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The place to be! University of Manchester staff are the happiest higher education workers, says survey

By John McDougall

Workers at the University of Manchester have an extra spring in their step after a survey by their staff put them top of a higher education satisfaction list.

Out of 6,376 staff who anonymously took part in the Staff Survey 2013 run by Capita in March and April, 94% said they thought it was a good place to work. 

This ranked it first out of 28 higher education institutions surveyed, with 92% saying they felt proud to work for the university and 95% feeling safe on campus.

Professor Martin Humphries, a vice-president and dean, feels the university should rightly be proud of their achievement, but warned they will not rest on their laurels.      

“To rank first out of the 28 higher education institutions Capita have worked with recently is an amazing achievement, which we should all be proud of,” he said.

“These results are extremely encouraging and on the whole show that staff are very positive about their experience of working here at the University.

“But we are not complacent. We know that there is more that we could be doing to make our University an even better place to work.

“Each part of the university will be constructing action plans addressing those areas where more work is needed.”

In addition to this, 89% felt the university was more than just a job to them and 88% knew they were expected to achieve in their role. 

The university were not the only beneficiaries from the survey as three charities received a pound for every survey completed by members of staff, who chose who to donate to.

Manchester’s Christie hospital received £2,037, while Cancer Research UK and Water Aid were given £2,666 and £1,673 respectively.

One proud employee is 48-year-old Chris Livingston from Whalley Range, who works in the stores of the University’s School of Physics and Astronomy.

Having been made redundant in 2009, Chris was relieved to finally gain permanent employment at the university after his temporary position kept being extended.

“I guess they just fell in love with me!” he said. “They have a brilliant management team here and I just clicked straight away with my boss.

“My friends and family have noticed a real difference in me and they’re really happy for me.”

Picture courtesy of WI IS, with thanks.

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