Many people working in academia find it difficult to achieve or maintain a good work-life balance. This talk goes into the reasons for this, the consequences of working too much, the benefits of having the right balance, and ways of achieving a better balance. The talk is very much based on my personal views and experiences, but I hope there is some interest in sharing these.
3. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
<11 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 >80
count
Hours worked per week
Working hours for Physical Sciences researchers
Data from the survey âWhat researchers think about the culture they work inâ,
Wellcome Trust, Jan 2020
4. 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
<11 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 >80
Count
Hours worked per week
Working hours (academics, no PhD or postdocs)
Data from the survey âWhat researchers think about the culture they work inâ,
Wellcome Trust, Jan 2020
8. Contract
âą a legal document
â sets out rights and duties (e.g. hours, leave)
â there are penalties if you break the conditions
âą an agreement on a transaction with
expectations on both sides
â matters a lot more than the legal side
â not observing the expectation hurts both sides
11. Brain chemicals
âą Neurotransmitters affecting happiness
â dopamine makes you do things: short-term reward,
highly addictive
â serotonin is related to pride, feeling important, joint
achievement
â oxytocin relates to trust, kindness
âą Stress hormone: cortisol
â inhibits oxytocin
â is bad for your body, physically as well as mentally
13. Happiness from without
âą âDoing/achieving/eating X will make me happyâ
âą Reward from external sources: the dopamine hit
âą It works very briefly, not long term
âą Can be compulsive
âą Watch out for the patterns
15. Goals, ambition, success
âą Goals and ambition are positive.
âą But you need to ask yourself why:
â Why do I pursue this particular goal/ambition?
â What does success mean to me?
â And what will it bring me?
âą If you donât define success, then success will not make
you happy
17. Respect
âą Everybody wants to be respected
â But the people who know you and like you already
respect you.
â Why does the respect of strangers matter to you?
â Itâs an imposed model of success: social hierarchy
â Careful, itâs a trap!
âThose who matter donât mind and
those who mind donât matterâ
19. Happiness from within
âą Itâs your reaction to a situation that
determines your state of mind
âą Self-awareness, mindfulness
âą Calm and fulfillment: serotonin
âą Practicing kindness: oxytocin (social reward)
21. Pressure
âą You feel under pressure to work long hours
â Why is that?
â Remember the contract!
22. What are your reasons?
Any of these?
hard to say no
perceived expectations
thinking that youâre not
efficient enough
everything seems urgent
perfectionism
habit
peer pressure
working against your rhythm
difficulty focusing
too many distractions
everything is a priority
feeling pressurised
daunting goals
few other interests
feeling overwhelmedOr others?
23. hard to say no
perceived expectations
thinking that youâre not
efficient enough
everything seems urgent
perfectionism
habit
peer pressure
working against your rhythm
difficulty focusing
too many distractions
everything is a priority
feeling pressurised
daunting goals
few other interests
feeling overwhelmedOr others?
Discuss your reasons with your neighbour
27. Resilience
âą Resilience is a key characteristic for academics
âą To be resilient you need to recharge
âą To recharge you need downtime
28. Productivity
âą Working long hours is not productive
â Long hours destroy concentration
â Need for unconscious processing time, essential
for problem solving and creativity
29. Adding value
âą to your own life: personal development
âą to other peopleâs lives
30. Mental health
âą Working all the time is dangerous:
â If you live for your work and your work goes badly,
it is very hard to keep your peace of mind.
â Risk of burnout
â KarĆshi
31. From the yearly campaign by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
34. Asking for help
âą Help with a task or help with your situation
âą Helps you
âą Makes the person asked feel good! (oxytocin!)
âą Provides opportunity for development
35. Planning
âą Medium term (semester)
âą Short term (week)
âą E.g. â7 habits of highly effective peopleâ
36. Taking stock
âą Howâs my life going?
âą Howâs my work going?
âą E.g. âWheel of lifeâ tool
40. Resources
âą Anton Muscatelliâs article âUniversities must overhaul
the toxic working culture for academic researchersâ
âą Wellcome Trust survey âWhat researchers think about
the culture they work inâ
âą Simon Sinekâs talk âWhy leaders eat lastâ, about
dopamine/serotonin/oxytocin/cortisol
âą Franklin Coveyâs âThe 7 habits of effective peopleâ
âą The âWheel of lifeâ tool