The Staff Association membership is incredibly diverse. We encompass a wide range of roles, backgrounds, lived experiences, and so much more. Our mission at the UWSA is to cultivate a progressive work environment where staff feel safe, empowered to grow, and able to thrive, but we need different things to make this a reality.
To help us all understand each other better, we’re launching a new blog and social media series featuring members’ own experiences and words. We’re kicking it off with contract staff, who make up 18% of the UWSA.
Importantly, many of the most significant difficulties and stressors that contract staff face are structural, such as (non)renewal notice requirements, disparities in benefits, and lack of access to internal job postings. We are advocating for changes to some of these barriers to success.
At the same time, there’s a lot that all permanent staff can do to create a more inclusive and supportive environment and help contract staff feel valued and respected at work, and it starts with taking the time to listen and understand each other’s experiences.
Working on contract is anxiety provoking - we can't plan for the future. Please be kind to us.
Here are seven things we can all do to help our contract colleagues thrive at work.
1. Acknowledge the stress caused by job insecurity
Contract staff face significant uncertainty about their job future, especially right now. Offering empathy and support can help alleviate some of their stress. Offer a listening ear, provide reassurance, and create a supportive work environment.
It’s scary knowing that my contract likely will not be renewed and that adds a layer of stress to everyday.
2. Recognize the benefits you have that they don’t
Contract staff have far fewer sick days, no annual pay increases, and often have limited vacation time and no dental benefits. This can add to the stress of being in a precarious role, with fewer opportunities to relieve that stress. Some of these disparities carry over even once someone is hired as permanent, as years on contract don’t count toward vacation accrual, for example.
As a contract staff member, I always feel like a have-not. I have the same qualifications, education and experience as permanent staff, I should be treated that way.
3. Show your trust and appreciation
Make an effort to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of contract staff. Simple gestures of recognition and appreciation can go a long way in making them feel included, respected, and valued.
4. Include them fully in the team
Many contract staff mentioned feeling like second-class citizens and feeling isolated. Do what you can to include them in departmental activities, conversations, and decisions.
5. Be careful not to take advantage
Contract staff feel added pressure to do more work and to people-please. Take care not to inadvertently contribute to this!
6. Facilitate training and development
Contract staff have a steep learning curve. Help contract staff on your team integrate quickly by offering thorough training and being available to answer questions. Share knowledge and resources to make their transition smoother. Encourage their professional development by sharing opportunities to build skills and experience.
Be patient with me – I'm doing the best I can to learn a new job every year or two.
7. Communicate more
We are working to help keep everyone informed to reduce uncertainty, and the university is increasing its communication to employees. You can support these efforts by talking about relevant updates and changes with coworkers. Not everyone will get to every email, so the more we all share with each other, the more informed we all are.
Thank you for reading!
If you’d like to share more about the contract staff experience, we encourage you to get in touch with the Contract Staff Working Group, which is preparing a report over the next few months.
Up next
Our next posts in this series will explore the experiences of disabled/chronically ill staff and Black/African Canadian/Caribbean staff, in honour of Black History Month.
This post was created from staff members’ own words, partially summarized by Microsoft Copilot. We uploaded 33 staff comments on January 29 and asked Copilot to “identify themes and lessons that staff can put into place to support contract coworkers.” We then reworked and revised the Copilot results. Any quotations are direct from staff submissions with only minor edits for length or clarity.