The everyday blog of Richard Bartle.
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11:32am on Monday, 6th June, 2022:
Anecdote
Just before the Jubilee 4-day weekend we've just had, I received an email from the university's staffing unit, telling me I have 72.2 hours of annual leave to book. It has to be spent by 31st July. Given that I'm part-time, that works out at three weeks and four days. So, it's basically half the time between now and the end of July, then.
The staffing unit (or rather its standard form email) expresses some desire that I take all my annual leave. "Taking our annual leave is pivitol to ensure we get the rest and relaxation we need to keep healthy."
Yes, staffing unit, that's all well and good, but you need to let the people who keep giving me work to do know this. I was sent two "urgent" emails during the Jubilee holiday (both of which could have waited until today). If I did take three weeks and four days off, you'd still expect me to supervise my postgraduates. You'd still expect me to be available to be called to speak to the examination board if the external examiners find anything amiss with my marking. You'd still expect me to read the PhD thesis I'm examining and the job applications I'm assessing.
The reason the staffing unit sends these emails out is that the university gets into trouble if too many of its staff don't take all their holidays, because it looks as if they're overworking them. The possibility that the reason it looks as if they're overworking us might be that they are, in fact, overworking us, doesn't seem to have entered anyone's head. New initiatives never replace old initiatives, they just pile up on top of them.
I suppose I'll use up my annual leave anyway, just to stop them bothering me about it.
I'm thinking I'll look through my diary and book off every day for which I have a meeting scheduled.
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