The time crisis in Higher Education - what needs to change

Academic and research professional staff are under more pressure than ever - and it's causing significant impacts to wellbeing and productivity. Instead of doing more and more with less and less resource, look at what you can STOP doing. Read on to find out how.

I've burned out twice in my life, and come close at least one other time. Trust me, it's not fun. And ultimately it's totally unnecessary, as I've come to learn in my new career as an entrepreneur.

Yet over the last 4 years as a coach and consultant, I've spoken to many research and innovation leaders - both professional and academic, in universities and the NHS - and they're all saying the same thing...

That they're exhausted trying to do more and more with less and less resource. They're tired of constantly fighting fires, of worrying about the wellbeing of their teams. Of everything being an urgent priority.

Many of the same things that led me to burn out from my role as Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange.

The system feels broken, and something needs to change.

The question is... What... And How?

The challenge

I get it... things are tougher for research leaders than they've possibly ever been.

Rising inflation, lower income, a more challenging research funding environment. Yet the day job still needs to get done. Serving students, admin, death by Teams...

Which means that anything else - strategy implementation, development, innovation, even research - needs to be fitted in somewhere and somehow.

Usually by working more and more hours. It's not uncommon to hear about research leaders still answering emails at midnight, or working at the weekend because it's quieter. Checking the inbox multiple times a day while on holiday to keep the anxiety at bay.

This is what it was like when I burned out and crashed out in October 2019. Then the pandemic happened, and things became even more challenging.

In this article I explore the impact and some of the causes of this time pressure, and propose one very clear solution...

The Impact

The impact is significant - in their 2021 report Supporting Staff Wellbeing in Higher Education, Education Support presented the results of a survey of 2046 academic and academic related staff examining a variety of issues around stress, psychological safety, and workload.

Key results included:

• 78% felt that the psychological health of staff is considered as less important than productivity
• 52% reported that they often or always experienced unrealistic time pressures
• 21% of staff on academic contracts stated that they worked at least 16 additional hours per week
• 53% showed signs of probable depression, with 29% feeling emotionally drained from their work every day

To exacerbate the issue, the survey also identified significant barriers in accessing or taking advantage of any support - with more than half of respondents fearing being seen as weak if they sought help, and that this would harm their career.

In addition, in a recent conversation with other Directors and Heads of Research, and as evidenced in the report, it was noted that that heavy workloads and a lack of time meant that there was no time for personal or professional development, or that taking time out for this purpose just couldn't be justified in light of other commitments.

It's a sobering fact that similar results were seen in the University and College Union (UCU) 2013 Survey of Stress and Wellbeing Among Staff in Higher Education (carried out by the same authors), indicating that nothing has really changed in the last 10 years.

By any measure, the system feels broken and unsustainable. In their post-pandemic Mental Health at Work Commitment: Guide for the Higher Education Sector, Mind provided supporting evidence that poor mental health could be costing HE tens, if not hundreds of millions of pounds per year.

Something needs to change.

Why working harder is NOT the answer

As I was spiralling down into burnout, I got more and more fixated on the idea that if I could just work harder (and ignore the constant, debilitating migraines) then everything would be ok. I'll leave you to imagine how that worked out.

Working harder, pulling out all the stops - time and time again - to make the impossible, possible, is not the answer...

Becoming more 'efficient' at all the things on your plate still isn't the answer...

Even bringing in more wellbeing programmes and yoga classes isn't the answer...

Because they're all trying to fix the symptoms, rather than the cause.

So what is the answer?

There is one very very simple solution that could make a significant difference to time pressures, workloads, and staff wellbeing.

STOP DOING STUFF THAT ISN'T CONTRIBUTING VALUE

Or as the legendary Peter Drucker put it far more elegantly:

"Nothing is less productive than to make more efficient what should not be done at all"

The trick is, to know how and what to stop doing.

Helpfully, the Pareto, or 80/20 Principle gives us a guide. Roughly stated, it tells us that 80% of outcomes come from just 20% of our inputs (e.g. time, money etc).

The corollary of which is that 80% of what we're doing is only producing 20% of results.

Suddenly the mystery of the time crisis doesn't seem so mysterious.

I'll write more about the 80/20 principle in a future article and how we can apply it in research and innovation, yet for now it gives us a clear indication as to the solution to the time crisis in higher education.

One clear solution is to have a 'one in, one out' policy for any new initiatives. Traditionally new strategies or processes are additive - they just add a new layer on top of everything else that needs to be done. So in the planning for any new priority, we should consider what it can replace, and how this can be acheived.

A second solution is to constantly question whether there is a better, simpler, easier way to do things

(spoiler alert - there ALWAYS is)

And the third solution is to make a firm commitment to simply STOP doing the things that are out of date, no longer needed, or not adding sufficient value.

These aren't going to solve the problem completely, but it's a good place to start, and hopefully will create headroom for the deeper innovations that will revolutionise our use of time and resource.

If it's that easy, why aren't we all doing it?

Excellent question, and to be honest, I've spent the last 22 years trying to figure that out.

Time is one reason. Innovation is essential, yet it's difficult to think creatively when you're suffocated by paperwork and constantly putting out fires.

A more significant issue is culture. Not just the oft quoted:

"This is the way we've always done it"

or

"It's worked for the last 10 years, so why change"

Working in silos, competition between leaders, and resistance to innovation are all barriers to scrapping some of the 80% of things that are delivering the least value or which actually drain time, resources, and money.

So how do we move forwards?

Firstly, by a firm commitment from leaders to change, to become more effective. My own personal philosophy created when I first entered research management in the early years of this centre is that the administration must meet the needs of the research - and not the other way around.

Secondly, by asking academic and professional services staff what they would like to change. It's likely to be a long list, but there will be significant, common themes.

Thirdly, by inviting colleagues at all levels and in all roles to come up with innovative solutions. I firmly believe that there is a huge reservoir of untapped talent and ideas within our universities. Create a competition for the best solutions, give people time and space to develop ideas, let them work in cross-department, cross-profession teams.

You may be surprised at the results.

I would love to shout out to the people who are already innovating in this way, and invite you to share what you are doing to reduce waste and inefficiency, and reduce the pressures on academic and professional services staff.

How I can help

My mission is to help universities and NHS leaders transform research and innovation performance and maximise outcomes, while minimising costs, time, and effort. Simply message me for a chat about what this could look like for you.

#Research #Wellbeing #Innovation