Statewide UP/USS Staff Survey
Message from UP & USS Senate Presidents
To our University Support Staff and Unclassified Professional Staff colleagues:
You may recall completing an online poll of University Support Staff (USS) and Unclassified Professional Staff (UP) that was conducted by the Docking Institute on behalf of five of the six Kansas Board of Regents’ (KBOR) Universities. The poll surveyed staff about work-related issues, such as compensation, morale, and appreciation of work performance.
As your Senate Presidents, we plan to discuss the survey results at the upcoming November and January Senate meetings, and we will also use the surveys to inform our ongoing discussions with the University administration. They have been supportive of the survey from the beginning and receptive to our feedback passed forward thus far, including the workplace issues identified in survey and some new recognition and appreciation programs.
We are making the statewide and WSU-specific results available to you below.
The results will be presented to KBOR at its December meeting.
Over 40% of Wichita State’s staff members completed the survey.
Here are a few of the key findings, both bad and good, that stood out:
- Respondents ranked the “amount of pay or compensation” first in order of importance.
- When asked about wages, a larger percentage of UP than USS respondents find their wages reasonable
- Regarding morale, 50.2% of WSU respondents indicated “somewhat positive” – compared to 41.2% of the other Universities.
- Larger percentages of WSU respondents than the other University respondents reported that their work is “greatly appreciated” by immediate supervisors, coworkers, and department heads.
- Key themes in the open-ended comments included: (1) pay me what I’m worth; (2) give me flexibility; (3) improve my work environment; (4) I’d like some perks; (5) help me grow professionally; and (6) parking is a problem.
Our experience is that Shocker employees take great pride in their work at Wichita State. But, as some of the survey results show, we have opportunities for improvement as a University.
If you have any questions or comments prior to the Senates taking up these issues next month, please feel free to contact a Senator who represents you, or one of us.
Matt Houston
University Support Staff Senate President, 2019-2020
Julie Scott
Unclassified Professional Senate President, 2019-2020
Note: In the survey results, "UP" and "UPS" may be used interchangeably, as some of the participating universities reference Unclassified Professional Staff as "UPS," while others may abbreviate it as "UP." The abbreviation "USS" refers to University Support Staff members.
Statewide Results
Statewide USS UPS Poll Report (summary): This report, prepared by the Docking Institute, provides a cumulative summary of the statewide responses.
Request a PDF of these results
WSU-Specific Results
WSU Statewide Comparison (summary): This report, prepared by the Docking Institute, shows the WSU-specific results and compares them to the cumulative statewide responses and the results of the other four universities combined.
Request a PDF of these results
WSU USS/UP Comparison (summary): This report, prepared by the Docking Institute, details the WSU-specific results and compares the responses for USS employees and UP employees.
Request a PDF of these results
WSU Qualitative Analysis (summary): This report, prepared by a WSU researcher, provides a qualitative analysis of WSU staff's open-ended comments from the survey and identifies key themes.
Summary of the Statewide Results
This report, prepared by the Docking Institute, provides a cumulative summary of the statewide responses.
The Docking Institute’s independent analysis of the data set shows the following:
About half of the respondents are employed at KSU and almost a quarter (22.9%) are employed at WSU. About 10% of the respondents are employed at PSU and FHSU each, and 6.5% are employed at ESU.
A third (33.6%) of survey respondents have worked at their universities for four or fewer years. Almost a fifth (19.2%) have worked at their universities for five to nine years, while slightly more than a fifth (22.7%) have worked at their universities for 20 years or more.
Slightly more than two-fifths (41.6%) are Unclassified Professional Staff salary wage earners, while about a third (33.9%) are University Support Staff hourly wage earners. Fewer are Unclassified Professional Staff hourly wage earners (17.2%) and University Support Staff salary wage earners (5.3%).
When asked to rank the importance of four items (recognition for the work you perform, amount of pay or compensation, additional incentives or perks, and professional development opportunities), about three-quarters (75.6%) rank “amount of pay or compensation” highest. Almost 15% rank “recognition for work performed” highest, 6.8% rank “professional development opportunities” highest, and 2.8% rank “additional incentives or perks” highest.
