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Biweekly magazine of the Eindhoven University of Technology
11 December 2014 | year 57
For the latest news: www.cursor.tue.nl/en and follow @TUeCursor_news on
Lighting up Eindhoven with Diwali
Thor’s Mega Tetris makes Guinness Book 1 December - It took a day of shivering in an ice cold MetaForum market hall, but after that study association Thor had completed what they’d been aspiring to do for two years: creating the largest game of Tetris ever. Study association Thor of Electrical Engineering used the obstacle-free and weatherresistant market hall for the record attempt, and postponed the moment the audience can enjoy Mega Tetris to two weeks from now, when Thor will suspend the LED grid from Potentiaal using a crane. From December 15-19, Thor will set up a playground at the parking next to Potentiaal, from which the dropping blocks may be controlled with a joystick.
TU/e’s new flag ready for occupship Flux ancy 28
November - TU/e’s new flagship Flux was completed of Construction comp ficially on Friday No any BAM transferre vember 28th. d the building to had been signed. TU/e after the tra nsfer documents Between Decemb er 1 and March ne xt year, the new re home. The first to sidents will move move into Flux fro into their new m December 1 are the moving in for the pioneers who’l the rest. After them l be preparing , it’s the Video Codi ng and Architectu re group of Electrica l Engineering at La place, the branches of Ap plied Physics and the designer prog ram located at Fo ntys (From December 15 ), educational and departmental offic es, and from next year those from Electr ical Engineering an d Applied Physics fro m the TNO buildin g, as well as the peop le from Potentiaa l, Impuls, and Coro na.
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and tuecursor on
1 December - Indian students from the TU/e held a celebration for Diwali on 30 November at the Hub Eindhoven for Expats. Over 200 people attended the event and included a mish-mash of Indian, other internationals and local Dutch folks. In a culture packed with monthly celebrations, Diwali is one of the most important. This five-day Indian festival represents the start of the Hindu New Year and is commonly known as the ‘Festival of Lights’ for the fireworks, small clay lamps, and candles that are lit during the celebrations. These lights are said to represent the victory of good over evil, and light over darkness.
Cultural exchange at third Asian Dinner 27 November - A student chapel full of dragon-like decorations, more nationalities than the eye can see, and an authentic Asian three-course dinner: All this set the scene for the third annual Asia dinner, organized by the Tint foundation. The gastronomical dinner served more purposes than stimulating taste buds. The night was also a cultural exchange between different international communities in Eindhoven. Tint’s Elizabeth Fricker explains this purpose: “This night is not only an expression of hospitality, but is also a possibility to share experiences in an informal, egalitarian way.”
More news on www.cursor.tue.nl/en
Is Lumpur far from here?
A group of Dutch tourists asks a Malaysian if Lumpur is far from where they are. Seeing they look tired, he sympathizes and replies: “Oh no, sir, it’s not far!”. After 2 hours of walking, they still haven’t reached Lumpur. Their reaction full of frustration: “See, you can’t trust those Malaysians, you asked them a simple question and they just give you a fuzzy answer!” This was again the encounter of a high context culture (Malaysia) with a low context culture (Holland). A Yes or a No don’t mean the same thing. Oral and written communication will be interpreted differently. While in Holland and a few more Anglo-Saxon/ Germanic cultures Yes means Yes and No is just No, it is very different in high context cultures like most of Asia, the Arabic world, South-America, etc. where the context will play an important role. Take this case: the Dutch tourists look tired, so the Malaysian fellow will tell them what they want to hear: “Oh no sir, it’s not far”. An answer with no reference to reality. It’s only related to the situation at that moment between the 2 locutors, it is all about face saving and wishful thinking. Incidentally, the concept of distance is also quite cultural: while Americans tend to drive to go a few blocks away, other people would walk long distances and not find this far. So always double check that concept anyway! In my previous column I started to tackle the issue of the relationship between text & context in oral or written communication across cultures.
The critical incident (what does the question Don’t you think it’s hot here in the room? mean to you?) I described was interesting, but it had no hard consequences for further communication. In the case above it does have serious consequences: here trust is at stake. By not recognizing the importance of the context in Malaysia, the Dutch tourists got into some serious misunderstanding that can possibly lead to losing trust in the local population. So how can you clarify this situation? By simply keeping asking and primarily using open questions (not close ones like in the example), and by not taking too much for granted, as if Yes = Yes and No = No everywhere. I beg those Dutch tourists now: know what to expect out there. Finally, take written communication. I recently got an email from an Indian student starting with: Respected Sir, have a nice day, I hope you will be good. I am Master degree student and I (…) And finishing with: I will be highly obliged. Thanking you, etc. Recognizable? A first (ethnocentric) spontaneous reaction would be to view this kind of prose as “too polite to be honest” and wondering what this student really wants from you. Understandable, but once you’ve recognized the importance of the context, things become clear. Text & context will match, just like yin & yang, but this is another story.
