work life balance phd students

6 Work-Life Balance Tips for PhD Students

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6 Work-life Balance Tips for PhD Students

“failure may make you miserable but i’m not sure success will make you happy” – chris williamson (host of the modern wisdom podcast).

I think balance in anything is always good however when it comes to obtaining work-life balance achieving it is going to depend on your individual needs and circumstances.

On the surface, the term is self-explanatory and sounds great. Especially when it can reduce symptoms of fatigue, help lower stress levels and increase our work and life satisfaction.

Who wouldn’t want to achieve a good, healthy, and sustainable harmony between their career and the rest of their life?

Exactly! …Supervisors!

JK of course😉

But in all seriousness, while we all know what work-life balance is it can be quite difficult to achieve so with that said here are 6 tips that will hopefully help you in achieving said balance and making sure to prioritize all the things you deem important!

Ultimately this list will probably contain some things you don’t care about at all or things that are of vital importance to you. Feel free to pick and choose which tips resonate with you and try them out. The goal after all is to get closer to a balanced state for us and everyone’s definition of that might differ.

Here are 6 tips to help you get closer to your ideal work-life balance

Tip #1. start saying no more often   .

You won’t have this option for everything but it’s important to start exercising your “no muscles” before they atrophy and you are spread too thin. Maybe this means that some experiments will take longer or you will have to pass up going to a conference here and there but in the long run prioritizing your mental health and your health is more important. 

This is one of the things I struggle with a lot myself as I’m quite a people pleaser and I often feel like I’m letting people down if I say no but sometimes you just have to. For my fellow people-pleasers out there, It helps to think of it as you want to give people your best and you can only do that if you are focused, energized, and happy. If you are unfocused, tired, and depressed then you aren’t going to be much help to the latest person asking you for something anyway so you’re better off just being direct and honest with no. In the end, it’s the best thing you can do for both you and them.

Tip #2. Schedule regular breaks        

The best of both worlds, you get to be productive and still take breaks, all while eliminating the feeling of guilt associated with procrastination! I like this one because it’s easy to do and there are ways of doing it while still being very productive. The Pomodoro technique is one such method and it involves setting a timer and focussing on work for 25 mins then taking a 5 min break and rinse and repeat. 

I use it myself for my writing sessions or for doing stuff related to the podcast and it works while taking the stress off of having to make a ton of progress when you start something. By scheduling regular breaks we get to still make progress in a way that accounts for us being human and needing breaks every once in a while. While on these breaks make sure to do something that you enjoy and that energizes you, whether that’s going for a short walk or getting a cup of coffee, or talking with a colleague, doesn’t matter just do you.

Tip #3. Take care of your health

Your health is your number one asset in life. As long as you are healthy you have options but as soon as you aren’t those options evaporate quickly. Now just to be clear here I’m not suggesting you get a gym membership and go 3-5x week or start running marathons but just to put your health at the forefront of your mind and your schedule. Whatever that looks like for you is fine, especially at the beginning when exercising or eating healthy sucks the most. Some low-cost, high-leverage things you can start doing to take better care of your health include prioritizing getting enough sleep every night, drinking more water, going out for more walks, and reducing junk food consumption. You’d be surprised at how effective doing the simple things consistently over time is compared to doing hard things rarely. Here is a quote I love that explains this well.

“It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.”- Charlie Munger

P.S. I am not a registered physician so my advice is not medical advice at all but if you somehow manage to fail at drinking water and getting enough sleep then you have no one but yourself to blame for that.

Tip #4. Making time for family and friends

While it might often seem like time is scarce and it probably is, you do have it in your power to block off time for the things like friends and family. An example of this could be that every Friday evening is Dungeons and Dragons night with your friends ( Yes I’m nerdy) and you won’t miss that for any work-related event whether that’s a conference or anything else. Time blocking isn’t free of course as it ties in quite well with saying no. You’re just choosing to say no to everything that conflicts with your predefined time with friends and family.

Tip #5. Setting healthy boundaries between work and life

Boundaries are important, especially in academia where work never ends and there is constantly some new paper to read, experiment to do, or project to finish. Having clearly defined boundaries helps you focus your attention better and be actively engaged with either your work or your relationships. A good example of doing this well is not responding to work emails during the weekend or after working hours. Another often used tip for setting boundaries, especially on holidays is to enable the automatic response to emails saying you are on holiday and cannot / will not respond to emails for the duration of your holiday.

Tip #6. Start practicing self-compassion/mindfulness

I’m not saying this to add one more thing to your to-do list but rather to help you clear your mind and reflect and accept the situation you’re in and the emotions you are feeling. Let’s face it, life is hard, and doing a PhD doesn’t make it any easier. Not everything is going to always go our way and we need to accept that and be ready for that both mentally and emotionally. 

Having said this, you don’t need to start journaling and meditating for 1hr a day from now of course. Instead, test some meditating for 5-10 mins a day or journaling how your day went or what you are grateful for. The way I think of these things is that our mind needs a moment to unload all the work and life-related things we have going on and just relax for a second. Sort of like running a diagnostic check on your computer and closing background apps that are slowing it down. Overall it’s good for your performance and mental health to have a moment of introspection whatever form that takes for you.

So those were the 6 tips for trying to achieve work-life balance. Important to note that these are not strict requirements but instead just suggestions made by a fellow PhD on the interwebs just trying to help and figuring things out as they go along. In the end, how you choose to approach work-life balance is going to depend primarily on your circumstances, needs, values so while there is no universal correct way of doing it there is a correct way for you.

Further reading

Thank you for reading and if you haven’t started your PhD journey yet, but are interested in some tips for that then feel free to check out our Tips for Future PhDs blog series. Part 1 focuses on whether doing a PhD is actually a good idea or not. Part 2 is full of advice on finding a PhD position that works best for you. Part 3 has advice on the actual application process and tips for that. 

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Ten simple rules to improve academic work–life balance

Michael john bartlett.

1 Scion, Rotorua, New Zealand

Feyza Nur Arslan

2 Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Klosterneuburg, Austria

Adriana Bankston

3 Future of Research, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, United States of America

Sarvenaz Sarabipour

4 Institute for Computational Medicine and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America

Introduction

The ability to strike a perceived sense of balance between work and life represents a challenge for many in academic and research sectors around the world. Before major shifts in the nature of academic work occurred, academia was historically seen as a rewarding and comparatively low-stress working environment [ 1 ]. Academics today need to manage many tasks during a workweek. The current academic working environment often prioritizes productivity over well-being, with researchers working long days, on weekends, on and off campus, and largely alone, potentially on tasks that may not be impactful. Academics report less time for research due to increasing administrative burden and teaching loads [ 1 – 3 ]. This is further strained by competition for job and funding opportunities [ 4 , 5 ], leading to many researchers spending significant time on applications, which takes away time from other duties such as performing research and mentorship [ 1 , 2 ]. The current hypercompetitive culture is particularly impactful on early career researchers (ECRs) employed on short-term contracts and is a major driver behind the unsustainable working hours reported in research labs around the world, increases in burnout, and decline in satisfaction with work–life balance [ 6 – 10 ]. ECRs may also find themselves constrained by the culture and management style of their laboratory and principal investigator (PI) [ 11 – 12 ]. Work–life balance can be defined as an individual’s appraisal of how well they manage work- and nonwork-related obligations in ways that the individual is satisfied with both, while simultaneously maintaining their health and well-being [ 13 ]. Increasing hours at work can conflict with obligations outside of work, including but not limited to family care commitments, time with friends, time for self-care, and volunteering and community work. The increasing prevalence of technology that allows work to be out of the office can also exacerbate this conflict [ 14 , 15 ].

The academic system’s focus on publications and securing grant funding and academic positions instead of training, mentoring, and mental health has skewed the system negatively against prioritizing “The whole scientist” [ 5 , 16 ]. Research focused on the higher education sector has revealed that poor work–life balance can result in lower productivity and impact, stifled academic entrepreneurship, lower career satisfaction and success, lower organizational commitment, intention to leave academia, greater levels of burnout, fatigue and decreased social interactions, and poor physical and mental health, which has become increasingly prevalent among graduate students [ 1 , 17 – 22 ]. For instance, a recent international survey of over 2,000 university staff views on work–life balance found that many academics feel stressed and underpaid and struggle to fit in time for personal relationships and family around their ever-growing workloads [ 20 ]. These systemic issues are making it increasingly difficult to maintain an efficient, productive, and healthy research enterprise [ 23 ].

