Mindfulness is about accessing awareness and learning to respond skilfully in the present moment, and it is exactly what our sector needs.
Right now, we are amid a mental health and wellbeing crisis experienced by students and staff alike; in March 2023, Rosie Tressler, Chief Executive at Student Minds, urged universities and governments to address the mental health crisis among students. Staff experience/people surveys in most UK Universities also reflect the situation.
For instance, the University of St Andrews staff survey 2021 and the University of Loughborough staff survey 2022 both show that only 52 per cent of respondents feel positive about wellbeing at work. The remaining 48 per cent chose negative or neutral in expressing their experience of mental health and wellbeing support. The University of Manchester’s staff survey results – summarised on the university website -noted that
many staff are positive about their working conditions, but a sizeable proportion are not. They report that they are not able to manage their job pressures, their workload or achieve a good balance between work and home.