Vincent M internationaerk, advisor l commun ity
People | 23
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And how are things in Milan? More and more TU/e students go abroad for their studies to follow courses, internships or a doctorate path. What is it like to find your way in a new country? Students tell their stories.
My choice for Italy was a simple one: food and culture. Since September, I’ve been studying at the best university of Italy: Bocconi. I’m staying in the city center of Milan, my housemates give me cooking lessons, and clubs are close. Still, being able to enjoy La Bella Italia to the fullest required a crash course in naturalization on my part. Please consider the tips below. Lesson 1: In Italy, ordering un caffé won’t get you a Dutch cup of coffee, but an espresso. Should you enjoy your cappuccinos: note that in Italy it’s not done to order cappuccinos after lunch time. Lesson 2: Learn Italian. I take Italian classes twice a week, as un Italiano vero (a real Italian) does not speak English. Because of the language issues I’ve ordered the opposite of what I had in mind more than once, which is understandable if you know Italians have dozens of different names for pasta: Trofi (my favorite), spaghetti (eleven different kinds!), lasagna, penne, et cetera. Lesson 3: Eat pasta every day (and make sure it’s al dente). Italians have a saying that goes ‘I haven’t had my pasta today’, a phrase widely used in the heuristic decision-making process for dinner (alternatives being risotto or pizza). Lesson 4: Gelato is not ice cream – it’s a craft, and a work of art. Don’t feel like cooking? No problem. In Milan, aperitivo is a tradition that I like just as much. When ordering a cocktail or a delicious glass of Italian wine, you receive ‘free’ food (a drink will set you back ten euros). Navigli is a popular neighborhood known for its aperitivos, where you’ll find me after class regularly. Besides this social cultural tradition, Milan is the best city to go out. It offers the best museums, theaters (Scala), and clubs. Weekends are the perfect time to explore the picturesque villages and scenic surroundings of Milan.
Tim M uts Innovstudent aoefrs, ation S ciences Would you also like to write an article about your time abroad? Please send an email to cursor@tue.nl.
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Life after TU/e
Name: Ekaterina Sabelnikova Place of Birth: Moscow, Russia Date of Birth: July 2, 1989 At TU/e: September 2012 - August 2014, Master Business Information Systems Current position: Service Developer at Océ What is your job description? I work at Océ as a Service Developer. In business services we define docume nt-intensive business processes to provide customers with relevant document process outsour cing services through expertise, advanced technology, and industry documents & process knowled ge. Most of my daily activities are related to discovering business processes and the IT solution s that enable them. Within service development I face a broad range of other topics, too, such as developing sales and marketing tools, defining implementation approaches, and designin g and constructing execution approaches. How did you obtain your current position? It was definitely not an easy task to find a job. I believed that the knowled ge I acquired during my master‘s would be perfect for a career in IT consulting, but all consulti ng positions turn out to require command of the Dutch language. For me, that was a serious bottleneck during my job search, so I had to look for other options as well. I expanded my search to include Germany as well, since many large enterprises are located there. Eventually, I was offered three positions, and was lucky to choose the one closest to my heart. Why did you choose to go to TU/e and how do you reflect on your time at university? I have attended several guest lectures of TU/e professors in Moscow , and was truly attracted by the international appeal and high quality education of the universi ty, and it has great career prospects for graduates. There are not too many countries where internat ional students can get around with English only. Last but not least, I received an ALSP scholars hip from TU/e, which has obviously been important in the decision-making process. During my studies, working on my projects until the break of dawn without sleep I thought it was a nightmare, but now I consider it the best time of my life: I met so many new people, and gained knowledge and life experience.
What happens to international students after they graduate from TU/e? Do they go job hunting in the Netherlands, pack their bags and explore the world, or return to their home countries? International TU/e graduates talk about their lives after TU/e.
What are your plans for the (near) future? My number one priority now is learning Dutch. I plan to stay in the Netherla nds for three to five more years at least. I’m not sure about what will happen after that. Océ is a part of Canon Group, and their offices are located all over the world. It all depends on my career ambitions and the areas I would like to specialize in, but if opportunities arise elsewhere I am ready to relocate. What advice would you give to current students? First of all, it is all about networking - attend as many events, in-hous e days, meet ups as you can. It is your opportunity to meet managers and HR personnel, gain insights in the recruitment process and get familiar with companies. And be persistent in your job searching process, there are positions in the market but the competition is also very high. Do not pick ANY job, find the one which fits to your interests -you will work it for the nearest yearsso it is better to enjoy it!
