by Inger Mewburn
Hang out in any tearoom and you will hear complaints about work – that’s if there even is a tea room at the end of your open plan cubicle farm. Yet surprisingly little is known about the mundane, daily realities of academic work itself – despite the best efforts of many SRHE members.
Understanding the source of academic work unhappiness is important: unhappy academics lead to unhappy students and stressed-out administrators. If we know more about academics’ working lives, we are better placed to care for our colleagues and produce the kind of research and teaching our broader communities expect of us.
To understand more about academics’ working lives, we are embarking on an ambitious research project to survey 5000 working academics and would love you to take part.
Who is doing the ‘academic housework’?
Higher education institutions are major employers and substantial contributors to national economies. Yet there is a notable lack of comprehensive research on the practicalities of academic work, particularly with respect to how we bring our ‘whole self’ to work.
Just about everyone in academia is dealing with some aspect of their lives which affects how they do their work. Some are neurodiverse, with neurodiverse teenagers at home. Others may have a disability and are part of an under-represented group. More of us than you would think face financial precariousness and just being a woman can result in being given more of the ‘academic housework’. The impact of these various circumstances can be negative or positive from the employer point of view. For example, we know that neurodivergent academics spend a lot of energy ‘masking’ to make other people’s work lives easier, often at the expense of their own wellbeing (Jones, 2023). But we also know that including neurodiverse people in research groups can increase scientific productivity. At the same time, many neurodivergent people avoid disclosing for fear of stigma (even the word ‘disclose’ suggests that individuals should feel shame for merely being who they are).
Benefits for our employers can come at a great cost for us as individuals. While a body of literature exists on factors that affect student academic performance in university settings, there is no equivalent focus on university staff. The literature on students helps us design appropriate processes and services to try to even out the playing field and help everyone reach their potential. But we do not show this same compassion towards ourselves. The existing discourse on academics as workers tends to revolve around output metrics and shallow performance measures. This narrow focus fails to capture the full spectrum of academic labour and our lived experiences.
Our research aims to fill this gap by exploring how academics experience their work from their own perspectives. We seek to understand how the production of knowledge occurs, how academic work is constructed and experienced through daily practices, with a specific focus on academic productivity and distraction. We want to see how various bio-demographic factors interrelate and impact feelings like overwhelm and exhaustion.
Why this research matters
The importance of this study is multifaceted:
1. Informing Policy and Practice: By gaining a deeper understanding of academic work patterns, institutions can develop more effective policies to support their staff and enhance productivity and wellbeing.
2. Addressing Inequalities: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated existing inequalities in academia. Our research will explore how factors such as gender, caring responsibilities, and neurodiversity impact academic work experiences.
3. Adapting to Change: As the higher education sector continues to evolve, particularly in the wake of the pandemic and the rise of digital technologies like AI, it’s crucial to understand how these changes affect academic work practices.
4. Supporting Well-being: By examining the interplay between productivity, distraction, and work intensity, we can identify strategies to better support academics’ well-being and job satisfaction.
5. Enhancing Knowledge Production: Ultimately, by understanding and improving the conditions of academic work, we can enhance the quality and quantity of knowledge production in higher education and make better classrooms for everyone.
A comprehensive approach
Our study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining a large-scale survey with follow-up interviews. This methodology allows us to capture both broad trends and individual experiences, providing a nuanced picture of academic work life.
The survey covers a wide range of topics, including:
– Perceptions of academic productivity
– Experiences of distraction and focus
– Work distribution across research, teaching, and administration
– Impact of factors such as neurodiversity, caring responsibilities, and chronic conditions
– Use of technology and AI in academic work
– Feelings of belonging and value within the academic community
We are particularly interested in exploring how these factors intersect and influence each other. For instance, how does neurodiversity impact experiences of productivity and distraction? How do caring responsibilities interact with gender in relation to the number of hours worked and where the work takes place? And who thinks AI is helpful to their work and how are people ‘cognitively offloading’ to machines?
Call for participation
The success of this research hinges on wide participation from across the academic community. We are seeking respondents from all career stages, disciplines, and geographical locations. Whether you’re a seasoned professor or a new PhD student, whether you identify as neurodivergent or not, whether you love academic life or find it challenging – your experiences are valuable and needed.
Moreover, this research provides an opportunity for self-reflection. By engaging with the survey questions, you may gain new insights into your own work practices and experiences, potentially leading to personal growth and improved work strategies.
Looking ahead
The findings from this study will be disseminated through various channels, including academic publications, teaching materials, and potentially, policy recommendations. We are committed to making our results accessible and applicable to the wider academic community.
We stand at a critical juncture in higher education. As the sector faces unprecedented challenges and changes, understanding the nature of academic work has never been more important. By participating in this research, you can play a crucial role in shaping the future of academia.
To participate in the survey or learn more about the study, please visit the survey here: https://anu.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eEeXg1L3RZJJWce.
Professor Inger Mewburn is the Director of Researcher Development at The Australian National University where she oversees professional development workshops and programs for all ANU researchers. Aside from creating new posts on the Thesis Whisperer blog (www.thesiswhisperer.com), she writes scholarly papers and books about research education, with a special interest in post PhD employability, research communications and neurodivergence.
Reference
Jones, S (2023) ‘Advice for autistic people considering a career in academia’ Autism 27(7) pp 2187–2192