Solution Tag: Workload

Mapping the context: teachers’ workload

Posted on January 5, 2018 by -

Background

It is the paradox of the teaching profession: a heavy workload and high time pressure versus the idea of short working days and lots of holidays. The discrepancy of what teacher say they are doing and the picture society has about what they think they are doing is persistent. It leads to discussion bout the misconception of the teaching profession and the number of tasks not related to teaching, both in society as well as as in politics.

The assignment

Against the backdrop of the political discussion about the teaching profession, the Minster of Education Hilde Crevits ordered a study, which is aimed at objectively measuring the working time and workload of teacher in primary and secondary education (including special secondary education). On top of that, information on teachers’ working conditions should provide additional context. The MOTUS software platform will be used to collect context-rich behavioural data.

“MOTUS maps the workload and context of teachers: what they do, how much, when, where, with whom, with what sort of technological support, and with what motivation.”

The project

The project period runs from January to April 2018 and participation entails sevensteps:

  1. A media campaign asks all teachers (approx. 155.000) in Flanders to participate in the study.
  2. To participate, teachers submit a valid email address on an informative website hetgrotetijdsonderzoek.be.
  3. MOTUS sends out a confirmation e-mail, that includes a unique username and password, together with an invitation to complete a profile questionnaire on motusresearch.io. This profile questionnaire includes an identifier to be linked with administrative data.
  4. Based on the completed profile questionnaires, teachers will be dispersed over the fieldwork period.
  5. Teachers will be invited to fill in a pre-questionnaire which asks about their demographic characteristics and characteristics of their school and class.
  6. Hereafter teachers start their 7-day time-diary registration.
  7. To finalise their participation, teachers complete a post-questionnaire which asks about the previous registration week.

The results

After data collection and preparation of the datasets, multiple reports will be handed over to the Minister of Education Hilde Crevits and the steering committee, which includes educational umbrella organisations and education unions. When the project ends, teachers will get an overview of their own time registration and a possibility to compare their results with the averages of comparable others, all with guarantee of privacy.

Impact of a 30-hour workweek on daily practices

Posted on January 5, 2018 by -

Reviving societal debate(s)

The debate on reducing working hours is reviving. Researchers, as well labour movements and even political parties see advantages in a collective decrease in working time. Working time has been decreasing since the beginning of the 20th century, due to increases in technological productivity. However, in some countries this trend has reversed in the last decades. Arguments for a workweek of 8 hours less than the usual 38 have risen. The arguments are displayed on the personal, household, societal and economical level.

Experiments abroad

The debate on reducing working hours in Belgium resembles the debates held in other countries. In some countries, mostly Scandinavian, some organisations have adopted the 30-hour workweek and evaluated the outcomes of this reduction in working hours.

Most discussions turn to one experiment in Sweden: the retirement home in Svartedalen where the nursing staff works only 6 hours per day over 5 working days, after the new working time arrangements were adopted. The experiment took place between February 2015 and December 2016. To compensate the loss in working hours, almost 15 FTE were hired.  Two control groups were used in this experiment. The findings of the shorter workweek turned out to be the following:

  • [Personal] Reduced working hours had a positive impact on the employees’ health
  • [Client] The quality of the service was improved
  • [Societal] The decrease in working time had created more jobs
  • [Economic] The financial cost had increased

Femma vzw

Situated in Schaarbeek (Brussels) Femma employs 62 women and one man. Most of them work full time, and are higher educated. In 2016 Femma outlined multiple strategies to balance the responsibilities for work and family.

Besides supporting an experiment in Belgium, Femma as a woman organization wants to supplement this debate by showing how these extra 6 hours a week have a positive impact on the combination of work-and-family. In doing so, Femma raises this debate from an intrinsic individual story to the societal level where the 6 extra hours influences multiple life spheres and in which more than only the employee has a benefit. Furthermore, the collective reducing of the working hours has been a feminist demand since the 1970s. The idea is that this will help reduce gender inequality in paid and unpaid work.

Action-research

In 2019, an ‘action-research’ will be kicked-off in which these employees and their family members will encounter the reduction in working hours in real life.  During the period of one year all employees will work 6 hours per day, with their wages being unchanged.

Have a look to the project poster of Femma

The main goal of this research is to build up practical knowledge in how a 30-hour workweek supports the combination of work and family. Therefore, not only the employees but also their partners will be asked to participate in a research of two times one week during 2019.

The research consists of time recording through MOTUS including activities related to work and private spheres. In this way, an insight in how work and family interrelates is achieved.

Two questionnaires will also be filled in by all the participants. In 2018 a preliminary research will be carried out and in 2020, when Femma employees return to their 36-hour week, respondents will be asked to complete a time registration once again. In this way, an insight in how work and family interrelates in different working time schedules is achieved.

Goal of Femma

Besides their contribution to the societal debate, this research should be understood as real-life case study in which an investment shows both the costs and benefits on all levels. So not only less work and higher cost but also the impact on the absenteeism, the living standards, and the happiness in life will be a valuable addition to our knowledge.

Accurately examining the workload of university teaching staff in the US

Posted on February 14, 2017 by -

The ADVANCE programme in the US

The ADVANCE programme is designed to examine the workload of university teaching staff in various faculties. This programme runs over a period of 5 years: from 2015 to 2020.  The aim: to obtain a picture of the problems and obstacles experienced by a university teacher in carrying out his or her job.

Accurate screening as a condition for decision-making

Teachers divide their time between giving classes, providing services and carrying out research. But exactly how they do that is a contentious issue.

Until recently the discussion was about their workload, based on data collected using questionnaires. However, there was also a need for more accurate and more nuanced way of looking at teachers’ use of time.

A survey using the MOTUS software platform provided the solution. Because MOTUS looks beyond simply how long each activity lasts: it includes the timing, tempo and sequence of the tasks to be carried out.

MOTUS looks beyond simply how long each activity lasts: it includes timing, tempo and sequence of the tasks to be carried out.

Universe and method

Teaching staff at the ‘Big 10’ universities in the US was the universe aimed at by the survey. Some 9,000 teachers at a total 14 faculties were involved, ranging from social sciences to physics and mathematics. They were invited to register their tasks retrospectively for 24 hours (4 am – 4 am). The list of work activities was produced in conjunction with the University of Maryland and Professor Dr Liana Sayer.

The survey set-up divided the 9,000 teachers into 6 groups. Each group was allocated to either a Tuesday or a Wednesday.

The fieldwork was spread over 3 weeks in February/March 2016. The MOTUS software platform automatically invited every teacher to register their use of time at the right moment. If necessary, the teachers received up to a maximum of 2 reminders, each exactly one week after the previous invitation/reminder. This was also done automatically.

Collect & repeat

At the present time, individual teachers are receiving guidance based on the data collected. And thanks to the data, the coordinators of the respective faculties and universities can make strategic choices within their institutions and disciplines.

High schools in the US will also be working with this set-up in 2017.