School of Health & Wellbeing

The IHW’s Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team are seeking ethical approval to consult with staff to better understand their experiences of working practices since the Covid-19 lockdown. The research hopes to contain a wide range of staff experiences, including from those with caring responsibilities, health issues and/or insecure employment contracts. The research will explore staff experiences of working under lockdown conditions and the challenges, as well as any opportunities, it might present. All staff in the Institute will be invited to take part in a brief online survey and there will also be the opportunity for a more in-depth interview for those who are willing to share their experiences. The findings of the confidential survey and interviews will help inform the IHW in the planning of support for home working and other social distancing work practices in the future. We hope you will share your experiences!

The research is being led by the Institute of Health and Wellbeing’s gold awarded ‘50+ Workers Group’. Last year the group conducted a consultation exercise to identify issues that might particularly affect older workers in the institute. The consultation highlighted a number of areas that were of concern to older workers and the group then successfully secured 6-month funding from the Welcome Trust ISSF3 fund for a Project Officer to take the consultation exercise results forward. The Project Officer’s remit includes preparing a 50+ Workers Toolkit, organising a series of workshops and establishing a 50+ Workers Volunteer network.

Rebecca Robinson – who has worked as an administrator and events manager at the University for over ten years, after completing her PhD - took up the post of Project Officer the week after the lockdown began. The Covid-19 Working Practices research project grew out of early discussions within the group and with Professor Cindy Gray. Nicola McMeekin and Janet Boutell – the co-chairs of the 50+ Workers Group – then approached the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee to request that some of Rebecca’s time be diverted to the research, which will include the views of all staff. Rebecca said that she was “delighted to be working for the 50+ group and to also have the opportunity to contribute to the Covid-19 working practices research and hopes that it will help provide some useful insight into varying experiences of working under lockdown conditions”.

First published: 2 May 2018