24 | Zoom in
Maria Frias with her home made pi単ata. Photo | Bart van Overbeeke
11 December 2014
Zoom in | 25
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More than Sombreros and Sunshine: A look at TU/e’s Mexican Community “It’s particularly nice being a Mexican in Holland because it’s exotic for European people. They see us as an interesting people”, explains Sergio Garcia (25), a master’s student in the Mechanical Engineering Department. He continues: “What I like about Dutch people is that they are open-minded. They are interested and want to know from the source what life is like in Mexico. They ask: What is it like to live there? How do you make your life there?” Continuing with our series profiling the university’s various international communities, we’ll try to answer those questions a bit by taking a closer look at the Mexican community, a group of about 50 strong who call TU/e their academic home.
Ruben Guerra (24), hails from Tijuana, a northern Mexican city directly across the border from the American city of San Diego. He’s in his first year of a master’s program in the Computer Science and Engineering Department and says he’s happy to be in Eindhoven. “I really wanted to come to Europe for my master’s. I started looking for universities that had the master’s I wanted and then I met a guy who had come to TU/e and he told me about the university. I thought it was really cool.” Although a leap over the border to the USA might be an obvious move for many students, more and more Mexicans like Ruben are looking to Europe as their first choice for higher education, particularly for master’s programs. According to Nuffic, a Dutch organization for professionals in international education, a recent study reveals a strong interest among Mexican students in various Dutch master’s programs, but particularly in engineering - a possible boon to technical universities like TU/e that hope to draw foreign students. In addition, the Netherlands makes the option of studying here more attractive by offering Mexican students financial aid in the form of the Orange Tulip Scholarship program. Launched in 2010, the scholarship is now in its 5th cycle and includes 25 participating Dutch institutions, including TU/e.
Mexico is a bit of a mystery Unlike countries closer to our borders or more widely covered by the Dutch press (think the USA or China, for example), Mexico is a bit of a mystery for many students on campus - both Dutch and other
internationals. However, clichés do exist and some, of course, are based on fact. “People always ask if Mexico is super dangerous”, says Maria Frias (28), who just obtained her master’s degree from the Biomedical Engineering Department. “I really hate that question. It sucks that they ask me that because it is a reality - the drug cartels and all these things. It’s really affecting people’s perspective of my country. It’s sad that people think that my country is such a dangerous place.” Unfortunately, Mexico’s brutal drug war has made the country a riskier place to live. According to CNN, 90% of the cocaine that enters the US passes through Mexico and the country is also a major supplier of marijuana and methamphetamines in the United States. Since the demise of the Columbian cartels in the 1990s, Mexico’s drug cartels have filled the void and become much more powerful. The Mexican government has been vigorously fighting drug traffickers since 2006 while the drug cartels themselves fight each other to control territory. According to a report published by Human Rights Watch on February 21, 2013, an estimated 60,000 people were killed in drug-related violence from 2006 to 2012. Sergio Garcia says that most people do question him about Mexico’s safety. “I tell them that it isn’t as bad as the media shows. For the regular people, we have normal lives. We don’t get in contact with drugs or the mafia. That just happens outside of us.” While this perception of their country is a frustration for TU/e’s Mexican community, they find that they’re warmly received in Holland. Nuria Barriga (28), is from San Luis Potosi, a city in the middle of Mexico, which is about 6 hours by car from Mexico City. She’s working on her second bachelor’s degree
in the Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences Department and says she really enjoys the positive feedback she gets. “Dutch people are really happy about Mexicans. Every time I say I’m from Mexico, they’re surprised. What? Why are you here? Your weather is so nice. There’s an interest to find out more about Mexico. And I have really good experiences with old people. If I’m speaking Spanish in the street, they’ll stop me and ask where I’m from.” Of course, there’s more to Mexico than sunshine and danger. Here are some tidbits you may not know about the world’s largest Spanishspeaking country. Think of these as conversation starters the next time you encounter a Mexican student: • Mexico has the largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites of any country in the Americas and the sixth most in the world. These include anything from an archeological site for an ancient Mayan city to The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve where millions of the species come each year to spend the winter. • Mexico introduced chocolate (hoorah!), corn and chilies to the world. • The red poinsettia (which are in Dutch stores now for Christmas) originated in Mexico and is named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States ambassador to Mexico in the 1820s. And let’s talk about tequila - but with a technical-university twist: • In 2008, Mexican scientists discovered a method to produce tiny, synthetic diamonds from 80-proof tequila. The diamonds are cheap to produce but far too small to be used for jewelry. The results are hoped to have numerous commercial and industrial applications such
as in computer chips or cutting instruments. Gracias, agave plant!