In the academic context, work–life balance needs to be examined with regard to spatial and temporal flexibility, employment practices, and employee habits. The need to improve work–life balance is recognized for researchers at all career stages [ 7 , 22 , 24 , 25 ]. While there is a growing literature providing specific strategies to cope with busy academic life [ 26 – 28 ], collating these disparate advice pieces into a coherent framework is a daunting task and few capture multifaceted advice by ECRs for ECRs. Departments and institutes need to contribute to improving research practices for academics at all levels on the career ladder [ 29 , 30 ]. PIs and mentors can promote healthier environments in their laboratories by respecting boundaries and providing individuals with greater autonomy over their own working schedule [ 11 , 12 , 31 – 33 ]. However, institutions do not typically prioritize work–life balance, leading to the loss of valuable talent in the research pipeline. The power dynamics within academia are evident now more than ever, with ECRs lacking agency at multiple time points and in controlling many aspects of their training. This may be especially true for trainees from underrepresented backgrounds, who face additional hurdles to their professional advancement in the current academic environment while attempting to maintain work–life balance. Furthermore, academia, in general, does not always value the aspects of a researcher’s job that the researcher finds important such as teaching, mentoring, and service. Thus, the experience of individual researchers regarding work–life balance will vary depending on multiple factors [ 34 – 39 ], including personal circumstances and satisfaction with aspects of life outside of work [ 40 ]. It is therefore unlikely that there is a “one size fits all” approach to effectively address work–life balance issues.

In order to support ECRs in maintaining work–life balance, institutions should support individualized strategies that are continually refined during their training. Here, drawing from our discussion as part of the 2019–2020 eLife Community Ambassador program and our experiences as ECRs, we examine the strategies individuals can adapt to strike a healthier balance between the demands of personal life and a career in research.

While many of the challenges junior academics face are systemic problems and will take a while to fix, some level of individual adjustment and planning may help ECRs more immediately and on an individual level. The rules presented here seek to empower ECRs to take action in improving their own well-being, while also providing a call to action for institutions to increase mechanisms of support for their trainees so they can thrive and move forward in their careers.

Rule 1: Long hours do not equal productive hours

One common reason for work–life imbalance is the feeling of lagging behind as a result of the present-day competitive nature of academia. This has led to incorrectly normalized practice of overwork, due to a sense of pressure from colleagues or ourselves, contributing to increasing mental health problems in academia [ 3 , 7 , 9 ]. On the other hand, keeping a balance sets one for higher productivity and creativity [ 41 ] and long-term satisfaction with work [ 17 , 18 ]. It is important to focus on the benefits of work–life balance on overall well-being and to accept that performing research and building a career in academia is a long process. Taking time off should not be associated with a feeling of guilt for not working at that moment. On the contrary, it should be seen as a necessity to have good health, energy, and motivation for the next return to work. A break can result in a boost to your productivity (rate of output) [ 42 ]. Studies show output of working hours to not increase linearly after a threshold and absence of a rest day to decrease output, as long hours result in errors and accidents, as well as fatigue, stress, and sickness [ 43 , 44 ]. It can be challenging to cut down on work hours when you feel that there is so much to get done. We also acknowledge that there are times when putting in long hours may be needed, for example, to meet a deadline; however, keeping this behavior constant might have more disadvantages than advantages in the long term.

Having flexibility in when and where you work can help you manage tasks and feel more balanced. It is important to discuss your needs with people at work and at home, in order to establish expectations and fit your lifestyle.

Rule 2: Examine your options for flexible work practices

Examine your relationship with your work, and try alternative schedules. Review your expected obligations, employer work hour rules, and offered benefits. Where possible, make use of modernization of work tools (such as remote work methods using digital technologies); working time is no longer exclusively based on in-person presence at the workplace, but rather the accomplishment of tasks [ 45 , 46 ]. The virtual office aspect can offer extensive flexibility in terms of time and location of work, reduce time spent traveling and commuting, and allow easier management of schedules and lives. Attending conferences online and giving invited talks, seminars, and interviews virtually can reduce fatigue and increase the time available for activities essential for your well-being [ 47 , 48 ]. Working remotely may not work for all or on many days of a week, but an overall reduction in travel is possible. In some instances, it may be difficult to know beforehand how much time you will be allocating to particular tasks in your new job, also some tasks such as fieldwork or labwork cannot be done remotely. Factor in workplace flexibility policies when looking at employment options and negotiating contracts. At the interview stage, ask your employer and prospective supervisor about flexible hours, options such as compressed workweeks, job sharing, telecommuting, or other scheduling flexibility to work in a way that best fits your efficiency and productivity. The more control you have over where and when you work, the less stressed you are likely to be. Once you know the options available to you, agree on a schedule based on your expectations and needs. Clear agreements on how and when to work are necessary to avoid conflict between work and nonwork obligations [ 45 ], so it is important to effectively communicate agreements with your managers, mentors [ 31 ], supervisors, colleagues, and also with your family. Having said this, in reality, ECRs may not always be able to negotiate salaries and benefits as conditions might be predetermined by an institution, a fellowship, or a PI’s strict expectations. Weigh the pros and cons of nonnegotiable job offers carefully. Remember that some constraints might be relaxed over time as your new employers build trust in you; therefore, continue the communication to find the best arrangements for your work.

As you try to reduce overworking and be more flexible with working arrangements, you will need to be very focused within the time frame that you have available. This is especially important as work–life balance boundaries become blurred if working from home. Setting boundaries is critical to success, as detailed below.

Rule 3: Set boundaries to establish your workplace and time

Setting spatial and temporal boundaries around your work is important for focusing on the task in hand and preventing work from taking over other parts of your life. When you are in the office and need to focus, make sure you can work in a quiet place where colleagues are unlikely to distract you. If you work in a shared office space, communicate with those around you to let them know your needs, or if you need complete silence, then consider working in a designated space for focused work. While working from home, some may struggle to disconnect from work, step away from screens, and set clear boundaries between digital and physical settings. Screen time needs to be managed so that remote workers do not blur the lines of work and life, as that can result in discouragement and burnout. Ask your coworkers to not demand your attention toward work after a certain time in the evening. Turn off email notifications outside of working hours. By setting boundaries, you will also set an example for your coworkers and mentees. When working at home, separating your workspaces from relaxation spaces can be helpful. This way, less clutter can decrease your stress levels, and a separated space can help you to draw a line between work and family. Even carving an area on a table dedicated to your work time can help with calm and work–life balance.

In order for your resulting work to be of high quality, diligence is key. In addition to being focused on your task, you should also establish a routine and prioritize your tasks, being able to then gain more control over your time. Learning to say no is also critical. Below we expand on these issues in the context of efficiency and productivity.

Rule 4: Commit to strategies that increase your efficiency and productivity

Many people use to-do lists and outline daily/weekly tasks, defining both work- and nonwork-related obligations that need to be accomplished. For nonwork responsibilities, devise a strategy with your family or those you live with to delegate tasks. Make sure responsibilities at home are clearly outlined and evenly distributed.

• Manage your time. Learning how to effectively manage your time and focus while at work is critical. Set a schedule to help in managing time, and do not forget to include buffer times between your plans, such as a coffee break with colleagues and a walk away from the bench or computer screen, to socialize and rest. Outside of busy periods, try to keep routines of work hours. Try time blocking, for example, check email and other social media (e.g., Slack) messages at specific times of the workday, and, if possible, arrange meetings at concentrated times during the day. This will maximize the amount of deep work that can be done during work hours. Sometimes, multitasking, for instance, running a few experiments at the same time or trying to work in between several meetings, may not result in great outcomes; have realistic plans and monotask if you find it better.
• Minimize decision fatigue. Decision fatigue refers to the deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual after a long session of decision-making. Decision fatigue depletes self-control, which results in emotional stress, underachievement, lack of persistence, and even failures of task performance [ 49 ]. To reduce this, make the most important decisions first in your workday, and limit and simplify your choices.
• Collaborate. Workplace and home collaborations can take some of the load off and help in managing stress. Adjusting to teamwork or training a student may seem like extra commitments at the beginning, but, in the long run, they can help delegate some of the tasks on your calendar and help maintain a better work–life balance.
• Do not overcommit. Learn to say “no” [ 46 ]. Consider that accepting extra, low-impact tasks will sacrifice your nonwork time and may also take attention off your other important work appointments. Try to drop activities that drain your energy, such as nonessential meetings that do not enhance your life or career, and be efficient within this limited time with set goals.
• Discover your own strategies. Try to figure out what strategies work for you, and apply these to your life. Individuals respond differently to time of the day, physical conditions, and stress. Productivity may come with creative arrangements, and a high degree of organization may not work for everyone. Sometimes, improvisation and flexible schedules might be what you need.

As you begin to make decisions about the best way to manage your time, being strategic is key to prioritizing. You should aim to review your strategy and ability to stick to it often.

