Staff members at a university facing closure are grappling with high levels of stress and uncertainty as they confront potential job losses. As the university gears up to eliminate as many as 400 positions over its three campuses. Frontline workers such as research associate Sophie Kirkham are feeling the crunch with a vengeance.
Kirkham, who has chronic illnesses, revealed that the stress since the announcement has taken a “massive toll” on her health. She spent the last seven years in and out of bed, in chronic pain and constant fear over her employment. One private university’s decision to eliminate her job has put her in a position where, like so many, she’s at the mercy of an unpredictable future.
Cheyne Truman, who teaches adult nursing at Southend, spoke out against the increasing workforce market. He is an extraordinary master’s degree student in our program. Having done his undergrad at the Southend campus, Truman is worried about job prospects. He worries that job opportunities are scarce, stating, “There’s just no jobs out there at the moment.”
Truman articulated the challenges of potentially relocating for a new position, saying, “It’s just not financially viable for me to take up a post in Colchester if I am offered one, because that isn’t even guaranteed at this point, because it would be in real terms a pay cut for me.” Her staff, she said, are growing more and more on edge. They need to make a decision by the end of January on whether to take voluntary redundancy or wait for potential positions in Colchester.
Bayo Alaba, the Labour MP for Southend East and Rochford, recently met with staff and students in the city, including Kirkham and Truman. Pushing through legislative inaction, Alaba has stepped up to the plate. He wrote to the education secretary and met with various government departments to advocate for ways to support them. He highlighted the impact on students, stating, “We’ve got students who are first and second year who may not graduate and there’s no solution at the moment. Not everyone is able to telecommute, either—it’s just not logistically feasible.
The university has promised to cut 200 academic posts this academic year. Truman and Kirkham have difficult decisions in front of them. Even harder, they have to manage the burden—the extraordinary challenges—created by the pretty disastrous closure ahead.
