El THES publica un reportatge titulat Edict curtailing freedom to work at home ‘appals’ staff on s’hi comenta el fet que la Liverpool Hope University deman que els seus professors s’estiguin 35 hores al campus; per anar-se’n han de demanar permís.
La LHU diu que es tracta de fometnar la cultura de la presència. Les 35 hores no han de ser pas necessàriament de 9 a 5.
Al mateix article hi ha dues mencions sobre la polític que altres universitats segueixen sobre el temps que s’ha d’estar presencialment al campus. També hi ha moltes crítiques, evidentment.
Academics have typically enjoyed more flexible working patterns than their colleagues in administrative posts because of the nature of scholarly pursuit.
Clare Kelliher, senior lecturer in strategic human resource management at Cranfield School of Management, said the traditional view was that office environments were not always conducive to academic writing and thinking.
“In any professional job, people are assessed not on the amount of time they spend in the workplace but on what they achieve,” she said.
At present there is little uniformity in the policies adopted by different universities.
The University of Westminster encourages “home working” and says it is “accepted and routine” for academic staff to do duties away from the university, while the University of Salford encourages staff to spend “a high proportion” of time on campus but says a degree of flexibility is “of mutual benefit to both staff and students”
Tot plegat mereixeria una reflexió, si no fos perquè conté un important component emocional i perquè les tradicions dels diferents àmbits són en diferents. No s’ha d’homogeneitzar, sinó de respectar la diversitat.
Els comentaris a l’entrada del THES són força interessants, també.