Rule 5: Have a long-term strategy to help with prioritization, and review it regularly

Having a long-term strategy that considers what you want to achieve and the timelines needed to get there can help with prioritization and deciding what to take on and what to say no to. This not only includes goals linked to your research career but also what is important to you outside of work, whatever this may be. When managing your work and nonwork tasks, see how well they align with your short- and long-term goals when you are deciding on the time and energy you need to allocate to attain them. With daily tasks, starting each day with the most important task, allocating the most productive hours to important tasks, as well as grouping similar tasks might help increase productivity and efficiency. A long-term look can help justify time spent on particular tasks, such as learning new skills, which might be taking extra time now but would help reduce stress in the long term. It is important to review your strategic goals and how well you are doing regularly, updating your strategy as needed. Consider using weekly time management charts to assess your task delegation retrospectively ( Fig 1 ). Have you been able to reach the goals you set? Did your time get taken up by other tasks? Did you use additional time to meet work goals at the expense of priorities outside of work? Are the goals you have set realistic and achievable, or do you need to make adjustments? If this appears overwhelming remember that your plans do not necessarily need to be detailed, simply keeping track of the hours spent working can be useful [ 26 ]. It is normal for priorities to change over time. Choose mentors that can help you achieve your short- and long-term goals, and consult with them regularly on your work–life balance strategies [ 31 ].

Dynamic, prospective, or retrospective weekly or monthly time management assessment charts can help researchers with improving their work–life balance by determining exactly how they spend their time. There are 164 hours in a week. Example hour allocation is shown here for academics across career stages [ 50 ]. Hours allocated will vary depending on the researcher’s disciplines (for instance, humanities versus life sciences or engineering) and circumstances such as end or beginning of semester, when approaching a deadline, or when a committee is busiest. Teaching responsibilities include course instruction and administration, including grading and evaluation. Family time includes interacting, dining, and performing housekeeping chores with family members. Research activities include performing research and literature review time. External service may include manuscript or grant reviewing and editorial tasks. Meetings may include lab/group meetings, departmental faculty meetings, or other council meetings. Self-care activities may include attending to one’s hobbies. Internal service includes department and university service. Weekends and public holidays are included in the weeks. Other tasks not included in this chart may be professional development, writing letters of recommendation, advising undergraduate students, faculty and student hiring/recruitment, marketing/public relations, fundraising, phone calls, reception/dinner, commute/travel, scheduling/planning, and reporting. ECR, early career researcher; MLCR, mid- to later career researcher; PI, principal investigator. Figure created using ggplot library in R [ 51 ].

In order to do your best in life and work, you need to put yourself first. You can do that by paying attention to your eating and sleeping schedule and engaging in activities that will keep you physically healthy and stimulate your mind.

Rule 6: Make your health a priority

You are not only defined by your work. Spending time on self-care and relaxation is a necessity in life to maintain a healthy body and mind, leading to a fulfilling lifestyle. This, in turn, will enable you to achieve peak performance and productivity in the workspace.

• Eat a healthy diet. A balanced diet with emphasis on fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean protein enhances the ability to retain knowledge as well as stamina and well-being. An option could be keeping fruit baskets in your office with your colleagues.
• Get enough sleep. Lack of sleep increases stress, and associated fatigue is linked to poor work–life balance [ 52 ]. One potential way to improve sleep quality is to avoid using personal electronic devices, such as smartphones and tablets, during your personal and other nonwork times, particularly right before going to sleep as screen time is associated with less and poorer quality rest [ 53 , 54 ].
• Prioritize your physical and mental health. Set time aside for individual or group physical activities of your choice. Schedule specific times for social activities and exercise to unwind, by arranging ahead of time with others or signing up to regular classes, making the plans harder to cancel. Using the gym at your workplace during a break can freshen you. Or you can bike or jog to work if safe to have some daily exercise. Equally important is dedicated time for your mental health. Reading a book, listening to music, gardening, many other activities, or if you prefer, regularly talking to a therapist could help you disengage from work, enjoy other aspects of life, rest, process, and recharge.
• Try meditation or mindfulness exercises. Meditation can reduce stress and increase productivity [ 29 ]; it will help you focus your thoughts and develop more self-awareness. If you are aware of when and why you are stressed or exhausted, these feelings become a trigger for you to lean into a boundary such as taking a screen break, going for a walk, or simply resting your eyes for 15 minutes before jumping back into a task or meeting. You can do meditation or yoga at home for short intervals. Do what is realistic for your life at the time and what helps you along.
• Make time for your hobbies and relaxation. Set aside time each day for an activity that you enjoy [ 28 , 55 , 56 ]. Discover activities you can do with your partner, family, or friends—such as hiking, dancing, or taking cooking classes. Listen to your favorite music at work to foster concentration, reduce stress and anxiety, and stimulate creativity [ 57 ].

While your work is important, you will be much happier if you schedule some social time into your week. This is a simple need, and methods vary from person to person, but the common goal is to increase your sense of connection and belonging, satisfaction with life, and/or energy.

Rule 7: Regularly interact with family and friends

Your work schedule does not need to lead to loss of your personal relationships. Scheduling time off to meet in-person or interact online with your loved ones in advance will make it harder to cancel plans in favor of working longer. As an example of good practice, most parents, even in academia, need to schedule their time around family responsibilities, which actually obliges them to maintain a work–life balance; they typically do not overstay at work every day, take the weekends off, and use annual leave. Meeting with friends and family will provide a chance to reconnect with them and your shared values. If you live in a country different from your family and friends, it is important to keep in touch using online audiovisual call and chat technologies. Other ways to relax include taking walks with loved ones, being out in nature, or playing board games. Social downtime can help replenish a person’s attention and motivation, encourages productivity and creativity, and is essential to both achieve our highest levels of performance and form stable memories in everyday life [ 58 ].

In addition to spending time for yourself and with family and friends, engaging in activities that are important to you, even when these activities are demanding, can bring a needed sense of achievement and satisfaction.

Rule 8: Make time for volunteer work or similar commitments that are important and meaningful to you

Many find additional engagements outside of their day to day jobs both important and rewarding. These activities would not be considered hobbies or relaxation, examples may include volunteering for the local community (e.g., at pet shelters, food banks, and environmental efforts), regional and online communities (e.g., student advocacy groups), time on boards or committees outside of work (e.g., acting as treasurer or secretary of a club), and learning a new language when you have moved to a new place. Many ECRs enjoy taking their work one step forward to volunteer with organizations focused on the societal value or impact of their work. This can help expand your perspective as an ECR working on a particular research topic, by understanding the broader picture of what you are working on and why and giving it a human impact dimension. Others may opt to volunteer in activities that are entirely independent of their research, which can provide opportunities to clear your mind for a good period of time and boost your mood. Although these activities add extra work to your schedule, if they are important to you, then you might find it difficult to find balance without the sense of achievement and reward they bring. However, when under pressure from work and home, finding time for these activities can be challenging—remember that work–life balance needs to be continually reassessed; consider taking a break if you need to and revisiting these extra commitments at a better time.

In addition to advisors and departments, institutions can take measures to support ECRs and provide them with necessary resources to thrive. They should also create a culture where asking for help is encouraged, and support for the well-being of researchers exists at their institution.

Rule 9: Seek out or help create peer and institutional support systems

Support systems are also critical to your success, and building more than one will increase your chances of success and balance overall [ 59 ]. At work, join forces with coworkers who can cover for you—and vice versa—when family conflicts arise. At home, enlist trusted friends and loved ones to pitch in with childcare or household responsibilities when you need to work overtime or travel. Seek support in academic communities and organizations who are working on mental health and well-being. For instance, PhD balance is a community space for academics to learn from shared experiences, to openly discuss and receive help for difficult situations, and to create resources and connect with others [ 60 ]. Dragonfly Mental Health, a nonprofit organization, strives to improve mental health care access and address the unhealthy culture pervading academia [ 61 ]. Everyone may need help from time to time. If life feels too chaotic to manage and you feel overwhelmed, talk with a professional, such as a counselor or other mental health provider. If your employer offers an employee assistance program, take advantage of available services. Joining a support and peer mentorship group, such as graduate, postdoctoral or faculty Slack communities [ 31 ], or working parents seeking and sharing work–life balance strategies, provides at least two key advantages: an opportunity to vent to people who truly understand your experiences and the ability to strategize with a group about how to improve your situation. A combination of these steps will help researchers to improve their work–life balance.

Finally, if your ability to effectively implement the advice in Rules 1 to 8 is constrained by the culture in your lab or pressure from the academic system, seek support from mentors, and advocate for yourself and for the change you would like to see.

