Cumbria County Council's employees have voted that the organisation is striking the right work/life balance and that they find their jobs interesting.
Findings of the new 2007 Staff Survey of county council employees show significant improvements on the most recent full Staff Survey conducted in 2005. According to the new figures, the number of county council employees who find their job interesting has increased by 4% to 79%. This is judged by most staff as the single most important factor in their job, followed by pay levels and feeling valued.
When asked about their work/life balance, 58% of employees said the current mix was about right, with 28% saying they spent a bit too much time at work and 13% saying they spend far too much time at work. Overall job satisfaction levels stayed steady at 63%.
The 2005 Staff Survey identified five key areas for action as a result of the survey findings. These were:
- Ensure staff feel valued and appreciated
- Tackle bullying/intimidation/harassment
- Improve communications across the council
- Ensure all staff have team briefings
- Ensure staff are given constructive feedback of their performance
The 2007 survey showed significant improvements in these priority areas:
- A 7% increase in staff who say they feel valued from 41% to 48%
- A 10% increase in staff who know how to report bullying or harassment from 73% to 83% and a 7% increase in staff who claim to gave been bullied/harassed that reported it from 43% to 50%.
- A 14% increase in staff who felt informed about what's going on across the council from 40% to 54%
- A 6% increase who say team briefings are relevant to their work from 42% to 48%
- A 9% increase in staff who are are given constructive feedback of their performance from 54% to 63%
Elizabeth Mallinson, Cumbria County Council's cabinet member responsible for organisational development, said:
"This survey shows that Cumbria County has made significant improvements over the last two years. Any organisation is only as good as its people and we're ensuring that the county council is an enjoyable place to work where you can feel valued, informed and safe from bullying or harassment.
"The county council has been particularly proactive in tackling the issue of bullying in the workplace. Nationally one in five workers experience bullying or harassment in the workplace. We are slightly below that national average, but are continuing to raise awareness of the issue so that anyone who does experience bullying or harassment knows what to do. We take a zero tolerance approach to bullying in the workplace and instead of pretending it does not exist we have been honest and open enough to ask the questions that many organisations are afraid to ask of themselves."
The 2007 Staff Survey showed a 4% increase in the number of staff who claim to have been bullied or harassed from 15% to 19%. This increase is to be expected as awareness of the issue of bullying and harassment has been significantly raised through a number of initiatives.
Last November the county council launched a new campaign on acceptable behaviour in the workplace called "Have you crossed the line?". It aims to ensure that all employees, councillors and members of the public understand that Cumbria County Council expects its employees and customers to be treated with dignity and respect. It challenges people to think about what is and isn't acceptable in the workplace as well as highlighting the processes and support available for incidents of bullying and harassment.
Cumbria County Council has also been working closely with the training consultancy Equality Works since 2005 to ensure that equality and diversity issues are well integrated into the council. This has involved conducting in-depth interviews with employees on the issue of bullying and harassment.
Notes
To view a copy of the staff survey follow the link at the bottom of this page.
A report going to the county council's Cabinet on July 3 can be viewed at http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/CouncilMeetings/Content/Public/2941/39259103059.pdf
The Staff Survey was conducted by BMG Research on behalf of the county council. It was sent in March payslips to 8,782 county council employees and completed by 2,107. This means around 1 in 4 employees completed the survey, which means its findings can be judged to be accurate to within 2%.
According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, one in five workers experience bullying or harassment in the workplace. This rises to a national average of 22% among public sector employees.
ENDS
Media enquiries to Gareth Cosslett, News Manager on 01228 606332
To view a copy of the staff survey follow this link