When asked how co-workers, immediate supervisors, department heads, and university administrators appreciate their work performance, most respondents report that their work is greatly appreciated by their co-workers (57.6%) and their immediate supervisors (63.8%). About two-fifths (43.1%) report that their work is greatly appreciated by their department heads. Only 13.9% report that their work is greatly appreciated by their university administration.
Respondents were asked “generally speaking, how do you rate your morale at work?” Many respondents rate their morale as somewhat positive (43.3%) or extremely positive (18.9%). Almost a fifth (19.1%) rate their morale as somewhat negative.
When asked “compared to two years ago, would you say your morale has improved, remained the same, or worsened,” a fifth of respondents (20.7%) report that their morale has improved, while more than a third (37.7%) report that their morale has remained the same. About two-fifths (41.6%) report that their morale has worsened in the past two years.
Of respondents whose morale had worsened, 38.8% report that they have been given additional work duties with no or minimal pay increases, and 35.3% report that salary increases have not kept up with costs.
When asked to “rate your salary or hourly wage with regard to the work you currently perform,” 19.5% consider their wages to be “reasonable” and 3.3% consider their wages are “extremely reasonable.” Alternatively, 13.9% consider their wages to be “unreasonable” and 7.3% consider their wages are “extremely unreasonable.”
Slightly more than a third (36%) of respondents have a second job or other means of income. Of those who do not, 42% report that they are considering getting a second job (or are pursuing another option) to increase their incomes.
Two-fifths (41%) of those with a second job/considering a second job are doing so to pay down debts and bills. A fifth (20%) need additional discretionary income and 39% desire to better provide for their families.
Of those with a second job/considering a second job, a vast majority of respondents report the need for health insurance (85.2%) as a reason for continued university employment. A large percentage of respondents also selected employment stability (78.3%) as a reason for continued university employment.
When asked about job satisfaction, 51.6% agree and 33.8% strongly agree with the statement “I enjoy the things I do a work.” About 47% agree and 25.1% strongly agree with the statement “I have a generally positive work environment.” On the other hand, more than 50% disagree or strongly disagree with the statements “I have a fair chance of advancement in my job” and “I have a fair chance for future salary or wage increases.”
When asked about the importance of various incentives or benefits, 39.6% report that improved health care benefits are extremely important and 32.2% report that flex-time or flexible hours are extremely important. Close to a fifth (17.1%) report that on-the-job training is also important extremely important.
Regarding health insurance, 6.2% of respondents report that they are receiving more health insurance value at more cost, while 28.9% report that they are receiving the same health care insurance value at more cost and 41.1% report receiving less value at more cost.
When asked how budget limitations have influence their work, majorities of respondents report that their duties have increased (69.3%), their workload has increased (66.3%), resources have been reduced (55%), and they have taken on more advanced duties (54.8%). Almost half (47.3%) report that staff has been reduced as open positions have gone unfilled, and a third report that staff has been reduced as positions cannot be filled at the salary and wages offered to new employees.
In response to the question “are you currently looking for a different job or have you looked for a new job in the past year or so,” almost two-fifths (38%) report looking for a job or having looked for a job in the past year or so.
Of those looking for a new job, 90.3% are interested in a different off-campus job and 63% are looking for a different on-campus job.
WSU-Specific Results
WSU Comparison to the Statewide Results
This report is for Wichita State University. Responses to each question on the USS-UPS Employee poll conducted in spring 2019 are provided for all five universities (Statewide), four universities (Excluding WSU), and for Wichita State University (WSU Only). In most cases, responses from these three groups of respondents are shown in a table or figure. For lengthier sets of series questions, three figures are provided (Statewide, Excluding WSU, and WSU Only).
The Docking Institute’s independent analysis of the data set shows the following:
About 73% of WSU respondents have worked at WSU for 14 or fewer years. About 64% of respondents from other universities have been employed for 14 or fewer years.
