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Academic anomie: implications of the ‘great resignation’ for leadership in post-COVID higher education

Richard Watermeyer Orcid Logo, Richard Bolden, Cathryn Knight, Tom Crick Orcid Logo

Higher Education, Volume: 89, Issue: 5, Pages: 1215 - 1233

Swansea University Author: Tom Crick Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1007/s10734-024-01268-0

Abstract

The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has ignited a near universal rethink of what is tolerable or desirable in work settings. In higher education—where discontent has been exacerbated by the pandemic—the potential for a ‘great resignation’ is a very real threat. The long-term impact of a crisis m...

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Published in: Higher Education
ISSN: 0018-1560 1573-174X
Published: Springer Nature 2025
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69672
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last_indexed 2025-06-11T08:23:16Z
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spelling 2025-06-10T12:51:57.7137160 v2 69672 2025-06-10 Academic anomie: implications of the ‘great resignation’ for leadership in post-COVID higher education 200c66ef0fc55391f736f6e926fb4b99 0000-0001-5196-9389 Tom Crick Tom Crick true false 2025-06-10 SOSS The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has ignited a near universal rethink of what is tolerable or desirable in work settings. In higher education—where discontent has been exacerbated by the pandemic—the potential for a ‘great resignation’ is a very real threat. The long-term impact of a crisis management approach in universities has led to a state of ‘pandemia’, according to Watermeyer et al., (British Journal of Sociology of Education 42:651-666, 2021b), whereby academics feel alienated and subjected to a ‘toxic’ work environment that lacks shared purpose and values. This article draws on Durkheim’s notion of ‘anomie’ to explore what leads academics to leave the sector and to consider how the outward migration of staff could be addressed through changes to leadership and management practice. Evidence is taken from an online survey distributed in the United Kingdom (UK), which collected demographic information of n = 167 academics and open-text responses to a question which asked respondents to provide their reasons for quitting higher education. Four key themes emerge which elucidate a trajectory of academic anomie: (i) declining quality of academic management, (ii) the pandemic as a disruptive awakening, (iii) the erosion of values and meaning and (iv) a sense of being ‘trapped’ within academia. Potential resolutions are suggested in respect of what respondents identify as the root cause of staff attrition—toxic management culture. Collective and inclusive governance and commitment from academics at all career stages to the leadership of groups, departments, institutions and the wider higher education sector are advocated as antidotes to academic anomie. Journal Article Higher Education 89 5 1215 1233 Springer Nature 0018-1560 1573-174X Academic work; Workforce attrition; Great resignation; Workplace discontent; University leadership; Post-COVID university 1 5 2025 2025-05-01 10.1007/s10734-024-01268-0 COLLEGE NANME Social Sciences School COLLEGE CODE SOSS Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee 2025-06-10T12:51:57.7137160 2025-06-10T12:32:20.4773574 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Social Sciences - Education and Childhood Studies Richard Watermeyer 0000-0002-2365-3771 1 Richard Bolden 2 Cathryn Knight 3 Tom Crick 0000-0001-5196-9389 4 69672__34449__eda890caeb4b4e6e80fda38acdb3a66d.pdf 10734_2024_Article_1268.pdf 2025-06-10T12:32:20.4771256 Output 668403 application/pdf Version of Record true © The Author(s) 2024. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Academic anomie: implications of the ‘great resignation’ for leadership in post-COVID higher education
spellingShingle Academic anomie: implications of the ‘great resignation’ for leadership in post-COVID higher education
Tom Crick
title_short Academic anomie: implications of the ‘great resignation’ for leadership in post-COVID higher education
title_full Academic anomie: implications of the ‘great resignation’ for leadership in post-COVID higher education
title_fullStr Academic anomie: implications of the ‘great resignation’ for leadership in post-COVID higher education
title_full_unstemmed Academic anomie: implications of the ‘great resignation’ for leadership in post-COVID higher education
title_sort Academic anomie: implications of the ‘great resignation’ for leadership in post-COVID higher education
author_id_str_mv 200c66ef0fc55391f736f6e926fb4b99
author_id_fullname_str_mv 200c66ef0fc55391f736f6e926fb4b99_***_Tom Crick
author Tom Crick
author2 Richard Watermeyer
Richard Bolden
Cathryn Knight
Tom Crick
format Journal article
container_title Higher Education
container_volume 89
container_issue 5
container_start_page 1215
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 0018-1560
1573-174X
doi_str_mv 10.1007/s10734-024-01268-0
publisher Springer Nature
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Social Sciences - Education and Childhood Studies{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Social Sciences - Education and Childhood Studies
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description The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has ignited a near universal rethink of what is tolerable or desirable in work settings. In higher education—where discontent has been exacerbated by the pandemic—the potential for a ‘great resignation’ is a very real threat. The long-term impact of a crisis management approach in universities has led to a state of ‘pandemia’, according to Watermeyer et al., (British Journal of Sociology of Education 42:651-666, 2021b), whereby academics feel alienated and subjected to a ‘toxic’ work environment that lacks shared purpose and values. This article draws on Durkheim’s notion of ‘anomie’ to explore what leads academics to leave the sector and to consider how the outward migration of staff could be addressed through changes to leadership and management practice. Evidence is taken from an online survey distributed in the United Kingdom (UK), which collected demographic information of n = 167 academics and open-text responses to a question which asked respondents to provide their reasons for quitting higher education. Four key themes emerge which elucidate a trajectory of academic anomie: (i) declining quality of academic management, (ii) the pandemic as a disruptive awakening, (iii) the erosion of values and meaning and (iv) a sense of being ‘trapped’ within academia. Potential resolutions are suggested in respect of what respondents identify as the root cause of staff attrition—toxic management culture. Collective and inclusive governance and commitment from academics at all career stages to the leadership of groups, departments, institutions and the wider higher education sector are advocated as antidotes to academic anomie.
published_date 2025-05-01T05:28:49Z
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