A heart-breaking survey by UNISON Cymru/Wales has revealed university support staff in Wales being faced with a rise in students self-harming and those with suicidal thoughts while at the same time having to deal with mental health issues of their own.
Low-paid university workers from housekeepers to maintenance staff have told UNISON they feel ill-equipped to help students struggling in very serious situations, where they may be self-harming or considering suicide, because they lack the training and resources to provide support.
The same staff, who are also dealing with endemic low pay and job insecurity, have themselves said they are facing mental health issues.
One university worker told UNISON: “My workload is excessive. I work hundreds more hours a year than I should. Returning from leave is very difficult and I have a sick feeling for a few days before I do, as I know the deluge of work I will face on my return.”
Another said: “A lack of staff and pressure to take on more work has meant night times and weekends are spent recovering from exhaustion.”
This comes as others have reported a “significant increase” in the number of students self-harming.
A university worker in Wales even said they witnessed a student death and added: “I have witnessed self-harming in students and also, unfortunately I witnessed a student death and also a major medical Incident which led to a student having life-saving surgery.”
While another said: “We have had students expressing their wish to end their lives, this has involved sitting with them for five hours after we are supposed to go home waiting for ambulances that never turn up.”
Lynne Hackett, head of higher education for UNISON Cymru/Wales, will today (Wednesday October 26) present the survey results to the Senedd Education committee in Cardiff and said: “As the main trade union representing Higher Education support staff, we know that mental health issues do not just affect the students of the institutions, but the employees as well.
“There is a duty of care on employers to look after their employees, yet our survey reveals Welsh universities are not providing the mental health support their staff urgently require. This lack of care for support staff wellbeing will in turn have an adverse effect on students, negatively impacting their health and their experience of university life.
“Support staff are dedicated professionals and the first point of contact of students outside their lecture rooms, they want to be as well-trained as possible to support those young people experiencing mental health difficulties.
“Many support staff have told us they feel ill-equipped to help people struggling in those very serious situations, where they may be self-harming or considering suicide, because they lack training and the resources to provide support.”
UNISON Cymru/Wales surveyed 166 of its Higher Education support staff membership between October 4 and October 17 2022.
Key findings include:
- Asked to rate their current mental health on a scale of 1-10, 10 being perfect and 1 that you are experiencing real difficulties; 30.9% had a score of 4 or below. A further 12.7% had a score of 5
- 68.5% said their mental health has got worse or much worse in the last three years (49.7% worse, 18.8% much worse). Of those, 46.9% had not spoken to anyone about their worsening mental health
- Those who had used employee assistance for help with their mental health were asked to mark the scheme, 10 being excellent and 1 being completely inadequate. 87.1% marked the scheme as 1.
- 84.2% said pressure at work has negatively affected their quality of life (40.6% said Yes, a lot, 43.6% said Yes, a little). When asked if they wished to tell us about the pressures they have experienced at work, a sample said:
“Excessive amounts of work due to a vague job description. Tension with colleagues due to cutbacks and job insecurity. Extremely short notice for changes in workplans.”
“Significantly high workload and expectation to be available at all times. No real way to alleviate this. Mentally, I feel I lost a sense of myself from working so much.”
“Too much work resulting in very long hours. Unpaid and never ending. Poor recruitment rates resulting in staff gaps we are expected to cover. Poor support from top management makes me feel undervalued and unimportant.”
- 62.4% agreed that below inflation pay awards over the last few years have negatively impacted their mental health (24.2% strongly agree, 38.2% agree)
- 73.4% agreed that understaffing in their department has negatively impacted their mental health (37% strongly agree, 36.4% agree)
- 77.6% agreed the cost-of-living crisis has negatively impacted their mental health (35.8% strongly agree, 41.8% agree)
- 16.4% said they were actively looking for a different job because of the impact on their mental health; a further 32.1% said they were considering leaving H.E. for the same reason
- 45.5% have experienced or witnessed incidents which have been the result of a student/s with poor mental health. Respondents were given the opportunity to tell us more. A sample said:
“Incidents of students self-harming on site have increased significantly- we have had to put measures in place within my department due to easy access of tools/sharps that can be used for this. Students suffering from anxiety and having panic attacks are now so frequent that mental health first aiding is used far more often than physical first aiding. I have had to be trained in both.”
“Students expressing their wish to end their lives, sitting with them for 5 hours after we are supposed to go home waiting for ambulances that never turn up.”
“Too many to mention. We have had suicides, students who don’t know how to deal with stressors, there is regular abuse from students to staff and I’m sure that this is due to frustration.”
“Student shouting and screaming in room next to me. He was threatening to kill himself.”
- 53.3% said they did not feel equipped with the necessary training in Mental Health Awareness to provide support/signposting for students they come into contact with.
This is a link to the full survey summary findings in chart and graph form. Personal testimonies have been omitted.
https://reporting.alchemer.eu/r/90022134_63494981ceafe0.15557173