The Committee on Class and Labor and the Employee Council are hosting a series of focus groups for employees to share their perceptions about work and status at Emory.


Questions will focus on each aspect of the charge of the committee, which is examining:


• The effect of class and status on working relationships at Emory;

• The role of Emory as an employer in the nonacademic labor market;

• Impediments or pathways to advancement, promotion and engagement of nonacademic employees;

• Ethical principles that should guide Emory as an employer and current and preferred practices in meeting those principles.

Each focus group will be facilitated jointly by a member of the Employee Council and a member of the Committee on Class and Labor. All responses will be held in strict confidence and recorded in writing with complete anonymity. 


Focus groups will meet in the Campus Services Training Room (Building B) at 100 Water Tower Place on:

• Thursday, May 24 from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.

• Wednesday, May 30 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

• Thursday, May 31 from 10:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.

"In an effort to make certain that all staff had an opportunity for their voices to be heard personally, we wanted to make focus groups available at hours that suited shifts besides the customary 8-to-5 day," says Gary Hauk, vice president and deputy to the president and co-chair of the Committee on Class and Labor.

This session of focus groups continues the committee's efforts to collect feedback and engage in dialogue with various stakeholders at Emory.

"We believe that for us to gather the most comprehensive picture of staff's views, we should reach out to staff who work multiple shifts and listen to their perspectives," says committee co-chair Nadine Kaslow, a School of Medicine professor and chief psychologist at Grady Memorial Hospital. "The input that we receive from them, in a safe and confidential setting, will significantly inform our recommendations."

There is no need to RSVP to participate in a focus group.