“The most morale-shattering job ever for a whopping minimum wage and 8-hour week.” This is what a current UCD student had to say about their job as a student caller with the UCD Foundation.
While operating as a distinct entity from UCD, the UCD Foundation has employed students as part of its workforce for more than a decade. Similar to many other student employment opportunities on campus, student callers at the Foundation receive minimum wage as compensation for their labour. However, there are ongoing discussions and concerns regarding the notable turnover rate among student workers at the Foundation compared to other campus-based positions, such as those held by Student Ambassadors.
A recent anonymous survey conducted by the Tribune sought to shed a little light on this issue and revealed that a significant portion of student callers — 38.5% — had worked for the Foundation for less than a year. Meanwhile, 34.6% reported employment durations of 1 to 2 years, and only 26.9% stated that they had worked in their roles for more than 3 years. These statistics raise important questions about the working conditions and employee satisfaction at the Foundation, particularly since over half of the respondents reported an employment duration of less than one year.
The demographics of the respondents revealed that 57.7% identified themselves as current students at UCD, which underscores the relevance of the findings and the legitimacy of the claims concerning the workplace environment. Notably, 100% of those surveyed confirmed their roles as student callers for the Foundation.
One of the primary concerns raised by respondents was regarding access to Human Resources (HR). According to the survey results, a substantial 84.6% of respondents indicated that they had the ability to access HR resources, while 15.4% reported a lack of such access. Although the majority having HR access suggests a potentially supportive work environment, the fact that a significant minority—over one in ten respondents—did not have this access is a cause for concern.
The Tribune faced challenges obtaining insights from former student callers, as many hesitated to speak out against the Foundation. This reluctance appeared to stem from fears regarding the potential repercussions, particularly related to the funding that the Foundation raises, which is crucial for students in need of financial assistance.
The responses were relatively positive, though mixed when asked about their working conditions. A notable 80.8% of respondents rated their working conditions as “Good,” whereas 11.5% described their experience as “Fair,” and an equal 11.5% rated it as “Poor.”
One issue that a student caller faced was being paid, stating, “I worked there from January until April of 2022. In this time, I did not receive my first pay cheque until mid-March of that year. This was despite regularly telling my superiors of this issue and then promising to resolve it.”
“Eventually, at the end of February, after nearly 2 months of working there, I had to go to the most senior staff member after one of my shifts and tell him explicitly about the issue. He said it was news to him that I hadn’t been paid, even though I had regularly communicated this issue to my superiors.”
“Not getting paid for so long and feeling like my issues weren’t being heard was a major reason for leaving. I also generally didn’t like the work because cold-calling people asking for money is awkward. Along with that, there was one supervisor I had who was needlessly harsh with her criticisms / “advice” on my performance, which made working there very uncomfortable.”
Regarding job security, the survey indicated that a majority of student callers felt stable in their positions, with 76.9% stating they had not been dismissed from their roles. Conversely, 23.1% of respondents reported having been dismissed at some point. In terms of recent employment trends, 53.8% of participants indicated they had not recently left their position with the Foundation, whereas 46.2% stated they had departed within a recent timeframe.
Many of the respondents said, “After just a few months of working there, they let go of a few of us and only a few people were kept,” with one respondent noting, “Also, one of my bosses was just not nice to me.”
For those who had recently left their position, their employment durations before leaving varied, with 45% reporting that they had worked for less than one year, 35% for a period between one and two years, and 20% indicating that they were employed for over three years before their departure.
Finally, the survey also addressed the issue of promised working hours during academic breaks. A significant 88.5% of respondents reported that they were not promised work hours over academic breaks that were rescinded without explanation. In contrast, 11.5% indicated that they had experienced such rescindment of promised hours. This finding could suggest potential inconsistencies in the Foundation’s commitment to its student employees during critical academic downtime,
One student stated, “Due to funding issues, I was not able to work over the summer, but then this semester (September 2024), the anxiety I felt when I thought about going to a shift was too high. I just couldn’t return. Keeping up with the expectations of higher management for donation amounts and dialling rates was too hard- especially after issues I had with communication and trust with these members of management. Monitoring by these members made my anxiety spike, especially as I knew my job security would be affected by this.”
The UCD Foundation has yet to comment at this time.
Hannah Costello – Co-Editor
