BOOK LAUNCH: THE NWU TAKES ON JOB INSECURITY

Abygail Smit 

@Abysmit06

On 25 September, North-West University (NWU) hosted the launch of the book Global Perspectives on Job Insecurity in Higher Education: Precarity in the Ivory Tower, written by Lara Christina Roll, Hans De Witte, and Prof. Sebastiaan Rothmann.

The book sheds light on the critical issue of job insecurity in higher education across ten countries, and explores its impact on health, well-being, and performance. The work highlights the ripple effects of job insecurity on academic staff, researchers, PhD candidates, postdoctoral fellows, and administrative personnel, which in turn influences the quality of education. As you page through the book, you will notice that each chapter offers a unique analysis to the issue at hand, and presents valuable insights for academics, policymakers, and students invested in the future of higher education.

According to the NWU website, the book serves as both a call to action and a foundation for further research into strengthening job security in the academic world. The book is analytical and data-driven, which not only enforces its reliability, but it also allows readers to draw fact-based conclusions of their own. It also provides a crucial reference point for understanding the broader implications of fickle employment in in the industry.

The work’s credibility is strengthened by the authors’ extensive expertise. Lara Christina Roll is an Extraordinary Professor with the Optentia Research Unit at NWU, and has a PhD in Work and Organisational Psychology. Hans De Witte, also a PhD holder, is a renowned work psychologist, Professor Emeritus at KU Leuven in Belgium, and an Extraordinary Professor at NWU. Prof. Sebastiaan (Ian) Rothmann, a Professor of Industrial Psychology at NWU’s Optentia Research Unit, has supervised 148 master’s and 73 PhD students in South Africa and abroad. Together, these authors bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to this critical conversation.

Edited by Isabel Burgers