{"id":98462,"date":"2019-05-08T09:47:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-08T07:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=98462"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:23:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:23:19","slug":"university-staff-members-feel-unsafe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/05\/08\/university-staff-members-feel-unsafe\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018University staff members feel unsafe\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four out of ten university staff members are subjected to bullying, gossip, exclusion or abuse of power, according to a survey conducted by the trade unions FNV and VAWO. The Dutch network of Women Professors (LNVH) also raised the alarm today.<\/p>\n

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Dies 2018<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The trade unions FNV Education and Research and the Academic Union (VAWO) polled<\/a> 1,110 university employees (both support staff and academic staff) about their experiences in the workplace. Close to half the respondents indicated that they observed, or have observed, a socially unsafe situation in their department \u2013 with people gossiping about colleagues or consciously withholding information, for example.<\/p>\n

Intimidation<\/h2>

Four out of ten employees are also, or have also been, affected by a lack of social safety. Women more often than men: 44% vs 35% respectively. In many cases, this involves withholding information (44%), abuse of power (35%) and intimidation (34%) by a professor or superior. For example, one respondent writes: \u201cMy work was plagiarised by a prominent professor. I was told to keep my mouth shut or fear for my job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly half of the respondents still don\u2019t feel safe in their department. \u201cA male colleague regularly comments on my body. I try to ignore him as much as possible,\u201d notes one of the respondents. Employees who report that the situation has improved in their department say that this was mainly thanks to an intervention by senior staff, the arrival of a new manager or a different employment contract. For example, one respondent notes: \u201cI have a permanent position now, which has resolved most of the power imbalance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Poor leadership<\/h2>

The factor that is most frequently identified as contributing to a socially unsafe work environment is poor leadership (73%). Older employees in particular experience this as a problem. Other factors that play a major role according to the respondents are the hierarchical culture (49%) and the strong pressure of work (43%).<\/p>\n

Trade unions FNV and VAWO call the results \u201cshocking\u201d. They call on universities to appoint an external, independent complaints committee, as well as an ombudsperson. FNV board member Jan Boersma: \u201cRight now, the universities only have internal complaints committees, while the national complaints committee for the education sector does not extend to universities. The results of our survey show that it\u2019s high time for an external, independent committee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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