FEWER than 20% of academics at a Scottish university believe their managers are doing a good job.

A survey of staff at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) found just 19% said principal Professor Pamela Gillies and her senior management team "lead the university well".

Only 14% agreed with the statement that managers "listen to and respond to the views of frontline staff".

Some 33% said managers set out a clear vision of where the university is headed, while 20% or fewer felt recent changes had been handled well, were well planned and had been conducted at the right pace.

The staff survey marks the culmination of a difficult period for Glasgow Caledonian. In March last year, the university announced plans to axe up to 95 jobs as part an exercise to save £12 million over three years.

The university previously announced a controversial project to streamline its running, which saw a reduction in the number of academic schools from six to three.

Dr Nick McKerrell, convener of the university's combined union committee, said the survey revealed the extent of staff anger.

"The results are very worrying," he said. "As the combined union committee has warned for the last few years, the survey shows there is a significant gulf between senior management and the vast majority of the workforce.

"Although they are obviously committed to their job within the public service of higher education, the figures show that ordinary staff feel ignored by highly paid senior management who have carried through many controversial plans, including attempting to make 95 compulsory redundancies last year.

"With only 19% of staff thinking senior management lead the university well, serious questions have to be asked about the future of the current leadership.

"Unions on campus will be requesting a meeting with Court, the governing body of the university, to ask what they plan to do about the failures of GCU management reflected in the survey."

However, Prof Gillies, who earns £211,000, pointed to many positives within the survey in an email to staff. She said: "The survey results show that staff are generally positive about the university with 92% saying they are interested in the university and it is more than just a job, 85% saying they generally enjoy their work, 84% saying they feel valued by colleagues ... and 79% saying they receive regular and timely information about the university and its activities.

"However, there is also clear scope for improvement and the survey highlighted issues such as workload and bureaucracy, communications and co-operation, managing change and feeling valued, and job security."

A spokeswoman for the university added: "Last year was an exceptional year within the university as well as in the external environment, so it was important to understand how people were feeling, and staff have been open and honest about the challenges change has brought.

"We have issues to tackle and we're working to understand these and to act upon the important feedback received."

The university issued 1496 surveys and 820 were completed, giving a 55% response rate.