University lecturer

[Daphne123]

Hi

Can anyone give me an insight into what it's like to work as a Uni lecturer in NSW. I have gained a post at UNE and am just wondering what the working culture is like there. Any insights would be very very much appreciated. I am particularly interested to know whether generally there is an opportunity to work from home on occasion (as is the case at my current institution in the UK). Many thanks.

[Tickled Pink]

Whether you can work at home or not is a discussion to have with your line manager! no one on here,even if they work at the same Uni is gong to be able to tell you that! it's down to the culture of the team you'll be joining. I suggest you send an email to someone on it!

[Daphne123]

Hi

Quite untrue at my own university, I'm afraid...it's very similar in most departments...hence my question.Thanks for your response.

[DonnaBB]

A lot of universities sign up to having flexible working arrangements. This appears to be the policy for UNE :

http://www.une.edu.au/policies/pdf/flexibleandfamilyworkingarrangements.pdf

 

Not sure if that helps?

[Daphne123]

Yes very helpful, thanks DonnaBB. I will take a look at that now.

Appreciate your response.

[starlight7]

My husband lectured at universities both in the UK and Australia most of his working life. He would argue that Australian universities do not subscribe to 'working from home' in the way that many British universities do. This was in an engineering department so may be different in others. He often said there was a perception that if you were 'working from home' you weren't really doing your job- you had to be seen to be working. Hours and expectations were/are large. He found it much more demanding than in the UK- but he stayed in the field 35+ years so they must have been doing something right.

[Daphne123]

My husband lectured at universities both in the UK and Australia most of his working life. He would argue that Australian universities do not subscribe to 'working from home' in the way that many British universities do. This was in an engineering department so may be different in others. He often said there was a perception that if you were 'working from home' you weren't really doing your job- you had to be seen to be working. Hours and expectations were/are large. He found it much more demanding than in the UK- but he stayed in the field 35+ years so they must have been doing something right.

I suspected that this might be the case and was looking for someone who could make the comparison. Thank you. This is important to me. I write my research papers from home. Always have done. In most uk universities it is understood that this is what working from home means. It is therefore, a question which I will raise with the uni. I too have the perception that an academic post in oz might be more demanding more generally than in the uk. This response has given me much food for thought. Thanks again.

[Guest littlesarah]

The institution I work for is quite supportive of working from home - basically, my line manager doesn't mind where you work or how you organise your time, as long as you get everything done properly, on time, and without causing him any problems! Two of my colleagues have a work schedule that includes regular home working, and I work from home on an ad hoc basis. Having said that, the nature of our disciplines is that we have higher contact hours in our workload profiles than many other Schools, so the need for some flexibility is recognised within that.

 

I love my job, but I do find that it is very demanding, more so than a previous role in which I had a fair degree of clinical responsibility. But it's obviously not that bad, or I wouldn't still be here!

[Daphne123]

The institution I work for is quite supportive of working from home - basically, my line manager doesn't mind where you work or how you organise your time, as long as you get everything done properly, on time, and without causing him any problems! Two of my colleagues have a work schedule that includes regular home working, and I work from home on an ad hoc basis. Having said that, the nature of our disciplines is that we have higher contact hours in our workload profiles than many other Schools, so the need for some flexibility is recognised within that.

 

I love my job, but I do find that it is very demanding, more so than a previous role in which I had a fair degree of clinical responsibility. But it's obviously not that bad, or I wouldn't still be here!

 

Thanks littlesarah. A different perspective provided here. I will have this discussion with the institution when I talk to them to give them my final decision on their job offer. At least I know now that the question won't seem weird...even if home working is not permitted there. I have always got so much more writing done at home than in the office here in the UK...far too many distractions, particularly if one shares an office...therefore, in terms of me maintaining my publications profile, this is such an important issue for me. Thanks again for your input.