Rule 10: Open a dialogue about the importance of work–life balance and advocate for systemic change

Spreading awareness and promoting good practice for managing work–life balance are essential toward shifting the prevailing culture away from current excellence at any cost practices. While major change is only likely to come about with a coordinated shift in the way that research laboratories, institutions, publishers, funders, and governments assess research endeavors at a broadscale, there is much that can be done at smaller scales to improve the culture at institutions and within labs [ 62 ]. Leverage the support of communities that empower ECRs to participate in advocating for the importance of mental well-being in academia through research and programs (see Rule 9). Discussions on work–life balance can also be initiated through seminars and courses. You can ask for, or if you plan to get more involved, organize workshops and training in your institute for ECRs. Another way to encourage collective work–life balance could be to host activities such as family and employee sports, outdoor movies, or picnic events encouraging family-friendly time and team building. Advocate for policies in your workplace that can help reduce conflict between work and other responsibilities, for example, childcare services or pet-friendly workspaces. To advocate at larger scales, you can join graduate/postdoctoral researcher associations, unions, or work councils to actively pursue work–life balance–friendly policies and employment contracts at institutes and through funding agencies. For instance, institutions and funding agencies that do not encourage the traditional gender roles allowing both men and women to take family leave, see better work–life balance, and reduced work–life conflict [ 63 , 64 ]. If the culture in your research lab constrains your ability to manage your work–life balance in a way you find satisfactory, shifting departmental and institutional attitudes and policies can put pressure on PIs to build a more supportive work culture via steps outlined elsewhere [ 11 , 12 , 31 – 33 ]. Although organizational culture cannot be changed overnight, changes in policy can go a long way in creating a culture that aids work–life balance in the academic workplace [ 62 – 64 ].

Conclusions

Most academic jobs come with flexible working hours, which can be advantageous when researchers attempt to balance the competing obligations in their lives. Yet, ECRs typically work significantly longer than the normal working hours of academic employment contracts [ 65 ]. How researchers spend their time has major impacts on their well-being, productivity, and professional scale of impact and those of their mentees, family, colleagues, and institutions in the short and long term. Academic culture has normalized and ignored overworking often at the expense of a social life, or of even greater concern, at the expense of researchers’ health and well-being. It is important for all academic researchers, institutions, and funding agencies to credit service and administrative activities, to acknowledge difficulties in satisfying work- and nonwork-related obligations in academic careers, and support diverse strategies to attain work–life balance [ 29 , 30 ]. It is imperative to examine work–life balance practices by ECRs, suggest improvements, and integrate these into employment and promotion offers. Here, we provided recommendations for ECRs to improve management of the balance between their professional and personal lives, but striking a healthy work–life balance is not a one-shot deal. Managing work–life balance is a continuous process as your family, interests, and work life change. Working long hours does not equate to working better. Regularly examine your priorities—and, if necessary, make changes—to ensure you stay on track. Ultimately, for the benefit of researchers and the important work that they do, both individuals and institutions need to make health and well-being a priority.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Inez Lam of Johns Hopkins University for valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. We also thank the facilitators of the 2019–2020 eLife Community Ambassador program.

Funding Statement

This work was the product of volunteer time and the authors received no specific funding for this work.

Balancing Work, School, and Personal Life among Graduate Students: a Positive Psychology Approach

• Published: 24 July 2018
• Volume 14 , pages 1265–1286, ( 2019 )

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• Jessica M. Nicklin 1 ,
• Emily J. Meachon 1 &
• Laurel A. McNall 2  

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Graduate students are faced with an array of responsibilities in their personal and professional lives, yet little research has explored how working students maintain a sense of well-being while managing work, school, and personal-life. Drawing on conservation of resources theory and work-family enrichment theory, we explored personal, psychological resources that increase enrichment and decrease conflict, and in turn decrease perceptions of stress. In a study of 231 employed graduate students, we found that mindfulness was negatively related to stress via perceptions of conflict and enrichment, whereas self-compassion, resilience, and recovery experience were negatively related to stress, but only through conflict, not enrichment. These findings suggest that graduate students who are able to be “in the moment” may experience higher levels of well-being, in part due to greater enrichment and lower conflict.

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Nicklin, J.M., Meachon, E.J. & McNall, L.A. Balancing Work, School, and Personal Life among Graduate Students: a Positive Psychology Approach. Applied Research Quality Life 14 , 1265–1286 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-018-9650-z

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Published : 24 July 2018

Issue Date : November 2019

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-018-9650-z

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Nov. 13, 2023

Work-life balance in graduate school, by: manuel carmona pichardo. manuel explores ways of maintaining a work-life balance in graduate school..

Graduate school is a challenging yet rewarding journey that demands rigorous academic commitment, research, and personal growth. As graduate students navigate this phase of their education, balancing academic pursuits and emotional well-being is essential. A healthy work-life balance is crucial for success and maintaining physical and mental health. In this blog, I will discuss the importance of work-life balance in graduate school, including some common barriers and practical tips to help establish this balance.

Maintaining a work-life balance in graduate school is essential for preserving one's physical and mental well-being, fostering creativity, nurturing strong relationships, and setting the stage for a sustainable and successful academic and professional journey. However, maintaining such balance is easier said than done! Sadly, there can be a lack of open discussion about work-life balance in the context of graduate studies and academia. This can be attributed to several factors, such as:

• Lab/group culture: In some academic and research environments, there is a culture of overwork and extreme dedication to one's studies or work. This can create a stigma around discussing work-life balance, as some may perceive it as a sign of weakness or lack of commitment.
• Academic Pressure: Graduate students often feel immense pressure to excel academically, which can deter them from addressing issues related to work-life balance. They might be concerned that discussing these issues could be seen as a sign of inadequacy or an inability to handle the demands of their field.
• Lack of Awareness: Some students and faculty may not fully understand the importance of work-life balance or the potential consequences of neglecting it. This lack of awareness can lead to a failure to prioritize discussions around this topic.
• Advisor-Student Dynamics: In academia, the dynamic between advisors and their students can make students hesitant to discuss personal concerns, including work-life balance. Students may fear repercussions or that they are potentially jeopardizing academic or professional relationships.
• Perceived Competition: Graduate students may feel a sense of competition with their peers, and discussing work-life balance might be seen as a weakness or a lack of commitment to the field. This perceived competition can discourage open conversations about balance.
• Institutional Expectations: Some academic institutions place a heavy emphasis on research, publishing, and academic performance, which can reinforce a culture of overwork and devalue work-life balance. This can create an institutional barrier to open discussions on the topic.

There is growing recognition within academia and among students of the importance of work-life balance. Many universities and organizations are taking steps to address this issue by offering resources, workshops, and support services focused on well-being and work-life balance. Graduate student associations and advocacy groups are also crucial in promoting conversations around a sustainable work-life balance and encouraging cultural shifts within academia.

Despite acknowledging the importance of work-life balance, students may face several challenges that complicate maintaining a healthy schedule. For one, graduate school comes with intensive workloads and expectations. The academic demands, including coursework, research, and teaching responsibilities, can be overwhelming, leaving little time for personal life. This heavy workload can lead students to experience mental health issues. Burnout can also hinder productivity and harm one's overall quality of life. 

Another problem is that graduate students can have irregular and unpredictable schedules due to the timing of experiments and other activities, making it difficult to plan and maintain consistent routines outside their academic commitments. Participating in group activities can also help reduce some of the stress of graduate studies. Many graduate students also face financial constraints, which may lead them to take up additional work outside of their studies to make ends meet. This can further exacerbate the challenges of balancing work and personal life. 

Below are some tips for prioritizing a healthy work-life balance:

• Prioritize Time Management: Effective time management is the cornerstone of maintaining work-life balance. Develop a schedule that allocates dedicated time for research, coursework, and personal activities. Use calendars or digital planners to stay organized and set realistic daily goals.
• Establish clear boundaries between work and personal life: Avoid working excessively long hours or bringing work home. Setting specific boundaries allows you to disconnect from academic responsibilities when it's time for relaxation and self-care.
• Practice Self-Care: Make self-care a priority. Engage in activities that promote physical and mental well-being, such as exercise, meditation, reading for pleasure, or pursuing hobbies. Take breaks to recharge and reduce stress.
• Seek Support: Don't hesitate to seek support when needed. Reach out to friends, labmates, mentors, academic advisors, or counselors if you face academic or personal challenges. Sharing your concerns with a support network can help alleviate stress and anxiety.
• Socialize and Network: Attend departmental events, conferences, and social gatherings to connect with peers and faculty. Building a supportive community can enhance your academic and personal life.
• Learn to Say No: It's essential to recognize your limitations and not overcommit. Politely decline additional responsibilities or commitments that may interfere with your work-life balance. Prioritize your well-being.

