1. Work overload at Cardiff Business School
Three important thresholds for hours of work
Contracted hours at 35 per week
Cooper threshold ‘If you work consistently long hours, over 45 a week every week, it will damage your health, physically and psychologically’ (Cary Cooper 2005)
Working Time Regulation (WTR) maximum of 48 hours per week average over 17 weeks
CARBS staff workload survey: average 47 hours in the reference week and 46 over the course of last year
% staff reference week last year
over 35 hours 95% (98%)
over 40 hours 77% (67%)
over 45 (Cooper) 52% (37%)
over 50 hours 23% (22%)
over 48 (outside WTR) 43% (33%)
It is not a ‘hobby effect’: 60% dissatisfied with intensity of work, 47% with work hours

2. Impact of work overload
‘Cary Cooper effects’
15% can meet the demands of their job without working unreasonable hours (19% AHSS Staff Survey 2017)
73% feel exhausted after work (100% women)
63% worry about work when at home
Publish objective measures – staff absence, OH and counselling referrals, staff working with WAM adjustments
How to sustain research quality, teaching quality, working relationships, and student experience while protecting staff health?

3. Workload Allocation Model (WAM)
Increase in workload began before WAM
WAM known to be inaccurate, incomplete and biased but still used as a management tool
48 work activities identified which are not included in WAM
Hours’ gap between actual hours and scheduled hours is 133% for new lectures, 63% for repeat lectures, 76% for citizenship
WAM failed to deliver on promised transparency and equity
No mechanism in WAM for feedback, reviews, complaints
Where is the Equality Impact Assessment?
Bad science. Bad evidence-based practice.