The love goes both ways So, the Dutch seem to be enamored of Mexican culture and its perceived exoticness. But how do Mexicans feel about living in Eindhoven? It seems that despite the lack of sunshine and good Mexican food, the city and its culture are a good fit for most students. “I looked at TU/e and Delft,” says Maria Frias, “but I liked it better here because of the whole program. And I like my lifestyle. It’s really relaxed. Coming from Mexico City, it seemed like it might be boring but now I really like it. I don’t worry about being out at 4am and I’ve made really good friends. I’m happy.” For many internationals living in the Netherlands, the ‘agenda habit’ - scheduling both personal and professional appointments far in advance - is often perceived as too tightly structured and indicative of a lack of spontaneity. However, Nuria Barringa sees it as a caring gesture. “I like that they find the time for you. In Mexico, we talk a lot and we say ‘Oh yes, yes, we’ll call you.’ But then a lot of times it doesn’t happen.”
Christmas is the most important holiday for mexicans “At first, Dutch people seem a little cold but once they’re your friend, they’re really good friends to you”, explains Ruben Guerra of his first
months in Eindhoven. “Last summer, I stayed here and I was afraid that I was going to be bored. But I had Dutch friends call me every two or three days and ask if I wanted to have dinner with them and their family. I really like living here.” At this time of year, no look at the university’s Mexican community would be complete without talking about Christmas. Spanish colonists brought Catholicism to Mexico in the 1500s and, the religion took root and flourished - today, approximately 80% of the population counts itself as Catholic. For many Mexicans, Christmas is the most important holiday of the year, for both religious and personal reasons. Las Posadas, which translates to ‘the inns’ is a series of parties commencing on 16 December and ending on Christmas Eve, 24 December, and forms the backbone of the Mexican Christmas tradition. “In the time of Jesus, there were no hotels, only inns”, says Ruben Guerra explaining the custom. “Mary and Joseph went looking for a place to stay so she could give birth to Jesus. Finally, they were allowed into an inn. The parties we have at this time of year are to celebrate the expectation of Jesus being born.” Many of the Mexican students will soon hold their own posada and in addition to lots of traditional foods, they’ll also enjoy one other key ingredient for a successful preChristmas party - a handmade piñata. Maria Frias is currently making it in her spare time but there’s one thing she’s still unsure of: “The tricky part is figuring out where to break it. I don’t think Dutch people will like a bunch screaming Mexicans in the street, trying to break this piñata”.
Tekst | Angela Daley
26 | Research
11 December 2014
4 burning questions
Ali Can Kizilkaya | Chemical Engineering
Effect of surface reactions on catalysis
1 ’s on f your o r e ov the c rtation? disse What
2 Wh a peo t do y ou t ple a t par ell whe n t abo ut y they a ies our s rese k arch ? 1 | cover
3 What person, technology, or device has been essential for your research?
The cover is a symbolic representation of my thesis title. The illustration below is a stepped metal surface at the atomic level. The fish that is adsorbed (attached) to the surface symbolizes both chemical species (adsorbates) and spectroscopy. This specific fish, ornate wrasse, contains almost all colors of the visible light spectrum. Just as the visible spectrum helps to identify the fish species, there are other regions of the electromagnetic spectrum that help us identify adsorbates and their interactions on a surface.
2 | parties Our research project contributes to a fundamental understanding of metal surfaces and adsorbates at an atomic level to help designing better heterogeneous catalysts that are of use to the industry.
4
does w o H efit n e b ty socie our work? y from
(edited by Tom Jeltes) Photos | Bart van Overbeeke
3 | essential Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) has been a key technique in our research project as it has provided valuable information both in terms of identifying the adsorbates, and their interactions.
4 | society benefit The fundamental understanding our study has generated is expected to benefit the design of more efficient catalysts, including automotive exhaust catalysis and Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis,. Hopefully, it will provide us with new and improved ways of removing toxic gases from your car exhaust, or to find more energy efficient and environmentally friendly ways of producing synthetic fuels.