In conclusion, work-life balance is vital to success and well-being in graduate school. Balancing academic rigor with personal life can help you avoid burnout, maintain mental health, foster creativity, and build strong relationships. Ultimately, a balanced approach will lead to success in graduate school and set the foundation for a happy and healthy future. I hope this blog has helped you in some way!  

Work Life Balance in Graduate School

By Luke Wink-Moran

Photo by   Pixel-Shot

Deadlines, classes, and work all sometimes feel a higher priority than resting or spending time with friends and family. But according to UArizona experts, unbalanced priorities can be harmful to your health and compromise your professional success.

“Time away from work is incredibly important,” says Dr. David Sbarra, a professor in the Department of Psychology where he directs the Laboratory for Social Connectedness and Health. “People misunderstand this key point all of the time and just try to take on more and more work.”

According to Dr. Sbarra, students who take on too much work risk placing themselves in a state of chronic stress, which can lead to sleep disruptions and create “a psychological environment in our body that makes us more susceptible to disease.” Dr. Sbarra explained that sleep disruptions can also lead to an increased risk of adverse events like car accidents and chronic illness.

Graduate students should be aware of the risks of chronic stress because, according to Dr. Leslie Ralph, a psychologist who works in the University of Arizona’s CAPS department, “Research on graduate students does show that they experience a much higher level of distress than the general population. Studies on graduate and professional students also shows that quality of life and general well-being are significant protective factors in their success. In other words, having a low quality of life and general well-being can put students at risk for failing.”

So the case for finding work-life balance becomes clear: a well-balanced life benefits not only students’ mental health, but their performance in school.

When asked why some graduate students might have a hard time finding a work-life balance, and what she might like to say to them, Dr. Ralph said, “Many times, grad students have high (or even unrealistic) expectations for themselves, might feel like an “imposter,” or be afraid of disappointing others. It can sometimes feel like it isn’t safe to feel good, and it can be hard to remember that well-being involves so much more than academic success.”

For those students who want to take strides towards a healthier work-life balance, Dr. Sbarra shared this advice: “Setting and maintaining good boundaries are important to establishing work-life balance. I work best when I do not work too much. There’s irony in this statement: To work better, work smarter hours, not necessarily longer hours. For me, smarter hours means being well-rested.”

For more specific strategies that students, faculty, and staff can use to maintain a healthy work-life balance, Lourdes A. Rodríguez, Manager of Childcare and Family Resources at Life & Work Connections, offers the following suggestions:

Self-care:   Everything starts with recognizing the importance of caring for yourself. If you do not take the time and needed steps to stay physically and mentally healthy, you won’t be able to achieve your goals. 

Reasonable expectations : Thoroughly assess what you can and cannot do. Nobody is perfect; therefore, do not aim for perfection, but for “good enough.” This means you need to learn to say “no” sometimes.

            Planning: Good time management enables us to work smarter, not harder.

Adaptability: N o matter how much we plan, the unexpected can happen; therefore, it is important to accept changes and adapt as needed.

Boundaries : Establish clear guidelines for suitable behaviors and responsibilities. Often, expectations are implied or assumed. It’s helpful to be explicit about boundaries in order to benefit fully from the safeguards they allow.

Communication : This includes not only speaking, but active listening. Developing good communication skills helps us to clearly share our opinions, desires, and needs.

For more information, check out the CAPS graduate student groups and self-help resources in the following links:

Self-Care Tips for Grad Students: https://caps.arizona.edu/self-care-tips-grad-students

Pathways to Wellness Personal Wellness Plan: https://caps.arizona.edu/pathwaystowellness

CAPS groups overview: https://caps.arizona.edu/groups-overview

A List of Resources for Graduate Students with Children https://grad.arizona.edu/diversityprograms/sites/default/files/uagc_page/final_students_who_are_parents_resources.pdf

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Achieve work-life balance in grad school

A good work-life balance contributes to your overall mental and physical health. Since graduate students are six times more likely to experience depression or anxiety than the general population, achieving a good work-life balance should be one of your top priorities.

Working Longer ≠ Working Better

The stereotypical grad student is overworked and doesn’t have time for anything but their research. But this stereotype is based on a flawed idea. Working longer doesn’t mean you’re working better. Are you really doing your best work after 12 straight hours on the same task? Is there really any benefit to starting a new project at 8 pm rather than waiting until the next morning?

Working effectively and efficiently is key to achieving a better work-life balance. It’s also the biggest mindset change required for most grad students. To work effectively and efficiently, you need to minimize any unnecessary extra time spent on a task. An easy way to do this is to make a plan before you begin a new project so it doesn’t take longer than it has to. Before starting a project, think through all the steps, determine if you have all the resources you will need, and figure out how much time you should set aside for each step. Things may not go entirely according to your plan, but it’s better to spend a little more time learning proper technique then to waste a day because you have to order a reagent you didn’t know you would need. If you plan, you minimize your chances of working late to compensate for time lost earlier in the day.

Being selective about your work goes hand-in-hand with planning. Say you need to learn about a new topic. Is it better to spend the entire day reading every single article you can find about the subject or instead spend eight hours reading a few of the most-referenced articles and book chapters, then spending your evening doing something else? Which do you think will give you a deeper understanding of the topic? Cramming will mean you spend the whole day working and end up with only a cursory knowledge of the subject. You’ll learn more from a close reading of a few key articles, plus you’ll have some time to actually process what you’ve read.

Set Your Hours

Academia is rarely a 9 to 5 job. While this often gets construed as a justification for working nights and weekends, use it to your advantage to set your work hours at the time when you are most productive. If you are a morning person, consider starting your work a few hours earlier. If you do your best thinking in the evening, shift your day so you can relax in the morning then do the bulk of your work during your most productive time. Of course, if you work in a lab or shared office, check with your supervisor first to make sure they are okay with you working different hours.

Once you set your work hours, stick to them. When you’re done for the day, move all tasks still in progress to tomorrow’s to-do list. Having set hours means you can enjoy your nights and weekends, but also gives you the flexibility to work a bit longer if you need to. There are only so many hours in a day and if you already work for most of then, how will you find any extra time when there’s a deadline approaching? And on that note…

Getting enough sleep isn’t just a way to achieve work-life balance, it contributes to your overall health. You can’t give 100% at work if you’re overtired. Sleep also affects your long-term memory making it even more important to get your eight hours every night.

In addition to getting a full night’s sleep, work-life balance also includes taking a proper lunch break and even a dinner break if you must work late. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, if you don’t eat lunch you are going to crash later in the day. Secondly, a lunch break gives you a chance to take a break and socialize with the people you work with. Getting to know your fellow grad students helps foster a friendly work environment, which will make your job a lot more enjoyable.

Forming these good habits in grad school will help you maintain a great work-life balance as you progress in your academic career.

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Discover more about what it's like to be a postgraduate student at surrey., maintaining a work-life balance during your phd.

Being a PhD student can be tough at times. One of the main reasons for this is the pressure in academia to ‘publish or perish’. But it doesn’t have to be this way. I think that by pushing back on the culture of overwork in academia, we can do great research while maintaining our mental wellbeing.

Making space for rest

It’s taken me a few years to fully appreciate how important it is to set clear work boundaries. This has of course been more challenging given the impact of the pandemic and the fact we are working from home more. I find it much easier to ‘switch off’ from work when I’ve had to do my commute home.

I recently made a change to start working in a room that isn’t my bedroom and it’s made such a difference. I now have a much clearer workspace at home which helps me transition into rest time at the end of the day and at the weekends. This means that there’s only one room in the house that I associate with work now which allows me to get ‘in the zone’ and to make that work-life division a bit clearer—work happens in the home office and nowhere else at home.

Communicating boundaries

Communication with your supervisor is one of the key aspects of a successful PhD and work boundaries are something that comes into this too. You may sometimes have to work on the weekends if you have an experiment to do and equipment booked, but I always try to keep my weekends as work-free as I can.

One of the best ways to keep this time as rest time is to not look at or respond to work emails. I use a website blocking app to prevent me from being able to access my emails over the weekend as it’s hard for me to resist the urge to ‘just check it’ in my downtime. My supervisor knows that unless I’m booked in for lab time, I’m not available over the weekend. This helps me truly disconnect for those two days so I can come to my work the next week fully refreshed and ready to go.

Make time for yourself

At the end of the day, the key output of a PhD is the researcher that you become. It may seem like your publications and thesis are the most important thing but to me, it’s all about training to be a good researcher so that I can go on to have a research-focused career. So, it makes no sense to me to complete my PhD but at the expense of my mental wellbeing. I suffer from a few mental illnesses and have done since my teenage years, so I was aware going into my PhD that this was something I needed to be careful about managing. There have been a couple of blips, but on the whole, my mental health is currently better than it has been in many, many years.

