Are Academic Workloads Increasing? The Post‐War Survey Evidence in the UK

It is widely believed by current academics, in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, that their workloads have increased significantly. This article examines this belief by analysing the findings of a series of surveys that have reported on this and related issues since 1945. These suggest that: while there has been an increase in academic workloads, much of this had occurred by the end of the 1960s; the position of research appears to have been maintained, though at a lower level in the newer universities/former polytechnics than in the older universities; much of the increased workload has come in the form of administrative demands. Possible explanations for the apparent contradictions between perceptions and the survey evidence are suggested.