University-Wide Understaffing and Unlivable Wages
I have worked extremely hard at ASU for the past 7 years in 3 different departments, and in every department I’ve been employed in as university staff, the units are constantly facing understaffing the resulting additional work load beyond Job Descriptions and Duty Statements.
ASU is constantly pushing forward that we are a high ranking place to work in publications like Newsweek and Forbes, placing it on our staff main page and continually using it as a shield when very real, negative workplace issues that employees are facing due to ASU Human Resources policies and Benefits.
Are you listening when we express concern to the outlets that you have given us to have a voice? Income disparity exists between those who are classified as managers and directors, versus the people that are doing the work that those same people oversee.
To add to this, the concept of increasing minimum levels of PTO vacation accruals, in lieu of livable wages, by design will create more workload for those attempting to use it. Additionally, departments and units will put large bars and blackout dates for employees where they are unable to use their PTO due to understaffing in units. ASU HR is aware that it is a cheaper option for the university business to offer increased PTO instead of wage increases. This is a disingenuous offering that has been implemented in corporate institutions such as Change.org, where employees are given “unlimited” PTO by theory inside of a policy, yet the policy is left purposely ambiguous when it comes to implementing it. In multiple positions, I have seen the result, as individual managers across the board are left with the only option to keep their units functioning with their lower staffing levels. They implement constraints on who can take vacation time due to workload, which includes the arbitrary in-person coverage in non-front facing offices.
I know that the University places itself first in this matter, always making decisions for our pay and our benefits which serve the business’s interests firsts, and then try to sell an idea of larger amounts of PTO as a way to respond to higher living expenses in one of the countries highest rising rates of rent, housing, transportation, and expenses across the board since the pandemic started in 2020. Given all of this feedback, how will the administration respond? We are not looking for boiler plate responses, which attempt to downplay or dismiss our urgent concerns as either a personal problem or a singular departmental problem.
It is inhumane to effectively gaslight your employees that their struggles are not real and valid, while they are responding in clear language about issues they are experiencing. Your staff are literally begging for better working conditions and monetary compensation. What can we expect from the Administration, and when can we expect a response these issues that address our humanity as those who make education and innovation possible?
Resolution/Notes
Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns. We appreciate your input as we continue to review our total rewards programs based on market dynamics and our workforce. To better respond, please contact the Office of Human Resources directly by completing a service ticket or contact your OHR Business Partner. Thank you.