The Middlebury Staff Council conducted a survey of all college employees from Jan. 15 to Feb. 12, 2024, receiving responses from 549 individuals, or 55% of staff members. The highest response rates were in Academics (which includes department coordinators and the Office of the Registrar) and Library/ITS. The only three staff districts — Staff Council’s categories for college employees — with less than half of their employees represented were Dining, Business Affairs and the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS).
Three key themes identified by the Staff Council were “pride in our workplace,” “general happiness among employees” and a general improvement compared to the previous survey in 2021, according to a spring 2024 presentation given to administrators and staff that was shared with The Campus. The survey also revealed that concerns about compensation, workload and the cost of living in Vermont and Monterey remain top concerns for college employees.
Toni Thomas, associate dean of academic operations at MIIS and Staff Council representative at large, served on this year’s survey subcommittee along with two other representatives and two employee volunteers. She told The Campus that the Staff Council will break down the data into district-specific results this fall to share with specific supervisors and vice presidents after they worked to ensure representation from all areas of the college.
“We tried to make it more accessible for staff that work in departments where they're not necessarily sitting at a desk most of the day like I am, but a lot of the facilities people, dining people, custodial people,” Thomas said, adding that other representatives provided dedicated opportunities for their district members to access and fill out the form.
Thomas also reflected that she hopes to work on fostering interdepartmental connections after seeing a wider disconnect across areas of the college and different staff members.
“One thing that I was a little bit surprised about is that there was not a lot of connection or communication across departments. And I think that's really an area that we can continue to try and see how we improve that so we're not making decisions in a silo,” she said.
Thomas expressed her gratitude for the over 500 staff members who took the time to respond to the Staff Council’s 2024 survey, adding that it will help inform their work in the coming year.
“We appreciate all the staff that took the time to fill out the survey and share their concerns with us. And we look forward to continuing to help represent them and work on the issues that are particularly of interest,” Thomas said.
Compensation
This year’s survey demonstrated that compensation issues continue to compound for employees: 45.5% of respondents agreed with the statement “I find I need a second source of income to make ends meet.” This number is consistent with past figures; the 2021 survey found 46% needed additional sources of income.
“Although I am fairly compensated for my work, the cost of living is so high that it just barely covers my monthly expenses,” one employee wrote in an anonymous quote highlighted by the Staff Council’s presentation.
A livable hourly wage in Addison County for a single adult with no children is $23.30, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator; the college’s minimum hourly wage as of July 1, 2024 is $18.19, an increase of $0.59 cents from the previous fiscal year, according to Middlebury Human Resources. Even with moderate increases in base pay in recent years, employees continue to report struggling to get by in Addison County on a single income from Middlebury.
“Despite having a Master’s Degree and being in the field for [many] years, my salary compensation is quite below what is sustainable for me and my family. I stay because of the amazing students and a few colleagues,” another employee wrote in the survey. “The fact that the current cost of living in Addison County does not significantly increase all salaries is honestly startling and disrespectful to staff.”
The Campus has previously reported that only 40% of those who work at the college live in the town of Middlebury, while over one in five staff members live further than 15 miles away from campus. Many employees make long commutes from outside Addison County or even Vermont to find affordable housing while working at Middlebury.
Staff also reported dissatisfaction with the current tiered compensation system, suggesting that the program has not yet been widely accepted since it debuted over two years ago in July 2022. Almost half of respondents disagreed with the statement “My job duties are accurately reflected by my pay grade / skill matrix placement,” while a quarter somewhat agreed and only 12% strongly agreed.
“The matrix seems ok, but I struggle in my department with the placement of positions in the grade,” one person wrote, referring to the classifications of “learning,” “growing,” “thriving” or “leading,” which are assigned by work supervisors and correspond to pay rates as set by broader market comparisons. The skill matrix has affected staffing in numerous departments, including Davis Family Library, where seven librarians have left in the past two years, with some citing the lack of career progression and stagnant wages.
Thomas believes that while the compensation system still has both supporters and critics, the survey demonstrated a better understanding of how the system works compared to when it was first introduced over two years ago.
“One of the things that we were glad to see and were able to report is some of the work that HR had done this past year to implement more training with supervisors about how to use the skill matrix and to minimize some of the misunderstandings about how the skill matrix could be used,” Thomas said. “But it’s definitely still a pain point for a lot of people that they would like to see more opportunity for growth and development in the organization and for higher salaries.”
