while the lowest levels of were with the way the organisation is managed, promotion opportunities and industrial relations with management. The overall level of job satisfaction was considerably lower than that reported by many other occupational groups.

Further education workers reported higher stress on seven aspects of working lives, as defined and measured by the Health and Safety Executive*, when compared to other industries.

Change emerged as the most stressful aspect of working life in further education in the latest survey. Job demands (workloads) and lack of control over working practices were second and third.

The biggest rise in stress levels since the last UCU survey in 2012 was in response to how change is managed and communicated. The overall level of stress in relation to change was also considerably higher amongst further education workers than workers in other sectors, including other areas of education.

The survey explored change fatigue and found that seven out of ten respondents (70%) agreed or strongly agreed that too many changes had been introduced in their institution. Nine of ten respondents (90%) agreed at least somewhat that a period of stability was required in the sector.

UCU General Secretary, Sally Hunt, said: “It is clear that working in further education has become more stressful with every passing year. The survey shows that staff are craving stability after years of trying to adapt to the ever-changing agenda for colleges.

“For the first time we explored change fatigue and found over two-thirds of staff said too many changes had been introduced in their institution and almost all agreed that a period of stability was required in the sector.

“We appreciate a lot of the constant change has been imposed on colleges from above but this survey also tells us that the way change is being managed and communicated within colleges is a significant source of stress for employees.”

ENDS

*The survey used the Health and Safety Executive’s Management Standards Indicator Tool to assess levels of wellbeing. Mean scores were calculated across seven hazard categories: demands, control, managers’ support, peer support, relationships, role and change. Scores range from 0 to 5. High scores represent more wellbeing/lower stress while low scores denote more distress relating to each dimension.