The BERA Annual Conference 2021 was held from the 13th to the 16th of September. The conference was held virtually.
Within the scope of the conference a report "Burnout among University Lecturers Through the University Leaders' Lens" prepared by a Research Associate at the Institute of Psychology and Education (Kazan Federal University) Dinara Bisimbaeva was presented.
The aim of the research was to study the problem of burnout among lecturers from the perspective of the university administration. The qualitative research was conducted among university administrators of all levels and heads of a UK University.
"Excessive workload as a result of the necessity to combine work duties: teaching, research activities, and administrative functions may be the cause of burnout, according to administration," Dinara explained. "The most tedious element of it is administrative work, so administrators aim to offload lecturers whenever possible and allocate more administrative personnel to paperwork. An additional source of stress, and consequently burnout may be the lack of clear instructions regarding assignments. Based on the findings, the administration implements a supportive system."
The research also defined initiatives and activities aimed at maintaining the health and well-being of university personnel.