Quick Facts:

 

♦ UNT has been conducting the Institutional Staff Survey since 1997. The Spring 2004 survey was the third time the staff survey has been conducted.

Eagle Research

Outlook

 
 

INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH & ACCREDITATION
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

♦ Seventy-three percent of the respondents are Female and 26%

UNT STAFF SURVEY 2004

 

are male.

 

♦ Nearly 90% of respondents agree that the Human Resources Newsletter is a good communi- cation tool.

 

♦ More than 42% of respondents believed their work place to be overly stressful.

 

♦ Supervisors indicted stronger stress level than non-supervisors.

Background:

In the spring of 1997, institutional surveys for faculty and staff were developed and administered by University Planning at the University of North Texas.  The Spring 2002 Staff Survey, which included a majority of the questions from the original 1997 survey, was modified to address current issues and drafted as the Spring 2004 Staff Survey.  Since 2002, three sections that address the issues of job stress, stress management, and balancing job and family responsibilities have been included in the survey as a result of consultations with the Human Resources Department and the Staff Council.

Respondents:

The Office of Institutional Research and Accreditation (formally University Planning) sent the Spring 2004 Staff Surveys to 2,208 benefits eligible staff and administrators through campus mail in May 2004.  By the end of July 2004, 674 surveys were returned (a 30% return rate).  The above table compares the 2004 Staff Survey participants to the benefit eligible employees at UNT in fall 2003. 

 

♦ Heavy workload, relationship with supervisor, balancing work and family obligations, and mundane tasks were the leading sources of work stress.

 

♦ Taking regular breaks, walking, and listening or playing music were the leading ways to control work stress.

 

Highlights:

 

Working

Environment       Page 2

 

Work and Stress          3

UNT Staff: Distributions by Job Category and Gender

(Fall 2003 and Spring 2004)

                                 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 

                                            Job Category          Spring 2004 Staff         Fall 2004

                                                                           Survey                          Survey

                                            -----------------------------------------------------------------    

                                Administrative         106     17%                   137    6%

                                          Professional              252     40%                   759  34%

                                          Clerical                     115     19%                   473  21%

                                          Service/Maint.           46       7%                    504  23%

                                          Technical                   40       6%                    364  16% 

                                         Gender :    

                                          Female                     463      73%                 1276   58%

                                          Male                        168      26%                    928   42%

                                          Race:

                                          White                      534      85%                 1586     71%

                                          African Amer.           20       3%                   246      11%

                                          Asian                          8        1%                     79       4%

                                          Hispanic                   25        4%                  240      11% 

                                          Other                          1        1%                    56        3% 

 

Source:*UNT Workforce Statistics for the month of November 2003, HR Department, Records.

 

Controlling

Work Stress                 3

HOW WERE THE SURVEYS ADMINISTERED?

 

 

Balancing Work

& Family                    4

 

Summary                    4

In May 2004, staff surveys were sent by campus mail to 2,208 benefits eligible administrators and staff.  As an incentive to participate in the survey, three prizes for drawings were donated by the university community (Avesta, UNT Athletics, and The Club at Gateway Center).

This year’s prize winners were:

John Benson, Internal Audit                                     CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Benito Salazar, Custodial Services                                              

Thelma L. Johnson, Custodial Services     


WORKING ENVIRONMENT

 

Overall, approximately 81% of the respondents felt that they were a real part of the university community.

However nearly one-third of the

The first questions in the survey addressed issues related to the working environment of UNT staff. In the following questions (Q, 6, 13, 19, 22), less than 60% gave a “Strongly Agree/ Agree” response. Further, 53% of respondents from the 2004 Survey agreed that Adequate opportunities exist for transfer to other positions at UNT. Approximately 50% of the respondents perceived UNT as a stressful place to work in 2002. When question 25 was rephrased as: I find the workplace to be overly stressful in 2004, 42.5% agreed with the statement.

service and maintenance staff members did not feel a strong sense of belonging to the

 UNT Community.