Research | 27
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Desiree Abdurrachim | Biomedical Engineering
Fatty acids in diseased hearts 1 | cover My thesis cover shows an image of a mouse heart, rendered by magnetic resonanceimaging (MRI). The cover is also a mosaic of various mouse heart images that I’ve collected for my project.
2 | parties Heart failure is the leading cause of death worldwide. The heart needs fuel to maintain its pump function. In the healthy heart, the fuel largely comes from fatty acids, and to a lesser extent glucose. During my PhD research I studied the effects of alterations in fatty acid metabolism on the heart function. For example, the diabetic heart relies almost exclusively on fatty acids and has an increased risk of heart failure. To this end, I developed MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) techniques to measure the heart function and metabolism in living mice. The techniques were then used in mice with an altered fatty acid metabolism.
3 | essential The MRI/MRS techniques have been indispensable. The techniques are non-invasive, and therefore enable measurements of the same animals at different points in time as a disease progresses or during treatment. This has been challenging in many biomedical studies, as these generally depend on ex-vivo techniques. Furthermore, in such a complex project, collaborations with other researchers have been invaluable.
4 | society benefit My thesis provides a platform for a characterization of functional and metabolic changes in the failing heart in-vivo, which may contribute to better understanding and more effective treatment of heart failure.
Sandip Pawar | Chemical Engineering
Spray drying 1 | cover The thesis cover shows how the complex process of spray drying is investigated by bringing together different modeling techniques.
2 | parties Spray drying is important in the chemical, pharmaceutical, food, and dairy industry for making powders from liquid slurry. For the final quality of the product it is important to control the powder size distribution and to limit wall fouling. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is a very powerful and versatile tool to study optimal design, operation and scale-up of the processes. In my project, a multi-scale modelling strategy was adopted to model transport phenomena in spray drying processes, including collision, coalescence, breakup, drying and agglomeration events. To systematically build up this model, we split the modelling process into four different steps: gas and particle flow modeling, collision detection modeling, collision outcome modeling, and drying kinetics modeling.
3 | essential For the collision detection we adapted a key technique used in molecular gas dynamics, called Direct Simulation Monte Carlo. This enabled us to efficiently handle collisions between billions of droplets and particles.
4 | society benefit The developed numerical model enables the industry to improve the current spray drying technology, to optimize the process and quality of the products.
28 | Special
11 December 2014
The threat of pressure Text | Judith van Gaal, Han Konings en Monique van de Ven Photo | Bart van Overbeeke TU/e is achieving good results. The introduction of the Bachelor College is one reason why more and more students find their way to the university. However, there is a downside as well: we need to do more with fewer employees. How does the university prevent the workload from becoming too high and how much stress does work cause among employees anyway? Cursor tried to gauge the workload throughout the organization.
Going through hundreds of student assignments within two days. Attending courses about new teaching methods. Drawing up a fitting timetable for increasing numbers of students. Finishing your presentation for the defense of your doctoral thesis. Most TU/e employees have more than enough tasks on their plates. This trend is not missed by the Executive Board (CvB). “It’s not going to be a worrisome piece with Christmas on the way, is it?”, CvB member Jo van Ham wonders, prior to the interview. Van Ham immediately goes on by effortlessly enumerating all the things that are going well at TU/e: the setup and further rollout of the Bachelor College, the strong interest in and keen appreciation for the education, the increase in the number of students enrolling, the success in landing national and European subsidies, the excellent relations with the business community, a campus that will be entirely renewed within a number of years. He is just saying; there is so much to be proud of. He does not deny that all those fine results also generate extra work pressure. “We are asking a lot from our workforce. More and more often, scientists have to try and find funding and the coming period will see a great many changes within our administrative staff. Moreover, you’re in an environment where people raise the bar very high indeed.”
