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Cited by 252Higher Education Governance and DevelopmentPublic Policy and Administration ResearchManagement and Organizational Studies

Stressing Academe: The Wear and Tear of the New Public Management

Chandler, John, Barry, Jim, Clark, Heather·2002·Human Relations
DOI 10.1177/0018726702055009019
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Abstract

In recent years academic commentators have born witness to the emergence of what has been called a New Public Management, or NPM, evident in a number of countries around the world. While the literature has sought to document its appearance and attempt to assess its impact, this article considers an aspect of the NPM which has been little explored: the human cost associated with its introduction. In examining higher education in England, one of the countries where the NPM is thought to have been embraced at least relatively enthusiastically, the article explores research on the experiences and reactions of those working in academe to recent attempts to change working practices through an analysis of the stresses and strains experienced by those subjected to the processes of managerialism. In drawing on published sources and the authors’ own empirical work it is argued that the NPM, not least in intensifying the labour of academics as intellectual workers, has provoked a range of responses which include collusion, resentment and resistance. The consequences of the NPM, it is argued, include blaming of the victim and diverting attention away from processes of control and the action of human agents who initiate stressful conditions of work by implementing the NPM in particularly harsh ways. It is further contended that attempts to encroach on professional autonomy, and operationalize the NPM in English universities in harsh ways, are being mediated by those subjected to the changes who are seeking to preserve elements of collegiality.

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Crossref · 10.1177/0018726702055009019

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  • Job insecurity has been identified as a major source of occupational stress in research on job stress of university staff.

    “In research on job stress of university staff, job insecurity has been identified as a major source of occupational stress (e.g.Gillespie et al., 2001;Kinman, 2001;Chandler et al., 2002;Winefield et al., 2003;Tytherleigh et al., 2005;Reevy and Deason, 2014).”

    From Work organization and mental health problems in PhD students (2017) · cites this paper as Chandler et al., 2002

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Authors
Chandler, J., Barry, J., & Clark, H.
Affiliations
University of East London (GB)
Corresponding author
  • Chandler, John
  • Barry, Jim
ORCID
Chandler, John
Venue
Human Relations
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2002-09
Volume
55
Issue
9
Pages
1051-1069
ISSN
  • 0018-7267 (ISSN-L)
  • 1741-282X
DOI
10.1177/0018726702055009019
OpenAlex
W1974919760
Cited by
251
References
58
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 11
FWCI
25.95
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
Human Relations (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • City University of Hong Kong
  • University of Strathclyde
  • University of Hong Kong
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Higher Education Governance and Development
  • Social Sciences › Public Administration › Public Policy and Administration Research
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Management and Organizational Studies
Keywords
New Public Management, managerialism, higher education, academic stress, professional autonomy, collegiality, resistance to management, collusion, blame, English universities, work intensification

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