Thomas shared that the survey data will help inform the Staff Council’s agenda this year, including how it will address concerns raised by employees. She cited one recent area of improvement as proof of the council’s impact on compensation issues.
“Last year Staff Council coordinated with Human Resources to shift differential pay adjustment that really benefited quite a few people, mostly on the college campus, but also some in other parts of the broad Middlebury, to help with those that — due to the nature of their job — have to work evenings, have to work weekends, have to work holidays,” she explained, adding that the change was requested in several departments and helps recruit and retain hourly staff.
Benefits
One bright spot for the college’s compensation system continued to be the benefits package, which over 85% of staff respondents somewhat or strongly agreed was satisfactory.
For other respondents, however, the benefits such as health, dental and vision insurance and retirement savings for eligible employees did not fully compensate for greater disappointment in wages.
“The benefits are great but the pay is not adequate for my job duties,” another respondent wrote.
Treatment and Workload
Seventy-five percent of respondents somewhat or strongly agreed that they are “generally treated fairly” at Middlebury, with less than 20% believing that they are not treated fairly at the college. Still, certain respondents noted the discrepancy in treatment by different members of the college community.
“While I do feel as though I am treated fairly, it is important to note that is among staff, not faculty. That divide is inconsistent and inequitable,” one employee wrote.
The survey demonstrated that many other staff members share concerns about the workload and its distribution among employees. Fifty-four percent of respondents said their department does not have adequate staffing to meet its goals, while only 31% said their office had enough people to do so. Twenty-seven percent indicated their workload was not reasonable, while 38% somewhat agreed and 17% strongly agreed it was reasonable.
“I’m increasingly spending more and more time outside of normal working hours trying to catch up on all of my work. While some overtime is to be expected once in a while, this is becoming a more regular occurrence,” one staff member wrote in the survey.
Over 84% strongly or somewhat agreed that their supervisor supported maintaining a work-life balance, although only 52% of respondents said they could complete all their tasks during normal work hours, with 36% saying they could not do so, and 12% neither agreeing or disagreeing with the question.
Professional Development
Professional development and advancement reported mixed results. A majority of staff members felt they received the support they needed to succeed and also indicated that their supervisor played an active role in their development. However, 23% strongly disagreed with the statement “I have opportunities for career advancement,” while 24% somewhat disagreed, and 34% somewhat or strongly agreed.
Recognition
Recognition for their work was another area of mixed results for staff. While an outright majority indicated that the internal recognition and awards programs were not meaningful to them, over 80% of college employees reported that their supervisors and co-workers knew what they did in their roles.
Results for administrators were more mixed. Just two in five respondents indicated feeling that their vice president knew what they did for work. Over a quarter of employees neither agreed nor disagreed as to whether or not their department’s vice president knew their work, expressing uncertainty about their connections to the highest level of Middlebury’s leadership.
“I have no idea if our VP knows what I do!” one employee wrote, adding that their department has still not hired enough people to return to its pre-pandemic size, which impacts its ability to be proactive. “This campus does not have the luxury of ‘working smart.’”
The relationship between employees and their direct leaders at the college appears to be much stronger than the connection between staff members and college leadership. Over 85% of respondents felt comfortable raising work-related issues with direct supervisors. However, 35% said they were not comfortable doing so with Human Resources, and 40% — a plurality — said the same about their vice president.
Overall satisfaction
Seventy-five percent of staff respondents reported that they strongly or somewhat agreed with being satisfied with their job at Middlebury. This proportion is higher than it was in 2021 — at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic — when only two-thirds of employees were happy in their jobs. Still, this year’s satisfaction level remains six percentage points below that recorded in 2016.
Eighty-seven percent of respondents somewhat or strongly agreed that they are “proud to be part of this institution,” while three-quarters agreed that “all things considered, this was a great place to work.” These responses increased by 15 and 10 percentage points, respectively, compared to the last survey, which found decreased morale amidst the Covid-19 pandemic in September 2021.
“I have worked here a long time. I have seen the climate for staff be much worse. But also much better,” one staff member wrote.
Ryan McElroy '25 (he/him) is a managing editor for The Middlebury Campus.
He previously served as a news editor and staff writer.
Ryan is majoring in History with a possible minor in psychology or English. He also takes part in Middlebury Mock Trial and Matriculate.org on campus. He spent this past summer working as a research assistant in the History department studying Middle Eastern immigration to New England.
