University of Tasmania staff use online message board to lament ‘low morale’ among workforce

The University of Tasmania has been inundated with negative feedback from its staff, with numerous employees complaining of “low morale” which they say is bringing down the workforce.

The University of Tasmania (UTAS) has been hit with a barrage of negative feedback after launching a staff survey, with numerous anonymous employees lamenting the “low morale” at the institution.

It’s prompted Vice-Chancellor Rufus Black to insist he is “very committed” to listening to staff concerns and ensuring that they are addressed.

Ahead of a series of “staff sessions” to be held across the state next month, UTAS set up an online message board on Wednesday that allowed workers to raise any issues they wished to discuss without identifying themselves.

Vice-Chancellor of UTAS Professor Rufus Black. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

The majority of the more than 100 responses posted to the board – seen by the Mercury – took a negative view of the university’s overall leadership and direction.

UTAS employs about 5800 people in Tasmania and Sydney.

It’s not the only university that’s been beset by staff unrest amid the Covid-19 pandemic, as hiring freezes and job cuts continue to bite across the tertiary sector.

In an email to staff on Wednesday, Professor Black wrote that the board would be open for a week. However, it’s understood to have been closed to further comments after just two days, following an enquiry by the Mercury about the negative feedback UTAS had received.

In answer to the message board question, ‘“Of the current issues at the University, what is most important to you?”, eight people mentioned low staff morale.

“Staff morale (at UTAS) is the lowest in 10 years, pretty much every academic colleague I talk to looks for a way out, every top-down initiative seems to make things worse … nothing that is done seems to counteract this trend but everything … makes things worse,” one response on the board read.

Another person wrote: “Staff morale is so low. It seems like no one wants to be here anymore.”

This response generated a thread of replies from other staff members, with one saying, “Who else buys a lotto ticket in the hope they win and can leave?”

University of Tasmania building and signage, Sandy Bay Campus. Picture: Richard Jupe

Other UTAS employees raised concerns about the proposed relocation of the Sandy Bay campus into the Hobart CBD, excessive teaching workloads and burnout, and the decline of student numbers on campus.

There were several positive comments posted to the message board, as well, including one praising UTAS for providing a safe workplace, and another expressing gratitude to the Vice-Chancellor “who inspires us to be brave and CHANGE for the better”.

National Tertiary Education Union industrial officer Emma Gill said the feedback on the board was reflective of a broader sentiment among UTAS staff.

“Closing down that discussion board is just typical of what people see happening in the institution around debate and critical discussions,” she said.

“It just gets shut down.”

Professor Black told the Mercury that he was looking forward to responding to the “open and frank feedback” staff had provided through the board.

“I also want to acknowledge the extraordinary work people across the university do every day to sustain a great university that Tasmania can be proud of,” he said.

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