THE wellbeing of thousands of Dumfries and Galloway Council employees has come into sharp focus following the results of a workforce-wide survey.
Only half of workers say they have an acceptable workload, while less than two thirds of staff say that they “achieve a good balance between their work life and private life”.
Asked if they feel that Dumfries and Galloway Council is “genuinely interested in the wellbeing staff”, only 30 percent of respondents agreed.
The details of this 2023 employee engagement survey were published and shared with council employees four months ago, however the full report and a subsequent action plan has now been shared with councillors.
With around 6500 staff members, the council is the region’s biggest employer. The survey was distributed in various ways in June last year and received 1824 responses (a rate of 28 percent).
The survey themes identified were: culture, employee experience, communication, readiness for change, and wellbeing.
While some of the results were quite concerning, 73 percent of respondents said that their line manager was supportive of their health and wellbeing at work.
And the top three reasons for job satisfaction were: good team, good line manager, and helping the community.
In the culture section of the survey, 86 percent of people said they are treated with kindness and respect, while 82 percent said they were trusted to make their own decisions.
However, when quizzed if they would “speak highly of the council when asked”, just ten percent said yes. In the readiness for change section, only 13 percent of staff believe that changes are well implemented in their departments – and just 14 percent say that changes are planned out well.
When it comes to internal communication, 71 percent of staff agree that they understand the team’s priorities. Meanwhile, only 18 percent of respondents said that communication is good across the whole organisation.
Council chiefs insist that an action plan is being created in collaboration and engagement with Joint Trades Union (JTU) colleagues.