“We ask for realistic time schedules”
Even in May and June of this year board members reacted to signals they received from the departments with a high student intake. Van Ham: “There was an impending shortage of teachers, which we tried to absorb by an additional 25 FTEs. For you don’t want to have students complain about the large scale being detrimental to education. You do need to prevent that kind of criticism.” Meanwhile the Executive Board has thought hard about measures to relieve the pressure. Van Ham: “First of all, we want to set clearer priorities. In line with that a choice has been made to tackle matters in stages wherever necessary. Although we are inclined to want to do everything at once, it’s sometimes better to take a stepby-step approach. Employees should not be afraid to discuss things with us if it turns out that it takes longer to reach certain milestones. We’re not going to hold that against them. We emphatically ask for realistic time schedules. We would prefer people to assess matters amply rather than driving themselves too hard due to an unrealistic planning. In addition, wherever necessary and possible we want to leave some space and allow the organization some leeway. What solutions may then be possible per individual department or service will be discussed honestly and candidly in bilateral consultations with deans and Directors.” Thus, at present the services are getting extra attention from the CvB. Van Ham: “We’ve become aware that over the past few years our services have not developed in scope at a comparable pace with the departments, so we are making extra investments there, for
instance at DPO and STU. For some time now, STU has had to shoulder a lot of extra work in connection with the advent of the Bachelor College and the growing intake. And we are also looking at the development of a new Student Information System (SIS). The tendering procedure for that will be started soon.” Whether the work pressure will be lower than now in three to five years, is a question on which Van Ham has strong doubts. “I think it would be unrealistic to assume that. I’m not saying this with our own institution in mind, but more with a view to the increasing complexity of the society in which we operate. We’re not alone in that, though. Just consider the changes for municipalities and healthcare institutions looming ever closer. In the business community, too, workers are continuously subjected to greater pressure. That our work pressure is high has everything to do with our ambition to make the very best of things.” Personnel and Organization is the pre-eminent service to put out its feelers within the community. And while on the one hand those feelers say that the work pressure is high, this does not automatically imply that the stress of work is on the increase. Nicole van der Wolk, Director at DPO: “Work pressure means that you have more work than you can handle within the time allotted. It may be due to insufficient resources and is partly a matter of experience and perception as well. A certain degree of work pressure is a good thing. You can go home thinking that you have not finished your work, but still feel satisfied because it was useful. At any rate it
is a problem that we take seriously. Stress of work - as the term indicates - means you experience too much pressure. And we are not getting those signals. For one, absenteeism due to illness is low. The Bachelor College has brought about a heavier workload for some employees for a while. A change in your environment that is difficult to predict is always difficult. It started on paper and we’ll have to find out in practice how it works out for the organization. More than anything, we need to work in smarter ways, for example at other hours. The role of DPO is to pick up signals.” The trade unions have monitored the subject of work pressure more actively in the past six months in particular. Gerard Verhoogt, trade union official of the Abvakabo FNV, on behalf of the unions: “At Abvakabo FNV we are getting our fair share of complaints about that. That’s why we have started a working party and we have conducted a survey within our union, to which more than fifty employees responded and more than three-quarters took the trouble to explain their findings in more detail.” It showed that 35 employees think that the pressure of work has increased over the past four years, with 10 employees even saying that they cannot manage that pressure anymore. Six persons find it ‘busier than it should be in my job’ and only three employees experience hardly any work pressure. Causes that are mentioned include reorganizations, more work for fewer people, introduction of the Bachelor College, bureaucracy and ICT problems - or combinations of these. The subject will probably be discussed during a workshop of the unions early next year.
“It is mostly a gut feeling that the work pressure is increasing” The personnel party (PUR) monitors whether the work pressure increases. Chairwoman Rianne van Eerd: “We are getting some signals here and there, via the Departmental Councils, among others, concerning the budget advice and we see the absenteeism figures. Those figures are low, it is mostly a gut feeling that the work pressure is increasing. We can only act on it when things are concrete. We have a ready ear for signals, and when they are clear, we do raise the matter with the Executive Board. Who knows whether certain things may emerge from the Risk Assessment Analysis at various departments where the work pressure is included.” By this she means a survey that will be used in any case next year during the Risk Assessment Analysis at the Departments of BMT, TN and ST, an initiative of the group Arbo, Milieu, Veiligheid, Stralingsbescherming (Working Conditions, Environment, Health, Radiation Protection; AMVS) last year. The survey includes questions about work pressure and working conditions. The idea is that this questionnaire will be presented every four years. A TU/e-wide satisfaction survey has not been held for a long time anymore. Tiny Verbruggen, head of AMVS: “That big bulk of information does not really give us much to go by. It’s better to do it per department or
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service, as we are going to do now. By keeping the same questions, you can present the same list again every four years and compare things.” AMVS is especially monitoring the physical health of employees. You may think of RSI prevention, a good work climate and due adherence to safety and environmental requirements. If you want to look at the well-being of individual employees, this will soon take you to the medical officer and the company social worker. TU/e has two medical officers and one company social worker who have worked at TU/e since 2009 seconded by the Arbo Unie. In their opinion, the number of ‘clients’ coming to see them has not increased in the past few years. In addition, TU/e has a relatively low rate of absenteeism. In the so-called Management Letter of the Arbo Unie the TU/e figures are recorded annually. Indeed, they show that absenteeism due to illness has dropped: from 2.6% in 2009 to 2.3% in 2013. The frequency of employees reporting sick remained stable at an average of 0.9 reports per employee per year. At the universities in the Netherlands (figures VSNU) absenteeism during that period dropped on average from 3.1% to 2.9%. In the Netherlands the average (CBS figures) decreased from 4.4% to 4.0%. Medical officer Marjon van Woudenberg about the low rate of absenteeism at TU/e: “It is known that employees who are more highly educated tend to drop out less easily. Scientific staff in particular have more options for arranging their everyday activities than administrative and support staff. Also, you see that absenteeism among women is higher than among
men. That the university employs a relatively high number of male employees may be a factor as well.” Further, it is noticed that absenteeism within the services is about twice as high as within the departments. “This is due among other things to the difference in arrangement options, age structure and the male/ female ratio”, Van Woudenberg explains. Out of the TU/e employees consulting the medical officer between 2009 and 2013, some 3% of the sick reports and some 25% to 30% of the number of days of absenteeism involved mental problems. In 1% of the reports and 9% of the number of days of absenteeism this was to do with psychosocial problems connected with work, such as work pressure. According to Van Woudenberg that is not especially high or low in comparison with other organizations with a relatively high number of more highly educated people.
