Hidden Lives – Pulse Staff Survey (February 2021 data): The BU Trade Union’s Joint Review to the Joint H&S Committee
Authors: Allen, S. and Wright, A.
Publisher: UCU BU
Abstract:Covid-19 has affected the lives, health, and working requirements of millions across the globe since early 2020.
The UK has been no less affected, nor has the HE sector. Emergency crisis management groups have emerged full force with other critical groups meeting to join force to understand the Covid-19 landscape and seek to address key issues arising from unknowns.
With particular focus, HE institutions have had to instantly respond to a daily bombardment of government and media output around Covid initiatives: restrictions, testing, track, trace, and vaccinate alongside perceived operational considerations.
Underpinning operational activities has been the consideration of what, or who, actually keeps the institution, Bournemouth University, operating. Whilst there are some automated functions unaffected by the Covid disease, the core operators are the staff.
Arising from the global emergency, the campus Trade Unions – UCU and UNISON – became critical voices representing the university staff, members or not. With seats at the weekly/twice weekly e-Health & Safety meetings and e-JJCNC, the TUs represented the staff voice, unsurprisingly vocal, during this difficult time. This review of the qualitative data from the second Staff Pulse Survey, the survey itself a collaboration between the TUs and the employer. The questionnaire included key metrics around equality impact assessment (EIA) but more importantly, sought the human responses to the experience of being ‘At Home, During a Crisis, Trying to Work’ (AHDCTW) by reaching out to staff to gather data around challenges and welfare, and to compare data with that of the first survey (June 2020) in order to assess trends and changes in issues to mitigate and manage risk.
Source: Manual