There will be three speakers and time for discussion.
Humorous aside: When I was asked in person to give this talk, I thought I heard that the invitation was from the ``Early career comedy". So I thought, ``I guess they are using comedy (such as skits) to cope with the stress of their work situation. But, I am surprised that they asked me because I am not really that funny."
After a few minutes of discussion, I realised that I had misheard. The invitation was from the ``committee" not for a ``comedy"!
What do you think I should say or not say?
Here are a few preliminary thoughts.
Start with empathy.
I remember this life stage as stressful and I did not always manage it well. Indeed, several times I have had mental health problems, which possibly could have been avoided if I had a better life-work balance.
I don't want to give a long list of do's and don'ts, but rather suggest some things to think about and discuss.
Know yourself.
Everyone is different. Don't compare yourself to others.
What are your values? What is most important to you?
What are the sources of stress, pleasure, satisfaction, and relaxation for you?
What are your expectations and presuppositions?
(e.g., if I work X hours a week, I will get a paper in a luxury journal, and then I will get a permanent job in academia.)
Know your environment.
Have a sober and realistic assessment of your chances of a permanent job in academia. It has more to do with chance than how many hours you work, the number of luxury papers, or grant $.
Universities don't necessarily want what is best for you, but rather what is best for senior management. Too often, their platitudes about work-life balance seem to be corporate well washing.
What aspects of your environment (phone, internet, boss, peers, family, ..) makes it hard for you to have a good work-life balance?
Be pro-active.
Set boundaries. Say no!
Do the basics (eat well, drink well, sleep, exercise, downtime).
Take breaks and vacations.
Small group discussion questions.
What do you do for ``downtime"?
Are you living consistently with your values?
How can you support one another to have a better work-life balance?
What boundaries do you need to set?
What do you think?
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/brandontaylor/i-dont-miss-being-a-scientist-except-when-i-do
ReplyDeleteWorking in science was brutal education - Thta is why I left.
Shouldn't we have already chucked the term "work-life balance" in the bin a long time ago? Is work not life? Should work not be an important, meaningful, and perhaps even fun part of life? Are colleagues, bosses, subordinates and students not people one should care about and share life with?
ReplyDeleteCould the continued use of the term "work-life balance" in fact be a root of stress at the workplace because it strongly implies a negative-positive dichotomy?
DeleteI agree with you work is part of life (often a major part). But I think in the term "work-life balance‘ means a balance between work and other aspects of life besides work. I feel both parts are neutral in this phrase.
DeleteThanks for the comment. I see your point. I agree that work is part of life, but it should NOT be your whole life. So perhaps a better term might be "balanced lifestyle".
DeleteIdeally, work should be a rewarding part of life, and fellow workers should treat one another with dignity and respect, and even enjoy one another. But, unfortunately, too often this is not the case.
An article worth reading is
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/smarter-living/your-workplace-isnt-your-family-and-thats-ok.html
I like your list a lot Ross. Particularly this: "Do the basics (eat well, drink well, sleep, exercise, downtime).
ReplyDeleteTake breaks and vacations."
Life is a marathon (ultramarathon?) not a sprint.
Ross, the joke and the illustration amused me. I like also your list.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the issues with academia is that the work-life boundary is very fuzzy.
ReplyDeleteI think about science in the shower, I think about science on my commute to work, I think about science when I'm painting. But I also think about painting when I'm doing science, I think about my family when doing science. I think about science when I'm playing with my kids.
My colleagues are my friends, many of my friends are (former) colleagues. I migrated because of science, and science gave me opportunities to see parts of the world. Science colored the way that I live my life, and my life is coloring my science.
It is not on/off ... there's a problem
I was actually thinking about "life balance" last night in bed, one of those prescient incidents again 😬
ReplyDeleteI reasoned that most people cannot change the weight on the "work" side or the "self" side of the balance, they can only try their best to move the "tipping point" - the fulcrum around which they try to balance.
And that is almost impossible while the balance is loaded