WSU shows larger percentages (when compared to the other four universities) of both UPS hourly wage earners and salary earners.
The “amount of pay or compensation” was ranked first (as an important item) among most respondents, and “recognition for the work performed” and “additional incentives or perks” were ranked second among many respondents. A slightly larger percentage of WSU respondents, compared to respondents from other universities, ranked “recognition for work performed” first.
Larger percentages of WSU respondents than respondents from other universities report that their work is “greatly appreciated” by immediate supervisors and coworkers. Similarly, larger percentages of WSU respondents than respondents from other universities report that their work is “greatly appreciated” and “moderately appreciated” by department heads.
Regarding morale at work, WSU respondents provide a much larger percentage (50.2%) of “somewhat positive” responses compared to respondents from other universities (41.2%).
When asked about morale “compared to two years ago,” about 26%) of WSU respondents report that their morale has “improved,” 41.8% report that their morale has “remained the same, and 31.9% report that their morale has “worsened” during the past two years.
Among respondents reporting that their morale had worsened, WSU stands out with much larger percentage of responses regarding “morale of those around me has worsened” as a reason for worsened morale, compared to other universities.
When asked if wages are reasonable for the work performed, slightly larger percentages of WSU respondents find their wages “reasonable” and “somewhat reasonable” when compared to respondents from all universities or the other four universities.
About 33% of WSU respondents and 37% of non-WSU respondents report having a second job or other means of oncome.
WSU has a slightly smaller percentage of respondents reporting that they are considering a second job when compared to all universities and the other four universities.
When asked why they have a second job or are considering taking one, about 20% of all respondents report a need for “additional discretionary income,” about 40% report a need to “pay down debts and bills,” and about 40% report a need to “better provide for families.” Responses do not differ from WSU and non-WSU respondents.
A larger percentage of WSU respondents than other respondents (Excluding WSU) report that they remain at their university for the “enjoyment of work.”
Regarding job satisfaction, a larger percentage of WSU respondents than non-WSU respondents “strongly agree” with the statement “I enjoy the things I do at work.”
Regarding incentives or opportunities, slightly larger percentages of WSU respondents than non-WSU respondents consider “Flex-time or flexible hours” and “on-the-job training” as “very important.”
When asked to provide other important incentives or opportunities, a slightly larger percentage of WSU respondents than non-WSU respondents offered “tuition assistance improvement/loan repayment” as an important incentive.
When asked about the value of health insurance, responses from WSU and non-WSU respondents do not differ by much. About 30% of all respondents report that they are “receiving equal value at more cost.”
When asked about budget limitation influencing their work, a smaller percentage of WSU respondents than non-WSU respondents identify “staff reduction due to being unable to fill open positions at current salary/wage levels” as an impact.
A smaller percentage of WSU respondents than respondents from other universities are currently looking for a different job. Of those looking for a different job, a smaller percentage of WSU respondents report looking for an on-campus job compared to respondents from all universities and other universities.
When asked to provide additional comments, a larger percentage of WSU respondents than respondents from other universities identify “poor management decisions/favoritism/bullying by management,” while a smaller percentage of WSU respondents (than others) identify “top heavy administration/wage increases going only to the top/administration out of touch.”
This report is for Wichita State University. Responses to each question on the USS-UPS Employee poll conducted in spring 2019 are provided for UPS, USS, and ALL WSU respondents. In most cases, responses from these three groups of respondents are shown in a table or figure. For lengthier sets of series questions, three figures are provided (WSU UPS, WSU USS, and ALL WSU).
The Docking Institute’s independent analysis of the data set shows the following:
Notably larger percentages of UPS respondents than USS respondents have worked at WSUfor 0-4 years and 5-9 years. On-the-other-hand, notably larger percentages of USSrespondents than UPS respondents have worked for 10-14 years, 15-19 years, and 20 yearsor more.
When asked to rank (from first to fourth) the importance of various items, the “amount ofpay or compensation” was ranked first among all respondents. Larger percentages of UPSthan USS respondents ranked “recognition for work performed” and “professionaldevelopment opportunities” second, and a larger percentage of USS than UPS respondentsranked “additional incentives or perks” second.