Resting when I need to and not overworking is a significant factor in maintaining this. Over the years, it’s become clear that I can’t work to a high standard when I’m in a mental health ‘slump’ and that making time for myself can prevent that. I try to make sure that I use my weekends and evenings to talk to friends and family as well as indulging in my hobbies. My hobbies tend to be fairly relaxing which helps me recharge after a long day of research.

Getting the right balance

Balance is what it all comes down to. I think there is something to the saying ‘work hard, play hard’—by giving it my all during the workday and allowing space for rest outside of that, I’ve been able to cultivate a productive PhD work pattern. This will vary depending on the individual, so I’d encourage you to experiment with what work patterns work best for you. For me, it’s a 9-5ish workday but you may find that working later in the day maximises your productivity. By finding your own work methods, you can thrive as a PGR.

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Current graduate students offer tips and resources for taking care of yourself in graduate school, having a life outside of your research, and doing well at the human aspects of being a scientist, too.

One size does not fit all. There will be times in graduate school where you’ll feel like you should emulate that brain on a stick. But everything that makes you a complex, complete human being also makes you a better scientist. Being human isn’t a “distraction,” it’s one of your key assets.

Here are some tips and resources for taking care of yourself in graduate school, for having a life outside of your research, and for doing well at the human aspects of being a scientist, too.

1)  Find - or create - support networks. Not only can support come in many shapes and sizes it can be found in unexpected places. Your fellow grad students are a great place to start (they actually do understand what you’re going through!). There will be plenty of times when you will need someone else to remind you which end is up. The U of M is a huge place and there’s likely to be a network that fits your needs. Look into things with the “diversity” label -- this is a great way to find people who care about supporting the community of scientists. Some of it is identity-specific, but some of it is for everyone.

Here are a few of our science-specific favorites:

Association of Multicultural Scientists specifically focuses on grad students in the biological sciences, no less. They host a series of incredible workshops (open to all, regardless of race), with topics ranging from networking skills, to starting a lab, to non-academic career options. If you only join one mailing list, this is the one!

Graduate Women in Science - Xi Chapter is an interdisciplinary society of scientists who encourage and support women to enter and achieve success in science through full participation in their scientific research and its applications; in the development and advancement of women; in the integration careers, personal goals, and society's needs; and by professional networking and mutual inspiration. They have monthly seminars and networking opportunities.

Minnesota Queer Science is primarily for GLBTQ scientists, engineers, and other STEM folks. QSci hosts brown-bag social lunches and other events throughout the school year to build community and visibility. Members have also organized panel discussions on campus, and done outreach (with demos!) to local high schools.

Student Counseling Services hosts thesis-writing groups and grad-student-specific groups, as well as the typical individual consultations.

A listing of more graduate-student community organizations and resources can be found online .

2)  Find mentors in addition to your research advisor. There are a lot of aspects to being a professional scientist, and a lot of different good ways to go about it. Get up the nerve to talk with faculty about things besides research. Job hunt? Public outreach? Being a scientist with kids? Being out as a GLBTQ scientist? Navigating big conferences? Starting up a lab? Being a mentor yourself? The list is endless ... Having multiple mentors is a great safety net.

3)  Expect to have some struggles in grad school -- you’re in good company. Some days it will seems like graduate school is designed to be rough on you, and your choice to attend school is a crazy one. You are asking questions and doing things that nobody’s ever thought possible. It won’t always be easy. It’s normal to feel that you don’t belong here sometimes, but the things that make you different also help you do science in a way that hasn’t been done before (and that’s the whole point, right?). Remember that you’re not alone; fellow graduate students and professors have had these feelings, too.

In addition to your fellow graduate students, there are some good web resources for insights on graduate school and science. Ph.D. Comics is a sanity-saver! For more in-depth discussions, check out the blogs at Scientopia -- “Prof-Like Substance” is a biology prof and a great writer, for example. There’s also a very insighful blog carnival with many different takes on “impostor syndrome,” that all-too-common feeling that you’re just not good enough to be doing science: z.umn.edu/impostor

4)  Get out and do something different. Take a look at some of your role models and other scientists in your departments. Most of them maintain hobbies and interests outside of research that renew and recharge them and allow them to be great scientists. Athletic pursuits and the arts are common pastimes, but the sky’s the limit! Especially good are things that give you mental downtime and/or a change of scenery. For example, if your work is primarily in the lab, getting out into nature can give you a whole new perspective.

5)  Schedule Sleep!!!! How much sleep do you need to feel good? Some individuals work well with four hours while others need nine. Naturally in graduate school there will be times when you will be short on sleep because of a project or experiment. Get the sleep you need when you can. Not only will you feel refreshed and ready to do research but your body can fight off illnesses easier. You can get more work done in forty well-rested hours than sixty bleary-eyed ones.

6)  Communicate clearly, early, and often. Talk to your advisor about how you plan to make graduate school life and your personal life work together. Graduate work is not like undergraduate work. You will be expected to be more proactive and independent. This transition is difficult for some students and advisors worry about the adjustment. Ease their fears by being up front about issues like work hours and time off. Be well, do amazing work, and remember to have fun!

Written by Jo Heuschele ([email protected]).

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Finding the work-life balance of a PhD

When constant studying started taking a toll on phd student vijay victor’s physical health, he realised he needed to create a better work-life balance.

Vijay Victor

When I decided to do my PhD abroad in Hungary I had a clear idea in mind about my research plan. I started publishing papers even before getting into doctoral school, laying the foundations for my research topic. I published papers in well-indexed journals, exceeding the requirements of our doctoral school in the first four semesters of my PhD – after all, they say hard work pays off.

But sometimes too much hard work can be damaging. Somewhere in this journey, I lost myself in my research.

Being an introvert it was instinctive to me to make excuses to avoid social events, and my hectic workload helped me avoid socialising without any guilt. The graduate life abroad is confined mostly to one’s own room, despite what all the Instagrammed parties and glamorous nights out would have you think.

Occasionally I went swimming with a few close friends, which was the only active exercise I did, and I also loved going for a long walk in the countryside.

But when I had deadlines, I did nothing other than study for days. I think on average I spent 10-12 hours a day studying, reading and writing without even realising it. 

There were even times when I felt a sneaky happiness on Friday evenings as I was faced with two whole days to work on my papers without disturbances. 

I only realised that I was overworking myself when my body started to respond. My fitness tracker warned me that my average sleeping time of 5 hours 30 minutes was not good enough. 

I started getting migraines and they became more frequent. And then I started to have gut problems. This was when I knew I needed to take a break.

I went home after seeking permission from my supervisor (she was very kind and helpful) and got myself thoroughly checked by a physician. After an endoscopy and some blood tests I was told that I had developed a functional gastrointestinal disorder. Fortunately it was at the beginning stage and there was nothing much to worry about. 

Some of my friends doing PhDs shared similar stories of health problems. It was bittersweet to know I wasn’t the only one. I had already read about the anxiety and depression issues which graduate students experience, however this was a new revelation to me. To my surprise, in a random Google search at least 10 research studies appeared confirming the relationship between academic stress and gut problems.

Tips for writing a convincing thesis

Research life is entirely different to undergraduate life. My research area is in the field of economics, so I only need my laptop and a quiet space to work and so I do not get the chance to meet colleagues on a daily basis. When the deadlines are so close, stocking fridges and spending days in your room is a story which is familiar to many in grad schools. And often, when you work on more than one paper simultaneously, you have no time for a proper break.

Even after you submit you will have to deal with reviewers comments and corrections. So you have to revise your piece numerous times in order to either get it accepted – which further increases the motivation to write new papers – or it’s rejected, which is upsetting and followed by desperate attempts of trying again. Either way, you are back to square one with a new paper.

Writing research papers is often a tedious, bleak and time consuming process. Sometimes despite the best efforts, you might only have typed two or three paragraphs by the end of the day. This at times could also create a delusion that you are not putting in enough effort.

Some scholars seem to be unable to identify the fine line between a normal and an overwhelming work schedule.

Often we realise too late that it is important to strive for balance first, before aiming for perfection. As my supervisor always says, “there is no finished work in research”. Being a researcher is a lifetime contract and only by making it a part of a healthy lifestyle can one sustain and excel in it.

Read more:  What is a PhD? Advice for PhD students

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Balancing Life and Graduate Studies – Faulkner University

Faulkner University

A Christian University

Introduction

Tips on balancing studies, work, and personal commitments when earning a graduate degree.

