lecturer

administrative officer

postdoctoral research associate

postdoctoral associate

fellow

Royal-Holloway-University-of-London

Pros

-	Lovely team of internationally minded colleagues.
-	Nice Campus environment.
-	Some members of Senior Management who acknowledge success and hard work. 

Cons

-	No autonomy: current notions of team management presume that people are pawns rather than players. Team management revolves around overly pernicious supervision (such as four attendance monitoring spreadsheets), ‘if-then’ rewards for those who do not question rationale or decisions, and other forms of control such as not providing a hospitable environment for feedback, contribution or alternative thinking.

-	Culture of subliminal bullying: Name dropping of senior figures whilst setting deadlines and tasks, setting of unreasonable deadlines, excessive monitoring, denial of accomplishments, being blamed for mistakes in absentia, stealing credit, 'silent treatment' etc. 

-	Lack of Trust: the language of control and intimidation implies lack of trust without ever giving justification. Such scrutiny does not apply to more senior members, who may travel freely to low ROI markets such as Brazil without evidence of having booked more than one/two days of activity (according to invoices) and no data-based justification, trip report or shared itinerary (all of which are required of those ‘lower down’ the pecking order).

-	Lack of foresight and inclusion: Key decisions being made without consulting team members who are then expected to bring said decisions to life (pawns rather than players). There is then little to no explanation of the business case for such decisions and its too late for input. The amount of money that is wasted on projects that don’t take into account regional expertise is absurd! 

-	Lack of conflict strategies: There are NO agreed methods to handle conflict, so it does not simmer and go behind closed doors. The assumption is that the more senior you are, the more right to authority you have. Any attempt to voice frustrations is followed up with a delayed and clandestine reprisal and/or exclusion from future opportunities. On the other hand, those who sit quietly and do not contribute critical thought are offered some opportunities to cover trips etc (so much for being a university). This creates a culture of 'leader and disciples', with team members now so firmly distrustful that they are afraid to speak up.

-	Duty of care during travel: One senior director plainly addressed the legitimate concerns of staff travelling overseas as “some people confusing health and safety with general discomfort of travel” in a team meeting. This resulted in a continued culture of fear to speak up and contributed to both mental and physical distress.

Royal Holloway has a beautiful campus - working from home atm can make some feel disengaged from the work/ brand but once back on campus this may change.
RHUL used to have a very strong sense of community and value - it is still there but I  think al lot of new staff will not have had the opportunity to experience this yet.
The Careers team are really supportive of each other and I feel very much part of a team where people will go out of their way to help each other. The current Director of Careers is open, transparent and supportive. She makes time to speak with the team and encourages lively debate and solutions. She also prioritises wellbeing so I feel if needed I could approach her with any issues that I may have that would impact my work.
At a time when the Careers service is being asked to do more and has a huge focus in the strategic plan it is incredulous that resource is being taken away, it really does feel that those higher up have no clue on what resource is needed to deliver what they want and promise to students.
This isn't a reflection of the job role - it is varied, challenging and fun. The team are brilliant and to be honest for now the pay is good  although with resource being cut my salary may well start to feel inadequate to the amount of work being asked.
The HR team are typically not great but the trainings and development on offer are excellent and there are always opportunities to get involved with events and projects around the College.
As a whole the student population seem switched on, polite and a general joy to work with. 

I worked in student recruitment which has seen a huge turnover of staff in the last two years, as has the whole marketing section of the university. Sadly this has continued with over 50% of employees leaving in the past 12 months.

This is due to a toxic culture of intimidation and constantly poor decision making at director level. The whole department has been in transition status for the past year and at the time of leaving a permanent director has still not been appointed. Very basic mistakes are made regularly causing the university to get in deeper trouble with its recruitment numbers. Most of these could have been avoided if any effort was made by senior managers to consult the 'hands on' staff who are generally very pleasant and just want to get on with their jobs.

The working environment is very poor with over 30 employees crammed into 3 small rooms and the director having a large office space unused. Mental health has been a huge problem in the department, as staff are dealing with high pressure, uncertainty and unhappiness on a daily basis.

