The Realities of the University as a Workplace:

From the SDGs Goals of Gender Equality, Partnership, and Work-Life-Balance

Abstract

  This research group has been working on examining the SDGs of gender equality, partnership, and work-life balance in universities. These goals differ from goals of excellence, efficiency, and reform - which Japanese universities have pursued in the past. The new goals focus on equity and quality-of-life rather than competition and economic growth. Last year, the group conducted a happiness survey among the JACUE members and found that faculty members are happier than other staff members regardless of gender, age, or type of institution. This is all the more interesting as faculty members report working longer hours. Scouring the literature on happiness, one explanation for this difference is that a sense of happiness is determined by the degree of discretion in oneʼs work. It is often claimed that the rise of a knowledge society requires a fundamental shift from industrial societies in terms of work style. The shift includes an emphasis on performance over long work hours, collaboration over competition, and innovation over routine work. Staff members are still constrained by the rigid rules of industrial society, which discourage diversity, partnership, and work-life balance. Universities are in a good position to reform, as the discretionary work style of faculty members can be a model for staff members.