Earning a graduate degree from any educational institution requires a lot of work. Between classes and homework, some students can find it overwhelming to balance their studies, work, and any personal commitments they may have.

Faulkner University, a Christian liberal arts college based in Alabama that offers over a dozen online master’s degrees , knows students have a lot to juggle. Here, we offer tips on making sure students lead a balanced life while pursuing a graduate degree.

Explore Online Programs

Thanks to modern technology, graduate degrees can be earned entirely online. Many students find that remote or hybrid programs make it easier to balance studies with work, as there are no set class times that need to be attended. Online and remote programs allow students to work around their job and family obligations.

Many times, an online graduate degree program can be completed faster than an on-campus degree. Faulkner University offers over a dozen online master’s degrees  that include:

• Master of Science in Management
• Master of Art in Humanities
• Master of Education in Elementary Education
• Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Get Your Community on Board

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and the same can be said for completing a graduate degree.

Once a student has decided to move forward with a graduate degree program, they should get their family, friends, and coworkers on board. This means letting people in their inner circle know the goals they have set for themselves. For instance, you want to coordinate with your partner and your boss for flexibility with life and work obligations. A student’s core support team can help them carve out time each day to work on schoolwork without distraction from job and life responsibilities.

Keep Organized

Staying organized is the key to being successful in any endeavor, and even more so when balancing work, school, and life. At Faulkner University, we recommend students create and maintain a schedule to stay balanced. On the schedule, students should create time for all the following obligations:

• Personal Time

Sometimes, students forget to give themselves a little downtime. That is why it is important to schedule time to take a short walk or just to relax, even if it is only for 15 minutes. Staying organized allows a student to maintain control of their schedule and successfully pursue their graduate degree.

Take Care of Yourself

Students need to remember to take time for themselves. Earning a graduate degree can take up time that students previously used as “me time.” While managing all the responsibilities in their life, students want to carve out a little time each day to attend to their own needs. This will make balancing commitments easier. For instance, students want to ensure they make time for nutritious meals and allocate enough time for sleep at night. Getting a good night’s rest is not only essential for concentration but also for maintaining a positive attitude.

Earn a Graduate Degree at Faulkner University

Earning a graduate degree can help someone advance in their career, but it’s important to keep life balanced while going to school, working, and honoring professional commitments. Faulkner University has many online degree  options ranging from associate level up to doctorate level degrees. Request information  today to learn more about Faulkner University in Alabama.

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Work life balance, committee on the concerns of women subcommittee.

Work-Life Balance Committee, a sub-committee of the Committee on the Concerns of Women at Central , is focused on providing leadership in facilitating the integration of work and study with family/personal life at Central Connecticut State University. Our mission supports

the broader goals of creating a healthy and productive learning and working environment and contributing to the well-being of future generations.

Over the past decade, academic institutions have increasingly begun to focus attention on the importance of work/family issues for students, faculty, and staff, generating rapid growth in the number and variety of campus programs designed to address work/family needs. Our focus is to encourage the university to develop strategies for all members of the campus community to better balance their Work-Life arenas. We believe it is necessary and important to work with individuals from various organizations and groups on campus in order to achieve this important endeavor.

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• Medical graduate

Busy biochemist mom becomes doctor, realizing dream

Between an elementary school awards ceremony and her clinical rotation in pediatric genetics, graduating medical student Krystal Nolan stopped for a few minutes to reflect on the journey that brought her to this moment.  

It’s evident that she doesn’t often stop moving – she doesn’t have the time, nor does it seem to be in her nature. Following a postbaccalaureate fellowship with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and earning a doctorate in biomedical sciences, this mother of five is now graduating from medical school a year early.

“I like to keep busy,” she said, clearly an understatement.

A native of Eastern Kentucky, Nolan grew up as a competitive swimmer and swam collegiately for Catholic University, where she met her husband, a fellow swimmer. She also played soccer and danced along the way but always “had a mind for science.” While still in high school, she did a presentation on a genetic syndrome, a topic that would prove to be close to her life and work in the years to come.

After earning her undergraduate degree in biochemistry, Nolan was awarded a highly competitive Post-baccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award and spent a year as a fellow at the NIH. She thought about medical school but decided to come to MUSC in 2010 to pursue a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences. In her six years of pre-doctoral research, she studied how certain signaling proteins affect the epigenetics of prostate cancer progression. 

Joe B. Blumer, Ph.D., associate professor of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology, was on her dissertation committee and later taught her during medical school. “I consider myself to be extremely fortunate to have played a small part in Krystal’s educational journey,” he said.  “Krystal’s ability to consolidate her talents, skills and perspectives as a researcher, teacher, physician and parent have ultimately culminated in a truly exceptional graduate.”

Nolan entered graduate school single with no children, but that soon changed. She married and had two children while earning her Ph.D.

Although thoughts of medical school lingered, she decided to join the faculty of The Citadel for three and a half years. Her perspective began to change, however, when her third child, Patrick, was born with a rare chromosomal anomaly syndrome, resulting from the partial deletion of the long arm of chromosome 20. Paddy, as he is called by his parents, began to have seizures.

As a parent of a child with medical issues, Nolan heard over and over parents saying, “I don’t know much about my kid’s condition. I don’t understand what they’re saying.”

“That’s when I started on this path,” she reflected. “I wanted to help others.”

Sitting alongside fellow parents facing complex medical diagnoses for their children and struggling to understand, she saw the need for more easily digestible information for both parents and health care providers, ensuring it’s delivered in a way that meets the family’s needs. This led her to pursue a career as a physician. 

Upon entering medical school, Nolan learned about the College of Medicine’s Accelerated Medical Pathways (AMP) program , which condenses the medical school curriculum from the typical four years to three. This meant that the mother – then of four children – would have fewer breaks and less time for elective rotations often used for career exploration. This month, while other graduates are winding down, she is doing one more clinical rotation in the pediatric intensive care unit while also completing the requirements for Internship 101, a preparatory course for graduates entering residency. 

“AMP isn’t for everyone,” said Donna Kern, M.D., senior associate dean for Medical Education, noting that Nolan was an excellent candidate for the program. “She was certain about her career interest, academically prepared to complete an accelerated learning plan and demonstrates an almost unparalleled level of determination.”

Following a nontraditional path to medical school was one that Nolan believes helped her. She encourages others not to let having children or other dependents dissuade them from applying. She has the same advice for anyone with a disability, mentioning in passing that she has a hearing disability that requires assistive devices. On all fronts, having the support you need to succeed is critical, she said, reiterating how important her husband, a defense contractor and member of the National Guard, has been throughout her journey.

“Being able to go with the flow” is important, Nolan said with a laugh.

This concept again became important when Nolan’s youngest child was born a year ago during her pediatric neurology rotation. True to form, she “took off three or four days” then got back to the business of learning.

As for Paddy, his seizures have been resolved, and he will enter first grade this fall. Still, the impact of his experience changed the course of Nolan’s study and career path.

“I do think things happen for a reason,” she said. “I don’t think I would have ended up in genetics or medical school without Paddy.”

Paddy and his siblings are looking ahead to swim team and other summer activities, and Nolan is excited to start her residency in Pediatrics at MUSC in June. She’s one step closer to making her mark in pediatric genetics and considering developmental pediatrics. 

“I know that what I really want to do is help other parents.”

Dental Graduate

While most foreign-trained dentists enter a two-year program to obtain their U.S. licenses, Ashwini Pilla took a different path.

Pharmacy Graduates

Victoria Brooks and Chad Harle are the first students ever to complete the Pharm.D.-MSHI concurrent degree program at the Medical University of South Carolina.

