Monthly Poll | Training for Career Mobility
Last month we asked a couple of questions about your preferences for work locations and whether changes to those arrangements would give you cause to seek new employment. I think the results show the challenge administrators face in finding a less temporary solution that will sit well with everyone. We see 32% of our membership would prefer to work from the office most of or all the time. While 68% would prefer to work from home all or most of the time. At 41% the most popular answer was a preference to work from home more often than from the office. After a year of excelling at working remotely because we had to, it’s a relief to have a choice. Many institutions are still trying to balance preferences and logistics as they set policy for the coming years.
We are starting to see some of those decisions come through in position descriptions that outline fully remote or partially remote positions. So, we asked you to weigh in on whether or not policy changes would spur you to seek a new position at a new institution. The responses were quite evenly split with 48% of you responding that job location policies that came in against your working preference would cause you to seek new employment.
We gave you the option to comment on this question and your responses were amazing. There were a number of responses that ring true of research administrators: ”It depends!” And for so many it really does depend on so many factors. Few people undertake a job search without serious cause.
What makes you stay? For some it’s the benefits. One member mentioned that the tuition benefit for her kids outweighed her desire to look for a position at a new institution. For another member it was the benefits that come along with being a state employee.
What makes you look? For many, the catalyst to seeking a new employer was focused on a lack of flexibility. 30% of your comments mentioned considering a job search if there was “no hybrid option” or “limited to no flexibility.” 20% told us you were already looking for a new opportunity.
With career mobility in mind, we want to ask about education and training in this field of ours. What did you start with, and what have you pursued or wish to pursue?
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VJKNPPH
Authored by Heather Brown, Grants and Contracts Administrator
Duke Human Vaccine Institute
#Catalyst#July2021#Membership#MonthlyPoll#SRAIMembersRock