UNIVERSITY OF YORK

This was without doubt the most depressing job I have ever done in my life. I find it hard to even know where to begin to explain why so I shall just list everything.

The first thing about this role was the sheer pointlessness of being there, in my stint of less than 6 months I estimate that I only did about 1 weeks worth of actual work despite repeatedly asking for things to do. Now you might think that getting paid to sit around and pretend to work sounds like fun and games but for me I found the experience to be very depressing as was I required to sit in a room alone (or go into an office when there was no point) and effectively stare at a screen while doing either entirely futile and meaningless busy work (e.g. copy and pasting, robotically punching numbers into a spreadsheet and glossing over forms) or literally nothing at all. Furthermore, you also have to consider the added problem this causes of having to explain exactly what you did in the role when sooner or later you want to leave. I had numerous job interviews grind to a halt with harrowing silence when I was asked about what the purpose of the role was or what I enjoyed about it because for the life of me I could not think of a single thing. From my perspective, there are 2 main reasons why this ended up happening to me. The first is that I was allocated to almost entirely work on clinical trials that were in the set up phase, meaning that I had nothing to do; if this is so this is a case of very bad management and organisational practices. The second reason is that I believe there simply isn't enough work that has any real purpose in this role anyway so that this situation was inevitable.

I shall now describe some of the tasks I did at work, the majority of which served no important meaning. 

A list of the work I did that had some purpose (this only amounts to about 1-2 weeks worth of work at most):

1) Writing R code to determine the final patient sample size given intermediate results when there is a delay between deciding to stop recruiting patients and when the last patient is recruited. This was additional work I had to ask for when I raised how bored I was.

2) Pouring through tens of case report forms in order to make pages of tables for summary statistics for patient outcome measures (this was very tedious work as there were many outcome measures and some of the outcomes were very trivial minor details).

3) Once wrote an interim report for a study within a trial based on a partially complete dataset. Again, this was for a study that was outside of the ones I had been allocated to and was something extra that I did.

4) Once wrote Stata code which used to the clinical trial data and made some tables to present the summary statistics.

Now for a list of the other 'work' I did that I felt was entirely without meaning:

1) Writing a statistical analysis plan largely by copying and pasting from other documents such as a clinical trial protocol. 

2) Copying and pasting ID numbers from clinical studies and putting them in a spreadsheet. Rinse and repeat a few hundred times.

3) Typing in some numbers written on a Stata output (I believe for a trial I was not officially involved in but cannot remember for sure) that someone else produced and write them into some tables in word. Boring undesirable grunt work.

4) Attending zoom meetings where I sat like a mute idiot because I had nothing to contribute since I had received almost no training as to what the purpose of my job or my reason for being there was.

5) Review standard operating procedures (SOPs) for things like spelling and wording. Another occasion of futile busy work.


The next thing to describe is the workplace environment itself. This was entirely a remote role with no requirement to be in the office in the time I was there, yet the HR / admin staff did not make me aware of this meaning I moved to York (an expensive city, particularly in September 2021 when rent was at a record high) in a rip off flat for no reason. However, when I arrived I was told that it would be remote for the next 6 months, meaning that the employer had led me to sign up for a 6 month tenancy for no reason. The work environment was dull and depressing. On days I worked from home (almost all of them) I effectively spent my time sat at a screen on standby with no purpose for the day while my mind atrophied. Some days I went into the office to try and delude myself that there was some purpose in being there, but for the most part I sat in silence and didn't have cause to speak to anyone as I was on different projects to them; besides i was not in a talkative mood because I felt like I was trapped in a horrible purgatory. 

In summary I firmly believe that this job should be avoided. The role (and in my opinion the wider field) is one of the most boring things I can imagine. I also think the dull work environment adds greatly to the problem of feeling helplessly trapped. However, the true awfulness of this role derives from the sheer meaningless of it. Sending hours a day wasting your life away either doing menial busy work which you instinctually know will mean nothing to anyone or worse, having to do make believe work in order to create the illusion in a doomed attempt to convince anyone (but yourself most of all) that you are not some useless parasite who has neither anything to offer or reason to be there.


All the Professional Support staff at the University of York in my experience have really cared for the students and really felt they were making a difference to their education and life. There is a lot of enthusiasm and eagerness. Likewise, I've never met an un-helpful colleague: they all are so willing to support and assist you. There is a really positive culture.

However, the inefficiencies at the University really let it down. There is a lack of collaboration between Departments and Central Services which means that every Department is its own little fiefdom and does things differently, and Central tries to impose its will on Departments without actually know what impact their changes will cause. You'll find two Departments doing something in two totally different ways with no guidance for Central, but then Central will come up with some "brilliant" new idea and want all staff to implement it, without thinking on how this will actually affect front-line staff and services.