                                                                               2004 Staff      2002 Staff     1997 Staff

                                                                               Survey            Survey           Survey        

Question                                            (Strongly        (Strongly            (Strongly

                                                                                Agree              Agree                 Agree

                                                                               /Agree             /Agree                /Agree 

                                                      

 

 

How the results differ from 2002 to 2004?

 

♦ In 2004, fewer respondents saw an opportunity for professional growth, promotion, and office transfer.

6. Adequate opportunities exist for promotion at UNT   43.3%          52.2%                 55.5%

 

13. The basis for determining salary increases at             44.5%             38.4%                34.8%  
UNT is fair     

 

19. There is adequate parking for staff                       33.7%          36.4%                   N/A

 

22. My department head/director involves staff             58.1%            56.7%                  N/A
members in the development of long-term department plans

 

25.I find the workplace to be stressful                       42.5%          49.3%                  N/A

       

♦ More respondents agreed the basis for determining salary increases in fair at UNT in 2004.

 

♦ Respondents felt fewer opportunities are available to provide their input to decision making processes in 2004.

The survey respondents gave one of the lowest agreement ratings to the statement: the basis for determining salary increases at UNT is fair. Only 44.5% of the respondents agreed with the current condition for determining salary increases. In particular, technical support staff expressed their concerns for the determinants of salary increases (17.5% agreement rate). Responses from minority staff members, including American Indian/Ntive Alasken, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and non-Resident showed low agreement rates (less than 37.5%). African American staff members, however, indicated the highest agreement rate (47.4%) among all minority staff members. The result of the African American staff members was contrary to the finding from the 2002 Staff Survey. Further, the finding from the 2002 Staff Survey indicated that the overall agreement rate for the fairness of the determinants of salary increases was 38.4%. With regard to a level of satisfaction for the employee benefits, over 68% the 2004 survey respondents agreed that their insurance and benefits are adequate while 85.3% of the respondents agreed in 2002.

 

With regard to perceptions of staff members toward their work environment, survey results indicated that the staff members perceive UNT as a hospitable (67.4%) and pleasant (67.3%) place to work. Similar results were found in the 1997 and 2002 Staff Surveys. Further, a majority of the respondents see UNT as a bureaucratic work environment. In 2002, 64.9% of the respondents agreed that the university is committed to making changes to improve working conditions. In the 2004 Staff Survey, the agreement level for this statement slightly decreased to 61.1%. Furthermore, there was a slight decrease in the number of respondents (73.8%) in 2004 who believed that the university is interested  in the welfare of staff than in 2002 (74.5%).

WORK AND STRESS

Since 2002, Several questions related to work stress have been included in the Staff Survey. In 2002, nearly 50% of the respondents agreed that their workplace was stressful. Similar responses were found across all departments, programs, and position classifications. The respondents with supervisory responsibility indicated stronger stress level (52%) that the respondents without such responsibility (43%). Thirty-nine percent of the supervisors said the stress was associated with their heavy workload. The technical support staff reported the least stress level (35.4%).

 

In 2004, question 25 was rephrased as; I find my workplace to be overly stressful. Overall, 42.5% of the respondents agreed with the statement. The respondents with supervisory responsibility indicated stronger stress level (45.3%) than the respondents without such responsibility (38.6%). Examining responses by position classifications, Administrators/Executives, Professional Staff, and Service Maintenance Staff showed higher stress levels (40%, 44%, and 42.9% respectively). There was no gender difference in the stress level.

 

The following table indicates the list of reasons that make the respondents’ work stressful. Heavy workload and relationship with supervisor were listed as the leading sources for work stress.

