Tomas Bata University in Zlín

Open discussion on working conditions and the sustainability of researchers’ work

On January 12, 2026, another thematic workshop was held at the Faculty of Management and Economics of TBU in Zlín as part of the preparations for obtaining the HR Excellence in Research Award. The meeting was dedicated to Pillar 3 – Working Conditions and Procedures for Researchers and was attended by 20 faculty employees.

The participants worked in four discussion groups and focused on the four key principles of this pillar, with an emphasis on the everyday reality of academic and research work and its long-term sustainability:

• working conditions, funding, and salaries,
• job stability,
• contractual and legal obligations,
• dissemination and use of research results.

The discussion took the form of structured rotations, which enabled the capture of different perspectives across roles, workplaces, and career stages and the gradual formulation of not only diagnostic conclusions but also specific proposals for measures.

The main diagnostic conclusions of the discussion include:

• Working conditions are generally perceived as fair, mainly thanks to the work point system and a high degree of flexibility, but some participants point to an imbalance between teaching and research, the uncertainty of full-time employment, and the demotivating evaluation of some publication outputs.
• Job stability is rated relatively positively, but it is threatened by fixed-term contracts, fluctuations in project funding, variable salaries, and a high teaching load, especially for younger researchers.
• In the area of contractual and legal obligations, informal support among colleagues works well, but there are also ambiguities in issues of authorship, publication fees, data protection, intellectual property, and orientation in the rules of open science.
• The system for disseminating and utilising results is strongly oriented toward professional publishing, while popularisation, open science, and cooperation with practitioners are perceived as insufficiently recognised and supported.

The measures proposed at the workshop include:

• Revision of the evaluation and financial assessment of selected types of publication outputs, regular employee satisfaction surveys, and the introduction of motivational tools to support career growth.
• Strengthening mentoring, more systematic communication of the importance of scientific and research activities, and further development of support for the project department.
• Improving the clarity and accessibility of information on employee rights and obligations through methodologies, process maps, and a better faculty website structure.
• Modifying the activity recognition system to better support popularisation, open science, and the transfer of results into practice, including mentoring of junior and newly hired academic staff.

More information about the process and conclusions can be found here.

This workshop also showed that the faculty already complies with the principles of the European Charter for Researchers in several areas, but there is still room for further development, particularly in the long-term sustainability of academic work and the transparency of rules. The suggestions received will serve as important input for the GAP analysis and the subsequent creation of the HR Award Action Plan.

We would like to thank all participants for their openness, active involvement, and sharing of experiences.