FOCUS: Seen but not heard, Part 2

· Two A-3 employees in the University's Accounts Payable department said staff members in their office have had several problems dealing with supervisors who they said do not appreciate their work. The employees, who also requested anonymity, will be called Michelle and Susan. "Most people don't feel like they're appreciated by the administration," Michelle said. "We're not being told we're doing a good job or that you as an individual might be doing some good work." Michelle said that because of staff members' discontent with their treatment, the department attended a human resources forum to allow employees to air their opinions. She said her supervisor "is doing better." The two employees said they often feel overlooked in terms of promotions and pay raises, saying the University would rather hire unaffiliated applicants than promote from within the department. "[The problem is that] people who come in, in a year or two they're making a lot more money than some of us who've been here for years," Michelle said. She said she has been at the University for four years and earns the same amount of money as someone hired four months ago. To add to that, Michelle said, "Nine times out of ten, you have to train the new person, so you sit here burning. The person's making more money than you, but you have to train them." Michelle and Susan said they filed a complaint against the University with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission last year because of the pay inequity and lack of appreciation. Michelle said the University's response to the complaint was simply to "up everybody's pay, so by the time they came to look at the numbers, they were on an even scale." Susan added that she thinks the administration "paid us off. "[University officials] made us feel like we had to explain and ask for [the pay increase] to get it," Susan said. "They never said they were compensating us because of a mistake they made." The women also said that they are paid "nowhere near where we're supposed to be," according to the pay scale recently published in the Almanac. Despite the University's effort to provide advocacy and counselling centers for staff members, Susan said the resources are not sufficient to solve many problems. She added that the two women brought their complaints to several University services and administrators before filing a complaint with the EEOC. But not all staff members feel there are problems between employees and supervisors. Often, the tensions vary by department or area of the University. A-1 staff member and Risk Management Claims Supervisor Ron Jasner said, "I feel like we're an integral part of the University. We get exposure in this office to lots of different areas at Penn." "We enjoy working under Marna's [Whittington] leadership," Jasner continued. "She and Ken, my boss, are easy to work under . . . that's 90 percent of enjoying your job." · University programs in place prior to the Faust report continue to aid in staff relations. Foremost among informal counseling centers available to University employees is the Faculty Staff Assistance Program, an eight-year-old resource center. The eight social workers of the FSAP "try to empower administrators and employees [by guaranteeing their] rights to dignity and respect in the workplace," said program director Carol Speight. Speight has been with the office for four years, and has headed it for two-and-one-half years. Grievance statistics within the office have been consistent since the FSAP was established, Speight said. About 500 employees informally bring cases to the office each year. Speight said the FSAP attracts employees because "a lot of people are scared and don't want to go through a formal process." The program promises its clients anonymity. Any University employee or employee's family member may take advantage of the free service. Chris said that she has recently begun to take advantage of some of the program's workshops in order to learn how to deal with other's actions towards her. "The one person I've met from there is tremendous," she said. Twenty-eight percent of FSAP cases involve work-related issues, such as conflicts between employees and co-workers or supervisors. According to Speight, half of the people who bring their complaints to the FSAP eventually pursue formal action. She said she thinks that all supervisors, chairpersons, faculty and managers should have formal communications training, although she does not foresee that in the near future. "I don't know how that could be implemented but it would be very worthwhile," she said. "[However,] one thing will not resolve the entire problem." Employees who use the FSAP evaluate the service in satisfaction surveys one month after their cases are closed. Speight said that 97 percent of the office's clients are satisfied. The program's counselors also do regular evaluations of their services. The FSAP, which was initiated by the School of Social Work, is funded by the Department of Human Resources. The other University resources available to University employees are the offices of the Ombudsman, Labor Relations, Affirmative Action and Staff Relations, the Penn Women's Center and the African American Resource Center. The Faust committee only looked at the Ombudsman's Office, which only employs two staff members. Lucid said members "did not think when we wrote the report that the Ombudman's office was adequate in dealing with these conflicts." The Faust report does not discuss any specific resource centers. Hyatt, however, pointed out that the office reports only to the president and provides a "safe place" for employees' complaints. "The Ombudsman can help coordinate and bring our resources together," Hyatt said in the office's defense. · In addition to Stupine's report, the Human Resources Department is in the process of writing an employees' handbook to summarize the rights and responsibilities of University employees. The book is in its second draft, which will hopefully be finished by the end of the fiscal year, said Rogers Davis, director of recruitment and retention for human resources. Davis, who said the handbook will not take the place of University policy, said he does not think staff relations with other University members constitutes "an accute morale problem." Hyatt and Stupine said they are optimistic about the future of staff members at the University "Change is going to be one in increments," Hyatt said, although Chris said she thinks that the University "has not moved out of the Stone Age." Hyatt also said that change must start at the "grass-roots level." "Everybody has to buy in on the need to change," she explained. "An institution's strength and vitality lies in the well-being of the workforce." "Instead of facing a crisis, we are facing a difficult situation," Stupine added. Stupine reiterated the need to republish the possible avenues available to foster improved staff relations. He said it must be known that "there is never any fallback to using the resources." Both Stupine and Hyatt reinforced the fact that on a routine, day-to-day basis, there are positive relations between faculty and staff. "There are many faculty members at Penn who have a committment to staff that make the University a better place," Hyatt said. "We are fortunate that we have the types of day-to-day relations that we do." Many staff members, while complaining about unfair treatment and shaky relations with supervisors, acknowledged that often the situations are isolated incidents. As one academic department employee said, "Most faculty are really nice; it's just certain people . . . " Although Chris admitted that "change is a very slow process," she said, "If I knew then what I know now, I never would have stayed at the University this long. In another place my hard work would have been rewarded."

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