A measure is not a solution
In short
AAnomaly
In October 2026, Utrecht University got four warnings from the Dutch Labour Inspectorate about workload and unwanted behaviour 1. Four other universities got one earlier 2. The measures exist: confidential advisers, a complaints procedure, an action plan. But nobody can show they work. Across Dutch universities, 70% of staff feel stress from workload, and 54% experienced unwanted behaviour themselves 3.
RReframe
Having a measure feels like solving the problem. Measuring if it works is the step everyone skips. Utrecht's answer is a team conversation twice a year. A council member: "I don't think that lowers the workload, because there is a lot of work." 4 So the real question is not how we talk about the work. It is who decides how much work comes in.
CCreate: questions for your team
- Which of our measures can we prove work?
- Who measures that?
- Who may say: not this project?
Rethink the premise.
Go deeper The full piece, with all sources
AAnomaly
At the end of October 2026, Utrecht University said it had received four warnings from the Dutch Labour Inspectorate, about workload and unwanted behaviour. Two warnings say the risks are not fully mapped. Two say the measures were never evaluated 1. Maastricht, Delft, Eindhoven and Twente received warnings earlier this autumn 2.
The inspectorate was positive about what exists: confidential advisers, an ombudsperson, a complaints procedure, an action plan 1. The problem is not that nothing was done. The problem is that nobody can show it works. In 2024, the inspectorate's own research across Dutch universities found that about 70% of staff feel stress from workload more than now and then, that people work on average six hours a week more than their contract, and that 54% experienced unwanted behaviour themselves in two years 3.
RReframe
Having a measure feels like solving the problem. A confidential adviser is a box you can tick. Whether people actually use it, trust it, and feel better a year later is a different question, and that is the step most organisations skip. Utrecht's new measure is a conversation in every team, twice a year. A member of the university council was asked if that lowers the workload. His answer: "I don't think so, because there is a lot of work." 4 If the cause is the amount of work, the question is not how we talk about it. The question is who decides how much work comes in.
CCreate: questions for your team
- Which of our measures can we prove work?
- Who measures that, and when?
- Who is allowed to say: not this project?
Rethink the premise.
Sources
- Universiteit Utrecht krijgt vier waarschuwingen van ArbeidsinspectieStrong
- Arbeidsinspectie dreigt met boetes voor Nederlandse universiteitenStrong
- Werkdruk en ongewenst gedrag op universiteitenStrong
- Arbeidsinspectie: UU-aanpak werkdruk en sociale veiligheid nog niet op ordeStrong
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