The University of Wisconsin is inviting staff members to participate in the Staff Climate Survey administered by the UW Survey Center to better understand the work environment on campus. Around 16,800 permanent academic and university staff, limited appointees who do not hold a faculty appointment and post-doctoral fellows are invited to participate in the survey, UW spokesperson Greg Bump said in an email statement to The Badger Herald.

The survey asks staff members about aspects of the work environment — including the respondent’s work unit, relationship with their supervisor, opinions on remote work and more, Bump said.

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The survey is expected to take 15 minutes to complete, and staff members should be granted the opportunity to take the survey while in pay status, according to the Office of the Provost. Additionally, the survey is confidential and all questions on the survey are optional.

UW will analyze the results of the survey during summer 2022 and share them in fall 2022 — while protecting the confidentiality of survey participants, Bump said. The goal of the survey is to hear from as many staff members as possible in order to understand the data and identify trends to create a community where every person feels like they belong and can be successful, according to Bump.

Faculty and students previously provided their input on the campus climate in separate surveys.

According to Bump, the data collected from this survey will be useful in developing policies to best suit the needs of UW staff.

“Survey results will show us what we are doing well and where we can do better,” Bump said. “Survey results will guide decisions and shape policies and practices that help create a workplace where everyone feels valued and able to contribute.”

The majority of staff members at UW identify as white, and this trend has slowly been decreasing over the past decade, according to UW’s 2019-2020 Data Digest. The end of the survey features demographic questions that provide context to how people of different backgrounds and identities experience working at UW, Bump said.

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The survey is available in English, Spanish, Hmong, Tibetan, Chinese and Nepali, according to the Office of the Provost. Staff seeking assistance with completing the survey can attend multilingual sessions hosted by Cultural Linguistic Services.

The survey opened April 12 and will be available for staff until May 3. It can be accessed online via email link or in paper form.