Advertised 24k a year, but it's actually 17k a year because they you work 4on 4off they take the 31 hours you work "pro rata" it and decide it over 12 months.
They deduct half an hour for a beak you don't get.
Your job is not as advertised either. What it actually is to be ordered around by 4 lazy and incompetent security officers. 
You will be sent to ALL incidents, assaults, drugs, noise complaints, lock outs, antisocial behaviour, trespassing etc. Sometimes alone because your partner is off sick or has resigned (like they do after a month or two)
Security will not back you up, instead in the morning handover the report will state falsely that security attended all these incidents instead of campus watch.
After you were inducted, you will never see your line manager again, ever. (He works days, you work nights)
You might receive uniform once, if you did it will be the last time. After that prepare to buy your own.
The university doesn't care either, no matter how serious the incident, just as long as it does not make the news.

As Bar Supervisor, I assisted the on-duty manager in the operational running of SURHUL. This included function nights, a high-pressured, fast-paced environment, as well as the general running of venues throughout the week. As a long-term staff member, I was asked, on occasion, to look after the bar office and open the venue when managers have been called in to meetings.

My responsibilities included excellent customer service (this also applied to the bar staff position) as well as helping with the development of new, or returning, bar staff. I provided a confidential and understanding link between management and the staff and regularly attended to sensitive issues.

Throughout my time at SURHUL, I gained a high level of communication, customer service, time management and responsibility. Although the job was often stressful, I learned to cope with a high-pressure environment.

I love the location of the RHUL and enjoy working with the students there. I am a flexible worker there at the moment as a Specialist Mental Health Mentor and thoroughly enjoy going into working, meeting my colleagues, line manager and students. The campus is in a beautiful location as well, which always helps. 
Being a psychotherapist already, I have learned the more direct approach to help and support students that come with the job of a mental health mentor. 
Working flexible hours, the hardest part of the job is to actually see the students on the day an at the time arranged. Students tend to cancel last minute for various reasons but unfortunately that also impacts on me, as a casual worker.

The company has improves hugely since I began working there in 2014. Management has changed and shifted and this has had an obvious impact on the company. The company are much better organised but have room for improvement. The staff are treated well and shifts are given based around our studies which means our studies are supported and prioritised by the company. The pay is very fair but some jobs within the company should be paid more. It would be more beneficial for staff members to receive actual qualifications to support them in the future. Overall my experience working for this company has been satisfactory and i would recommend a job here to anyone working alongside their studies.

I enjoyed my time at RHUL and I feel they offer good opportunities to progress if you are willing/able to move between departments.

The work life balance is good, you get extra days off at Christmas and Easter and are rarely asked to work extra hours. The occasional open day or evening but usually on a voluntary basis and you'll get the time back in lieu. This could differ between departments.

Things can be a bit slow to change, lots of processes and procedures to follow before something new can be implemented.

Wages aren't great for the area but there is good job security and a good pension. Not allowed to take holiday during peak times which can be frustrating.

Management are terribly rude and patronising. They won’t support you at all.
They seem lovely to begin with them turn.
The cleaners are very two faced and slate you down to the ground when you aren’t around. 
Your ‘confidential’ and ‘private’ matters discussed between management and you is spread round like gossip.
Not understanding of anything 
I went into the company happy and full of life and had to leave due to becoming depressed and anxious all the time due to the treatment from management 
Treat you like robots rather than humans.
Certain staff members who are close to management get paid more and on the sly.

The Hub was a great place to work around my degree. It offers a flexible contract so I could work around my degree, there were plenty of shifts and there was generous pay for staff. A typical shift involves setting up the dining hall, serving customers and cleaning. The Hub is a focal point for many staff, students and guests so there is pressure to offer a good service. You learn a lot about food hygiene. Management are approachable and easy to work with. The best part of the job is the friendly team I worked with.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Lecturer 33 salaries reported	£53,457 per year
Administrative officer 12 salaries reported	£29,535 per year
Postdoctoral research associate 7 salaries reported	£42,912 per year
Postdoctoral associate 1 salary reported	£41,374 per year
Fellow 3 salaries reported	£42,407 per year

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