Executive Summary
The primary reason for conducting the UA Workplace Experience Survey, called Chime-in, was to obtain information in support of the “work-life balance” portion of the UA Strategic Plan goal #4. The survey was administered by ModernThink as part of the Chronicle Great Colleges to Work For 2018 effort.
Chime-in had a 47% response rate. This is lower than the University would have preferred but much better than the normal 20 to 30 percent range for this type of survey at the University.
The survey had six Likert scale questions that directly addressed work-life balance. In general, the responses to all six were positive (i.e., agree or strongly agree) with low negatives (i.e., disagree or strongly disagree). The two questions addressing the employee-supervisor relationship associated with work-life balance received the highest positive responses.
- 47. My supervisor/department chair supports my efforts to balance my work and personal life. (77% + to 9% -)
- 63. My supervisor respects and values my personal/family life. (78% + to 7% -)
The response to the question that considered the employee/co-worker relationship and work-life balance was also strongly positive.
- 62. My efforts to balance my work and personal life are accepted and respected by colleagues in my department. (73% + to 8% -)
Two questions measured the employee’s perception of the institution’s policies and practices as well as the institution’s culture relative to work-life balance. The responses to these questions were positive though slightly lower than the above.
- 53. This institution’s policies and practices give me the flexibility to manage my work and personal life. (69% + to 10% -)
- 64. The culture at this institution is one that supports and values our employees’ ability to balance work and personal life. (65% + to 11% -)
Finally, one question attempted to measure the employee’s own ability to obtain a healthy work-life balance and it too was viewed positively by roughly two-thirds of the respondents.
- 61. I am able to maintain a healthy balance between my personal life and professional life. (67% + to 10% -)
The main body of the Chime-in survey (64 questions) is divided into 16 thematic areas (themes) consisting of two or more questions. The responses for the questions are averaged to yield an overall score for each theme. UA did well in 6 of the theme areas with at least two-thirds positive responses.
- Pride (78% + to 6% -)
- Facilities (76% + to 8% -)
- Job Satisfaction/Support (73% + to 8% -)
- Supervisions/Department Chairs (70% + to 11% -)
- Compensation, Benefits & Work/Life Balance (68% + to 15% -)
- Professional Development (67% + to 14 % -)
UA was weaker in other theme areas scoring less than 60% positive responses.
- Communication (50% + to 20% -)
- Collaboration (55% + to 16% -)
- Shared Governance (55% + to 16% -)
- Fairness (56% + to 20% -)
- Faculty, Administration & Staff Relations (57% + to 13% -)
- Respect & Appreciation (59% + to 16% -)
The campus-wide survey findings are presenting for the 64 questions of the main Chime-in survey body organized by theme. To see the responses for each of the individual survey questions used to create the theme score simply click on the theme label.
The UA responses are compared to scores from other Southern University Group (SUG) institutions. ModernThink was able to produce this benchmark group using data from 21 SUG institutions that have participated in the Chronicle Great Colleges to Work For survey since 2009. A list of SUG institutions is provided. ModernThink has identified 11 of the 21 institutions in the benchmark. These 11 are institutions that have made the honor roll or been otherwise recognized in the Great Colleges to Work For reports.
The “UA Custom Statements” theme does not have a SUG benchmark comparison. These are questions UA added to the survey to address specific concerns related to work-life balance and are not normally included in the ModernThink survey. Therefore responses from SUG institutions are not available.