“I just hope it isn’t the calm before the storm” In this respect TU/e is at odds with the national trend. Two weeks ago the program EenVandaag reported that one in five employees in the Netherlands is troubled by psychological complaints, such as stress, burnout or depression and that employees are at home, sick. Marjon van Woudenberg: “Although there is a feeling that the work pressure at TU/e has increased, we do not see that reflected in our medical officer data. It should be noted that we see a select group
Streamer
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of employees. Not everybody who has complaints reports sick or consults us. I just hope it isn’t the calm before the storm.” The medical officer is consulted by those employees who are ill for a longer period or more frequently and/or who have medical complaints. Employees who are absent for more than five days can expect to be called by the absenteeism consultant of the Arbo Unie, who asks them what is wrong with them and when they expect that they will have recovered. If you are ill at home for more than four weeks, you are called to appear before the medical officer. HR consultants and executives can refer employees as well, and employees can also come on their own initiative. They may have
11 December 2014
complaints without having reported sick. The medical officer will first make a ‘diagnosis’ on the basis of the employee’s story. Van Woudenberg: “The exact diagnosis is less important really, for we need to focus especially on how someone can get better.” In case of complaints related to stress Van Woudenberg always checks how bad it is. The follow-up steps depend on the underlying cause. “In case of over-exertion I can give tips and a folder, for instance. I can refer them to the company social worker or to a psychologist when they really have psychological issues.” The medical officer distinguishes between three stages that clients go through. “The first few weeks somebody
has to accept that he or she has got burnt out. Subsequently someone can get better and look for the potential causes. Finally we try to find out what needs to be changed and how somebody can get back to work again.” The expert explains that with burnt-out university employees it takes some three to six months before they can resume their work again - longer than average. “In many cases it has taken them longer to report sick and they need to be fitter before they can pick up their work. For instance, it will take shorter before a burnt-out postman can deliver his letters again than for a university employee to present a lecture.” How long people are at home and when they can resume their work and for how
many hours is different for each person. “That’s a tailor-made decision. Usually I first ask them to pick up something that has been shelved a bit longer, as that mostly involves less pressure.”