The University does seem to be trying to address these inefficiencies through their current Change Programme as part of the Vision for 2030, however confidence in this is very low and there is a lot of doubt on if it will be successful or not. It seems to be redundancy and centralisation by-stealth. Information about the Change Programme is vague and confusing and there has been little input from 'normal' staff.

The sector is challenging right now with Government budget cuts, academic strikes, impacts of Brexit, and grumbles over tuition fees. It makes for a fairly tense and stressed atmosphere without much feeling of a long-term stability.

Management often seem out-of-touch and communications from the Vice Chancellors office is vague and confusing.

There is not much opportunity to progress into a senior role within Departments unless you move 'sideways' into either Central or another Dept. Academics have a promotion framework, but there is nothing for Professional Support staff.

Overall? A 5/10 job. It has great pay for an office role but can be stressful and uncertain.

Pros:
 * Prestigious university with a good reputation
 * Opportunity to work in academia
Cons:
 * Limited career progression opportunities
 * Opaque and bureaucratic processes
 * Frequent strikes due to pension and pay disputes
Review:
I worked as an Associate Lecturer at the University of York for five years and found my experience to be somewhat disappointing. While the university itself has a strong reputation, my time there was marred by a lack of career progression and a frustrating work environment.
Despite my best efforts and dedication, I found it difficult to advance in my role. The university's promotion process seemed opaque and often favored those with stronger connections or research outputs. This made it challenging to feel motivated or invested in my long-term future there.
Additionally, I encountered numerous bureaucratic hurdles and administrative challenges. The university's processes were often slow and inefficient, leading to unnecessary stress and frustration. These issues were compounded by the frequent strikes that disrupted the academic calendar due to ongoing disputes over pensions and pay.
Overall, while the University of York offers the opportunity to work in academia, I would caution potential candidates to be aware of the limited career prospects and challenging work environment. If you are seeking a stable and rewarding academic career, I would recommend exploring other institutions that offer clearer pathways for progression and a more supportive work culture.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Excellent work/life balance and positive attitude to home working. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Culture that allows poor behaviours which can be unprofessional and unproductive from some people. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Overall positive, there is reluctance to challenge and appropriately deal with poor behaviours 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Usually meeting-focused to start work, make decisions and update on progress. Heavy reliance on zoom which seems to happen more than face-to-face

Opportunity to support students and academics, administering student lifecycle from initial enquiry through to graduation and beyond, in many cases.  Training in use SITS student records software, use of Excel and Word on a daily basis.  Nature of relationship with students has changed since introduction of tuition fees.  Students (and, particularly, their parents) see themselves as customers and have greater expectations, particularly if things do not work out as anticipated.  Time taken in monitoring attendance of international students on Tier 4 visas could be used instead to enhance student experience.

I enjoyed working at the University of York. The city is fantastic, the university is great, the location is great. I did what I loved to do. Management was nice and friendly. Pay was according to the national pay scales; so, I cannot complain! My job was a research assistant position; so there is not much of a job security for these positions.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Flexi time working, general laid back but productive approach to working. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Being restricted in our role due to budgeting. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Fantastic, it really suits me and how I approach work. All teams gel well together who need to.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I always have tasks, projects to be working on, and I’m always in touch with our team, or other teams if I need any assistance.

I gain some of the important knowledge during my work at University of York, for example after working at York now I am;
•	Expert in data collection and management
•	Proficient in RCT & Qualitative research 
•	Expert in organising, analysing, and managing large data sets to drive research project success.
•	Experience of writing grant proposal 
•	Proficient in various software programs, including Microsoft Office (MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel), Endnote, Qualtrics and NVivo.
•	Expert in interpretation of qualitative data and data extraction

Volunteering at the University of York was incredible. I developed and improved my skills as well as my social connections. But most importantly, I helped with research in the developmental psychology field, which made really how passionate lecturers are in what they do. Volunteering there felt really rewarding. The hardest part of the job was how some tasks could be repetitive, but within its repetitiveness, there were always things that made you ponder about related things about the field, or the goal of the project.

The university was proficient at making its students work to their best potential. The opportunities available were endless and support for future career prospects always on hand. The Tea and Coffee cub was one of those opportunities and the best thing I took up at University. The most gratifying aspect was the ability to provide someone who is lonely with some company. Listening to their stories and hearing about their lives not only made them feel good, but taught me to be patient and considerate.

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