Question                                                                            2004 Survey               2002 Survey

Heavy Workload                                                                     27%                            31%

Relationship with supervisor                                                     13%                            17%

Relationship with higher administration                                       9%                            14%

Relationship with co-worker                                                      8%                            12%

Balancing work and family obligations                                       11%                           12%

Inflexible policies and procedures                                                9%                           11%

Mundane task                                                                          11%                           11%

Meetings                                                                                   8%                             9%

Completing reports                                                                     7%                             8%

Not allowed to take off earned time                                            7%                             8%

        

Considering how staff deal with or minimize stress in their work environment, the two favorable ways to reduce their stress were “taking regular breaks” (42%) and “listening or playing music” (42%). This finding was identical to the responses found in the 2002 Staff Survey. The results from both 2002 and 2004 Staff Surveys indicated that “participating in a stress management class” was the least favorable way to deal with stress at work. Though less than 30% of the respondents indicated participation in an exercise program as a way to control their work stress, more staff members were satisfied with the availability of facilities and equipment  for recreational and fitness programs at UNT as compared to the 2002 response.

Institutional Research and Accreditation

 

 

 

University of North Texas

Administrative Building Room #121

 

 

 

Phone: (940) 565-2085

Fax: (940) 565-2774

 

 

Please visit our website:

http://www.unt.edu/ir_acc/

 

 

 

 

 

BALANCING WORK AND FAMILY

 

Five options were listed in the survey for staff to identify how the university could assist them in balancing work and family obligations. The first choice was the option of having flextime at work. Nearly 95% of the respondents indicated that flextime would be beneficial and 79.4% liked the option of telecommuting. Eighty-one percent of the respondents said that clearly stated department or university policies on balancing work and family obligation would be helpful. Seventy-five percent of the respondents indicated that they need more accessible childcare on campus. Finally, alternative job arrangements such as part-time employment and job sharing were recommended (62.5%).

 

By examining gender differences in the responses, female respondents expressed higher desire to have flextime, the option of telecommuting, alternative job responsibilities (part-time, job sharing), and accessible child care on campus than the male respondents. Both female and male respondents equally indicated that clearly stated department or university policy on balancing work and family obligations would be helpful.

 

 

 

Office of Institutional

Research & Accreditation

 

The office of Institutional Research & Accreditation (IR&A) develops and maintains extensive data bases, conducts detailed research and provides timely, accurate, and useful data to address the needs

of university decision-makers, external agencies, and internal constituents. IR&A reports to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and takes the lead role in responding to institutional accreditation requirements  and helping university decision makers ensure that the principles for continued accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools are met, The office also provides guidance in the area of Institutional  effectiveness to help improve the quality of academic offerings, institutional operations and support, and student services at the university  in accordance with the institution’s mission.

The Results from the past three Staff Surveys revealed that staff members of the University of North Texas found their work environment to be pleasant, hospitable, and supportive. However, the findings from the 2004 Staff Survey left some concerns pertaining to issues of work stress among the staff members at this university.

 

● The selected findings highlighted the work stress issues as follows:

 

● More then 42% of staff members felt their work place to be overly stressful. Staff members with supervisory responsibility indicated stronger stress level than the staff members without such responsibility.

 

● Heavy workload, relationship with supervisor with supervisor, balancing work and family obligations, and mundane tasks were listed as the leading sources of their stress.

 

● It is assumed that the sources of stress may have resulted from budget reductions and the implementation of the new EIS systems.

 

● As solutions for the above issues, the findings suggested that uses of flextime as well as an option of telecommuting can be beneficial for the staff members to balance their work and family obligations and to reduce their work stress.

 

Overall, the survey results revealed fair satisfaction with work assignments and work environment form the survey respondents. When the respondents were asked to rate the service quality of various departments at UNT, several departments received lower satisfaction rate this year as compared to the 1997 and 2002 ratings. It is assumed that the service productivity among those departments may have been affected by the newly implemented EIS system at UNT. Further, negative perceptions among some of the respondents toward the current institutional policies, such as 1) documentation/evaluation of work performance; 2) reward system; 3) opportunities for promotion and pay raises; and 4) balancing work and family obligations, deserve further investigation by the administration.

 

 

 

To view our complete UNT Staff Survey 2004 report, please visit our web site:

http://www.unt.edu/ir_acc