“People often tax themselves to the limit” The HR consultant, medical officer or executive can refer employees to the company social worker. Marijk van Lieshout has now worked in that position at TU/e for five years, which means that she is available for ‘employees with psychosocial problems that are related to their
jobs’. Van Lieshout: “That can be very broad, ranging from employees with personal problems that impede them from functioning optimally to employees who have problems with their superiors.” She works 400 hours on an annual basis for TU/e and in that period she sees between 60 to 70 ‘clients’. Van Lieshout: “Those with work stress are generally people who feel very responsible and are loyal. If they don’t watch their limits carefully, this regularly leads to a lack of clarity towards other people. In many cases they are perfectionists. They are often tired, sleep badly, are frequently absent and regularly suffer from physical and/ or psychological complaints. When they really experience burnout, their energy level has dropped to such an extent that they feel as if they are merely surviving. They are just barely capable of
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doing everything in a routine manner. It only takes a very small event to set them off emotionally.” The company social worker sees employees from every level pass by, but does note that she often sees PhD candidates. “Every occupational group comes with its own specific problems. With many PhD candidates you see that they have never really had to contend with any major setbacks in their academic careers. Before starting on their PhD they were always among the best students. Occasionally foreign PhD candidates need to get used to the Dutch culture and during our discussions we try to find out what they need to relieve their complaints of stress. Assistant and associate professors see a lot of things coming their way and often need to combine the buildup of their career with a young family.” Firstly, Van Lieshout opens a discussion with her clients. “It may already be a great help when they can tell me their story and feel that their problems are being taken seriously. Employees continue to be responsible themselves for solving their problems. I can listen to clients, confront them with their behavior and the consequences and give them some tips and advice for improving matters. We examine what the employee finds to be a problem and set a goal. It is important first and foremost to see how employees can get their energy back and take control of their lives again. I also advise everybody to exercise more, which helps people to feel less worked up. ‘Get out of your house, but also get out of your head: try not to worry while you are exercising.” In addition, she advises employees to try and find out how they can get things done at home and at work if they reduce their efforts. “People often tax themselves to the limit.” Apart from getting more energy, follow-up steps are considered as well. This is done in a number of follow-up talks, or if necessary they are referred to the municipal
public health services. In any case a clear action plan is set up. If clients also want this, she discusses matters with the employees and their executives. “Executives are often open to this. Employees often have to learn to delegate more, to make a better planning and to give clearer signals to others. They need to learn to say ‘no’ and make choices.” Another recommendation: “Find out how to recognize your physical signs. If you exceed your limits too far, your body will stop you short. My message to everybody would be: don’t wait too long to find help if you experience problems.” If the medical officers and the company social workers notice that they are seeing rather many clients coming from a specific service, department or research group of, there is a good chance that they will raise the alarm. This usually runs via the HR officers. Both the medical officer and the company social worker are bound to professional secrecy and will consequently never give executives or HR officers information about the clinical picture. So clients do not need to worry about any violation of privacy. That is precisely why clients are always asked whether they agree to their data being entered into the system that is shared by the medical officer and the company social worker.
What is burnout? What exactly do we mean when we use the term burnout? Evangelia Demerouti, Professor of Human Performance Management (IE&IS) has taken a PhD on this subject. “In the early 1990s it was assumed that burnout was typical of people working within the human services, think of healthcare workers and teachers. My doctoral research showed that it applies to every occupational group.” She explains that you speak of burnout when ‘people cannot and will not go on anymore’. “You are tired all the time and you go to work reluctantly.” Her research has proved that a combination of two working conditions can cause burnout. On the one hand you have the job demands. These may involve the degree of complexity, the bureaucracy, demands on your constitution, the working hours. “You may have a situation when somebody has more work than they can cope with within a specific period, but also when the job is not challenging enough. If anything
is wrong in one or more of these items, the result may be that the energy level drops and the feeling of exhaustion increases”, Demerouti explains.
Evangelia Demerouti establishes that the pressure of work at TU/e has increased significantly over the past few years. “Especially since the advent of the Bachelor College I’ve had a much busier agenda. I give extra lectures and am bound more to a set structure that limits my freedom. Things have become more bureaucratic, and this is hardly counterbalanced by work resources. I am not getting more support or freedom to make decisions or more time to do my job. I myself have given up doing certain things. I no longer pimp my lectures the way I used to, for example. It takes too much time to find cartoons or other jokes
and now I am pleased already when I have a good presentation in any case. As executive I try to give feedback and recognition and set a good example. For instance, I don’t expect employees to work over the weekend and I find it important that they should use up their holidays. It is up to an organization to structure the range of duties in such a way that people can cope with them and to provide work resources. Think of a course to refresh and expand their knowledge. Employees can make their jobs simpler or more challenging and ask their superiors for feedback.”
The second decisive ingredient is formed by the job resources. These include the degree of variety, the autonomy, development opportunities, feedback, responsibility and recognition. If these ‘resources’ are in order, the employee’s motivation and commitment will be high. If there are too few of these resources, employees will feel less committed and may even go to work unwillingly. If the job demands are too high and the work resources too low, this can lead to a burnout. Demerouti emphasizes that it is always a combination of those two. The Job Demand-Resources Model she has developed has meanwhile been taken over in many places across the globe. In the Netherlands it is used among others by the Rijksoverheid.nl.
Medical officers, company social workers, Directors of services or departments and HR officers cooperate fully. If the work stress/ work pressure leads to absenteeism due to illness, these signals end up at the absenteeism consultants and the medical officer/ company social worker. From there there are lines running to the management: every six weeks consultations take place between Directors of services or departments, the medical officer and the HR consultant and similarly every six weeks between the head of AMVS and the medical officer.
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