Regarding work appreciation, most of ALL WSU respondents report that their “work isgreatly appreciated” by their “immediate supervisors,” “co-workers,” and “departmentheads.” Larger percentages of UPS respondents than USS respondents report that theirwork is at least “moderately appreciated” by “departments heads” and “universityadministration.”
A large majority of WSU respondents rate their morale as at least “somewhat positive.” UPSrespondents provide larger percentages of “extremely positive” and “somewhat positive”responses, while USS respondents provide larger percentages of “somewhat negative” and“extremely negative” responses.
Regarding current morale compared to morale two years ago, larger percentages of UPSrespondents report that their moral has “improved” or “remained the same,” while a largerpercentage of USS report that their morale has “worsened.”
When asked why morale has worsened, a larger percentage of UPS respondents report that“morale of those around me has worsened, while larger percentages of USS respondentsreport that “salary increases haven’t kept up with costs” and “additional work duties withno or minimal pay increases.”
When asked about wages with regard to work, a larger percentage of UPS respondents findtheir wages reasonable, while a larger percentage of USS respondents find their wagesunreasonable.
A larger percentage of USS respondents than UPS respondents report having a second jobor other means of income. A larger percentage of USS respondents than UPS respondentsalso report considering taking a second job.
Larger percentages of UPS than USS respondents report that they remain at their universitybecause they “enjoy the work” and because “salaries are better than in the private sector.” Docking Institute of Public Affairs: Larger percentages of USS than UPS respondents report that they remain at their university for the “health insurance,” “employment stability,” and “education discounts,” as well as because they are “close to retirement.”
When asked about job satisfaction, larger percentages of UPS than USS respondents“strongly agree” with three statements: “I enjoy the things I do at work,” “I am sufficientlytrained to complete my duties,” and “I have a generally positive work environment.” Muchlarger percentages of USS respondents than UPS respondents “strongly disagree” withstatements regarding “a fair chance of advancement” and “a fair chance for salaryincreases.”
When asked about incentives or opportunities, a larger percentage of UPS than USSrespondents find “flex-time or flexible hours” as “extremely important,” while a largerpercentage of USS respondents than UPS respondents fine “on-the-job training” as“extremely important.”
When asked to identify other incentives or opportunities, 12.3% of ALL WSU respondentsidentify, 9.9% of UPS respondents, and 18% of USS respondents identify “immediate basepay increase” as important.
When asked about health insurance, a larger percentage of UPS than USS respondentsreport that they are “receiving equal value at more cost.” On-the-other-hand, a largerpercentage of USS than UPS respondents report that they are “receiving less value at morecost.”
When asked how budget limitations have impacted their work, larger percentages of USSthan UPS respondents identify “staff reductions: unfilled positions” and “staff reduction”unable to fill due to wages” as impacts.
When asked to provide additional impacts of budget limitations, 14.5% of ALL WSUrespondents, 17.1% of UPS respondents, and 7.5% of USS respondents identified a “lackraises/salary compression” as an additional impact. Notably larger percentages of USS thanUPS respondents identified “lack funds to accomplish tasks/purchase supplies” and“frustration/stress/decreasing morale” as impacts.
A slightly larger percentage of USS respondents than UPS respondents report looking for anew job within the past year or so.
A smaller percentage of UPS than USS respondents report looking for an on-campus job,while a larger percentage of UPS than USS respondents are looking for an off-campus job.
When asked to provide any additional comments, larger percentages of USS respondentsthan UPS respondents provided comments regarding “wage increases/wage increaseschedule/yearly cost of living adjustments” and “poor managementdecisions/favoritism/bullying by management.” On-the-other-hand, a larger percentage ofUPS than USS respondents offered comments relating to “wages should match skills and/oryears of service.”
