STORY 86

I worked at this particular university for almost 23 years, 10 as a casual, 13 as a tenured academic. Around 20 months ago I crashed very suddenly with very severe burnout due to a toxic workplace culture (unsustainable, workloads, incessant change, erosion of both staff conditions and student experience, a punitive culture). I was the workplace NTEU delegate for 7 years and had seen the number of staff needing assistance grow as the conditions worsened. I was a mess, and after 5 months of sick leave my GP and EAP counsellor both felt that returning to work was not an option as the conditions that led to my burnout had, if anything, become worse rather than better. I negotiated to be paid out the 6 month notice I was required to give when resigning, and the deed of separation and release included not only a non-disclosure clause, but also a clause that stated that I could not divulge the contents of the deed, or even its existence. I went to my branch of the NTEU wanting to have these clauses removed, but they simply told me that these clauses were now standard and if I insisted on having them removed my payout would be refused (by the by I was very disappointed overall with the lack of support I received from the Union). To not be able to talk about the cause of my burnout or the terrible conditions my friends/colleagues are dealing with has contributed to the delay in my recovery, especially as I have seen others suffer burnout and other stress related mental and physical health issues since I resigned.

In answering those 4 questions: *Why were you being asked to sign an NDA? I have no idea. I was told that this was standard practice to have a NDA clauses, and if so it says a lot about how aware HR and senior management are of the poor conditions and their exposure to workers comp/class action/public shaming. * What was the process of negotiating the NDA like and how did it affect you? Terrible. I was so unwell that I was in no fit state to be battling this, and the NTEU was next to useless. *How much time were you given to decide what to do? In all honesty I can't recall. So much of all that is a blur as I was in such a mess *What was the impact on you and your life after signing an NDA? As noted above, to not be able to talk about the cause of my burnout or the terrible conditions my friends/colleagues are dealing with has contributed significantly to the delay in my recovery, especially as I have seen others suffer burnout and other stress related mental and physical health issues since I resigned.