Occupational stress in universities: staff perceptions of the causes, consequences and moderators of stress

In recent years, the Australian university sector has undergone large-scale organizational change, including restructuring, downsizing and government funding cuts. At the same tune, research front across the globe reports an alarming increase in the occupational stress experienced by university staf f. We report on the first phase of a longitudinal investigation of occupati onal stress. A total of 22 focus groups were conducted with a representativ e sample of 178 academic and general staff from 15 Australian universities. The groups focused on understanding staff's experience of occupational str ess, and perceptions of the sources, consequences and moderators of stress. Both general and academic staff reported a dramatic increase in stress dur ing the previous 5 years. As a group, academic staff reported higher levels of stress than general staff. Five major or sources of stress were identif ied including: insufficient funding and resources; work overload; poor mana gement practice; job insecurity; and insufficient recognition and reward. T he majority of groups reported that job-related stress was having a deleter ious impact on their professional work and personal welfare. Aspects of the work environment (support front co-workers and management, recognition and achievement, high morale, flexible working conditions), and personal copin g strategies (stress management techniques, work/non-work balance, tight ro le boundaries and lowering standards), were reported to help staff cope wit h stress. The findings provide a timely insight into the experience of stre ss within universities.