{"id":124271,"date":"2021-03-12T15:03:21","date_gmt":"2021-03-12T14:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=124271"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:25:28","slug":"although-employees-are-hanging-in-there-their-mental-well-being-is-getting-frail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/03\/12\/although-employees-are-hanging-in-there-their-mental-well-being-is-getting-frail\/","title":{"rendered":"Although employees are hanging in there, their mental well-being is getting frail"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yes, working from home is tough, but EUR\u2019s employees are still hanging in there. However, the university is getting signs that the pandemic is beginning to take a toll on their mental well-being. The first Employee Well-being Monitor was performed a few months ago, and its results have just been published.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTima Miroshnichenko via Pexels<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

You might be forgiven for believing that EUR employees\u2019 stress levels have risen in the past year while their level of engagement in their work has decreased. According to the Employee Well-being Monitoring Survey, a survey about staff well=being in times of coronavirus conducted for the first time in December 2020, the impact has not been that dramatic on average. However, experiences differ vastly from group to group. The study will be repeated periodically in the upcoming period so as to allow the researchers \u2018to measure not only temperatures [of employees\u2019 well-being] at a given time, but also temperature fluctuations,\u2019 says the principal researcher, Roos Schelvis, who works at the university\u2019s HR department.<\/p>\n

55 percent is extremely busy<\/h2>\t
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The Wellbeing Monitoring Survey was conducted by Sarina Verwijmeren, Roos Schelvis under supervision of Arnold Bakker. The Employee Well-being Monitoring Survey will be conducted three more times in the course of the current academic year. The next survey will be held this month.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

Arnold Bakker, Professor of Work and Organisational Psychology, has conducted research on mental health on the work floor for 25 years and supervised the scientific aspects of the HR department\u2019s study. He says he did not identify any \u2018alarming findings\u2019 in the results of the EUR staff survey held in December. Fifty-five per cent of respondents indicated that they were very busy. On the other hand, there are other employees whose workload has decreased now that the campus is closed. On average<\/em>, then, the survey results are not too alarming.
\n\u201cOne potential reason for the relatively positive result might be the fact that much of the additional work was performed by a small group of people,\u201d says Bakker. \u201cFor instance, the central service units that support remote working, and lecturers who had to completely revamp their courses.\u201d<\/p>\n

This being the case, the survey results did show some signs of reduced mental well-being, with the most common complaints being social isolation, interrupted workflows (e.g. because employees had to look after children while going about their work, or because they had to share a workspace at home) and the difficulty of striking a proper work-life balance.<\/p>\n

Lecturers suffer from technostress<\/h2>

The researchers stated in their report that the problems encountered by employees vary strongly from one group to the next. Therefore, the solutions must be geared towards specific groups, says Schelvis.
\nFor instance, among lecturers, technology-related anxiety is one of the main issues. Other concerns raised in the employee survey include a lack of working-from-home resources at home, insufficient communication and the lack of social contact with colleagues.<\/p>\n

The majority of the respondents said they were happy with their supervisors. However, 13 per cent said they were not. \u201cThis translates to at least five hundred unhappy people on the EUR-wide level. Some hardly ever see their supervisors. Proper leadership can be hard to find in universities. After all, just because you\u2019re good at your job doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re a great manager,\u201d says Bakker. \u201cSupervisors should be more involved with their people. They should establish WhatsApp groups or have weekly Zoom meetings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Supervisors should be more involved with their people.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t–<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tArnold Bakker, professor of Work and Organisational Psychology\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Bakker also believes that employees must make an active effort to improve their situation. \u201cI\u2019m not seeing many people get proactive. My impression is that many people go on living life as usual, except they now work from home. Few of them seem to be taking a different approach to work of their own accord.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where Bakker says there is room for improvement, using skills such as \u2018job crafting\u2019 and \u2018playful work design\u2019. \u201cSee, it\u2019s easy for an organisation to eliminate technology-related anxiety. It\u2019s a quick fix \u2013 all you have to do is make more staff available for technical support. But as far as enjoying their work more and leading less isolated lives are concerned, that\u2019s partly up to our employees themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Revise the ambitions<\/h2>

In addition to that piece of advice issued to all of EUR\u2019s supervisors\/managers, the report on the first staff survey of its kind also contains some stern advice for upper management, i.e. the Executive Board and senior management. \u201cDon\u2019t expect the results and outcomes you were aiming for, but check \u2013 in association with your people \u2013 what is manageable. How does this period fit in with the ambitions outlined in the strategy? Maybe it\u2019s a good idea to revise those and allow more time for their realisation,\u201d Roos Schelvis explains.Bakker adds: \u201cAnd when you\u2019re conducting performance appraisal interviews, be mindful of the circumstances. Adjust your expectations and be lenient and understanding. The pandemic is hitting the entire planet. Everyone can see that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sounds nice, obviously, but Schelvis and Bakker understand that actual interventions are required, as well, and that these interventions require funds. For this reason, the researchers refer to funding options such as the funding allocated by the government<\/a> as part of the National Teaching Programme, to fund additional support in the education sector.<\/p>\n\t

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Not feeling well?<\/em><\/p>\n

Are you an EUR employee or guest lecturer and having a rough time of it? If so, don\u2019t hesitate to get in touch with <\/em>OpenUp<\/em><\/a>\u2019s psychologists.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

Well-being monitoring survey<\/h2>\n\t
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