Respondents in the Spring 2019 Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) survey of University Support Staff and Unclassified Professionals were given the opportunity to respond to three openended items in addition to their responses on a number of closed-ended fixed response items:
1. Is another incentive important to you? (survey question 12)
2. Is there another area in which budget limitations have impacted your job? (survery question 15)
3. And finally, do you have any other comments to add? (survey question 17)
The total population for this study is 1480 unclassified professional staff and university support staff employees to whom WSU sent a survey invitation. A total of 653 people responded. After data cleaning and organization, 221 respondents were included in the analysis of question 12, 166 respondents were included in the analysis of question 15, and 169 respondents were included in the analysis of question 17.
KEY FINDINGS
QUESTION 12: “Is another incentive important to you?”
Responses to this item clustered into six main themes: (1) pay me what I’m worth; (2) give me flexibility; (3) improve my work environment; (4) I’d like some perks; (5) help me grow professionally; and (6) parking is a problem.
Although the question asked about incentives, respondents overwhelmingly addressed basic compensation and benefit issues instead of incentives. This tracks closely with the quantitative analysis of the survey results for WSU.
Frustration with the level of pay and cost of benefits was evident in responses to this question.
Work flexibility was important to respondents, including work location flexibility, flexible time schedules, and more flexible and generous leave policies, especially related to the use of vacation time for the holiday shutdown.
Work environment was also important, especially in terms of perceived fairness, appreciation, and recognition.
Respondents suggested a variety of possible perquisites, including free products and services, discounts for both on- and off-campus products and services, and other oncampus benefits including free tickets to sports events, performances, and other events.
Professional growth and advancement are important to respondents, who mentioned formalized goal setting, promotion tracks, and mentoring. Outside conferences and training were also seen as important contributions to advancement.
QUESTION 15: “Is there another area in which budget limitations have impacted your job?”
Five major themes emerged in responses to this question: (1) staffing issues affect my job; (2) compensation issues affect everybody; (3) physical resource challenges affect my job; (4) my professional growth is limited; and (5) budget issues affect morale.
Understaffing, employee retention, turnover, and recruitment concerns were mentioned by respondents, with understaffing mentioned most frequently. However, all four of these issues are seen as driving each other and being part of the same budget limitation issue.
Compensation was of key concern again, with the absence of pay raises central to comments.
Physical resource challenges were mentioned as affecting respondents’ ability to do their jobs. Building condition and maintenance, equipment age and availability, and technology challenges were all mentioned as challenges related to budget limitations.
Respondents were concerned that budget limitations affected their professional development and their ability to advance at the university. In particular, they mentioned the inability to attend conferences, training, or other professional development activities held away from work.
Finally, respondents commented on ways in which morale on the job was affected by budget limitations. Overall stress, fear, health issues, burnout, and helplessness were mentioned.
QUESTION 17: “And finally, do you have any other comments to add?”
Four main themes were identified in responses to this question: (1) How I feel; (2) Compensation and insurance costs need more discussion; (3) I have concerns about management or supervisors; (4) Workload gets higher, turnover gets higher, pay stays the same.
Two codes received the most mentions: emotional responses and, once again, compensation. The remainder of the codes were much more fragmented than responses on the two previous items, and many codes had too few mentions to be grouped under any of the four main themes.
A number of responses were positive about work at WSU, both because of aspects of the job itself and about working at WSU. However, even these responses often mentioned pay concerns.
Many general comments about morale and frustration related to compensation and insurance costs.
Some respondents mentioned feeling undervalued, unappreciated, and without trust. In addition, some mentions reflected anger and stress about work.
As in the previous questions, respondents mentioned that stagnant compensation and increasing health insurance costs aggravate the sense of doing worse instead of doing better or even seeing a chance of doing better in the future. Compensation inequities were also mentioned.
Concerns about managers and supervisors were mentioned, with particular mentions of perceived unfair hiring and promotion practices, a lack of communication, and an absence of setting performance expectations and providing reviews.
Respondents also noted a cycle of an increased workload with no associated increase in pay, resulting in higher turnover and understaffing, leading again to increased workload.
Overall, compensation and cost of benefits were central concerns to respondents throughout comments to all three questions.