As a University community, we will be able to adapt well to what comes next – that’s among the positive responses we’ve had to our recent Future of Work staff survey.

The aim of the survey was to capture the best parts of what’s happened over the past year and find out how the University can support us in future. Staff working on campus and/or at home were asked to share their experiences of work since March 2020.

You told us that:

• You’re proud of how teams had pulled together to find viable and productive ways of operating during the pandemic
• If working on campus, you stressed the importance of being able to engage and collaborate with colleagues, as well as disconnecting from work on leaving campus
• If working at home, you appreciated having less distractions, and being able to devote more time to personal health and wellbeing and exercise
• You also gave a thumbs-up for Microsoft Teams changing how we work, highlighting stronger collaboration between Canterbury and Medway colleagues since connecting virtually
• And many of you voiced your appreciation for colleagues who have continued providing essential services, as well as praising technical support and communications.

You also mentioned some of the difficulties and challenges you’ve faced over the last year:

• Concerns about long-term digital engagement leading to poor mental health and isolation for some
• Missing seeing colleagues in person, catching up informally and sharing ideas and insights
• The effort involved in overcoming the challenges of engaging with students in an online setting
• Needing time to prepare resources after the sudden switch to online teaching
• Inadequate set-up for working at home longer-term
• Too much screen time and experiencing ‘Zoom fatigue’

What happens next

Your feedback (anonymised and non-attributable) is now informing discussions at EG and the JSNCC about how we work in the future and the infrastructure and support we will need.

Follow-up work is already underway across the University, with key stakeholders incorporating feedback from the survey into their planning for 2021/22. This includes education, student experience, technology, space planning, staff training and development, and further opportunities for collaborative working.

Find out more

Fuller feedback from the survey is available now on our HR webpages. You can also learn more about the survey, as well as our new Hybrid Working Scheme and plans for major changes in HR services at Kent, at our next Staff Webchat on Thursday 15 July