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About the Author

Allison Leggett

Categories: Education

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Open Access

Ten simple rules to improve academic work–life balance

Contributed equally to this work with: Michael John Bartlett, Feyza Nur Arslan, Adriana Bankston, Sarvenaz Sarabipour

* E-mail: [email protected] (MJB); [email protected] (SS)

Affiliation Scion, Rotorua, New Zealand

Affiliation Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Klosterneuburg, Austria

Affiliation Future of Research, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, United States of America

Affiliation Institute for Computational Medicine and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America

• Michael John Bartlett, 
• Feyza Nur Arslan, 
• Adriana Bankston, 
• Sarvenaz Sarabipour

Published: July 15, 2021

• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009124
• Reader Comments

Citation: Bartlett MJ, Arslan FN, Bankston A, Sarabipour S (2021) Ten simple rules to improve academic work–life balance. PLoS Comput Biol 17(7): e1009124. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009124

Editor: Scott Markel, Dassault Systemes BIOVIA, UNITED STATES

Copyright: © 2021 Bartlett et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding: This work was the product of volunteer time and the authors received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

The ability to strike a perceived sense of balance between work and life represents a challenge for many in academic and research sectors around the world. Before major shifts in the nature of academic work occurred, academia was historically seen as a rewarding and comparatively low-stress working environment [ 1 ]. Academics today need to manage many tasks during a workweek. The current academic working environment often prioritizes productivity over well-being, with researchers working long days, on weekends, on and off campus, and largely alone, potentially on tasks that may not be impactful. Academics report less time for research due to increasing administrative burden and teaching loads [ 1 – 3 ]. This is further strained by competition for job and funding opportunities [ 4 , 5 ], leading to many researchers spending significant time on applications, which takes away time from other duties such as performing research and mentorship [ 1 , 2 ]. The current hypercompetitive culture is particularly impactful on early career researchers (ECRs) employed on short-term contracts and is a major driver behind the unsustainable working hours reported in research labs around the world, increases in burnout, and decline in satisfaction with work–life balance [ 6 – 10 ]. ECRs may also find themselves constrained by the culture and management style of their laboratory and principal investigator (PI) [ 11 – 12 ]. Work–life balance can be defined as an individual’s appraisal of how well they manage work- and nonwork-related obligations in ways that the individual is satisfied with both, while simultaneously maintaining their health and well-being [ 13 ]. Increasing hours at work can conflict with obligations outside of work, including but not limited to family care commitments, time with friends, time for self-care, and volunteering and community work. The increasing prevalence of technology that allows work to be out of the office can also exacerbate this conflict [ 14 , 15 ].

The academic system’s focus on publications and securing grant funding and academic positions instead of training, mentoring, and mental health has skewed the system negatively against prioritizing “The whole scientist” [ 5 , 16 ]. Research focused on the higher education sector has revealed that poor work–life balance can result in lower productivity and impact, stifled academic entrepreneurship, lower career satisfaction and success, lower organizational commitment, intention to leave academia, greater levels of burnout, fatigue and decreased social interactions, and poor physical and mental health, which has become increasingly prevalent among graduate students [ 1 , 17 – 22 ]. For instance, a recent international survey of over 2,000 university staff views on work–life balance found that many academics feel stressed and underpaid and struggle to fit in time for personal relationships and family around their ever-growing workloads [ 20 ]. These systemic issues are making it increasingly difficult to maintain an efficient, productive, and healthy research enterprise [ 23 ].

In the academic context, work–life balance needs to be examined with regard to spatial and temporal flexibility, employment practices, and employee habits. The need to improve work–life balance is recognized for researchers at all career stages [ 7 , 22 , 24 , 25 ]. While there is a growing literature providing specific strategies to cope with busy academic life [ 26 – 28 ], collating these disparate advice pieces into a coherent framework is a daunting task and few capture multifaceted advice by ECRs for ECRs. Departments and institutes need to contribute to improving research practices for academics at all levels on the career ladder [ 29 , 30 ]. PIs and mentors can promote healthier environments in their laboratories by respecting boundaries and providing individuals with greater autonomy over their own working schedule [ 11 , 12 , 31 – 33 ]. However, institutions do not typically prioritize work–life balance, leading to the loss of valuable talent in the research pipeline. The power dynamics within academia are evident now more than ever, with ECRs lacking agency at multiple time points and in controlling many aspects of their training. This may be especially true for trainees from underrepresented backgrounds, who face additional hurdles to their professional advancement in the current academic environment while attempting to maintain work–life balance. Furthermore, academia, in general, does not always value the aspects of a researcher’s job that the researcher finds important such as teaching, mentoring, and service. Thus, the experience of individual researchers regarding work–life balance will vary depending on multiple factors [ 34 – 39 ], including personal circumstances and satisfaction with aspects of life outside of work [ 40 ]. It is therefore unlikely that there is a “one size fits all” approach to effectively address work–life balance issues.

In order to support ECRs in maintaining work–life balance, institutions should support individualized strategies that are continually refined during their training. Here, drawing from our discussion as part of the 2019–2020 eLife Community Ambassador program and our experiences as ECRs, we examine the strategies individuals can adapt to strike a healthier balance between the demands of personal life and a career in research.

While many of the challenges junior academics face are systemic problems and will take a while to fix, some level of individual adjustment and planning may help ECRs more immediately and on an individual level. The rules presented here seek to empower ECRs to take action in improving their own well-being, while also providing a call to action for institutions to increase mechanisms of support for their trainees so they can thrive and move forward in their careers.

Rule 1: Long hours do not equal productive hours

One common reason for work–life imbalance is the feeling of lagging behind as a result of the present-day competitive nature of academia. This has led to incorrectly normalized practice of overwork, due to a sense of pressure from colleagues or ourselves, contributing to increasing mental health problems in academia [ 3 , 7 , 9 ]. On the other hand, keeping a balance sets one for higher productivity and creativity [ 41 ] and long-term satisfaction with work [ 17 , 18 ]. It is important to focus on the benefits of work–life balance on overall well-being and to accept that performing research and building a career in academia is a long process. Taking time off should not be associated with a feeling of guilt for not working at that moment. On the contrary, it should be seen as a necessity to have good health, energy, and motivation for the next return to work. A break can result in a boost to your productivity (rate of output) [ 42 ]. Studies show output of working hours to not increase linearly after a threshold and absence of a rest day to decrease output, as long hours result in errors and accidents, as well as fatigue, stress, and sickness [ 43 , 44 ]. It can be challenging to cut down on work hours when you feel that there is so much to get done. We also acknowledge that there are times when putting in long hours may be needed, for example, to meet a deadline; however, keeping this behavior constant might have more disadvantages than advantages in the long term.

Having flexibility in when and where you work can help you manage tasks and feel more balanced. It is important to discuss your needs with people at work and at home, in order to establish expectations and fit your lifestyle.

Rule 2: Examine your options for flexible work practices

Examine your relationship with your work, and try alternative schedules. Review your expected obligations, employer work hour rules, and offered benefits. Where possible, make use of modernization of work tools (such as remote work methods using digital technologies); working time is no longer exclusively based on in-person presence at the workplace, but rather the accomplishment of tasks [ 45 , 46 ]. The virtual office aspect can offer extensive flexibility in terms of time and location of work, reduce time spent traveling and commuting, and allow easier management of schedules and lives. Attending conferences online and giving invited talks, seminars, and interviews virtually can reduce fatigue and increase the time available for activities essential for your well-being [ 47 , 48 ]. Working remotely may not work for all or on many days of a week, but an overall reduction in travel is possible. In some instances, it may be difficult to know beforehand how much time you will be allocating to particular tasks in your new job, also some tasks such as fieldwork or labwork cannot be done remotely. Factor in workplace flexibility policies when looking at employment options and negotiating contracts. At the interview stage, ask your employer and prospective supervisor about flexible hours, options such as compressed workweeks, job sharing, telecommuting, or other scheduling flexibility to work in a way that best fits your efficiency and productivity. The more control you have over where and when you work, the less stressed you are likely to be. Once you know the options available to you, agree on a schedule based on your expectations and needs. Clear agreements on how and when to work are necessary to avoid conflict between work and nonwork obligations [ 45 ], so it is important to effectively communicate agreements with your managers, mentors [ 31 ], supervisors, colleagues, and also with your family. Having said this, in reality, ECRs may not always be able to negotiate salaries and benefits as conditions might be predetermined by an institution, a fellowship, or a PI’s strict expectations. Weigh the pros and cons of nonnegotiable job offers carefully. Remember that some constraints might be relaxed over time as your new employers build trust in you; therefore, continue the communication to find the best arrangements for your work.

As you try to reduce overworking and be more flexible with working arrangements, you will need to be very focused within the time frame that you have available. This is especially important as work–life balance boundaries become blurred if working from home. Setting boundaries is critical to success, as detailed below.

Rule 3: Set boundaries to establish your workplace and time

Setting spatial and temporal boundaries around your work is important for focusing on the task in hand and preventing work from taking over other parts of your life. When you are in the office and need to focus, make sure you can work in a quiet place where colleagues are unlikely to distract you. If you work in a shared office space, communicate with those around you to let them know your needs, or if you need complete silence, then consider working in a designated space for focused work. While working from home, some may struggle to disconnect from work, step away from screens, and set clear boundaries between digital and physical settings. Screen time needs to be managed so that remote workers do not blur the lines of work and life, as that can result in discouragement and burnout. Ask your coworkers to not demand your attention toward work after a certain time in the evening. Turn off email notifications outside of working hours. By setting boundaries, you will also set an example for your coworkers and mentees. When working at home, separating your workspaces from relaxation spaces can be helpful. This way, less clutter can decrease your stress levels, and a separated space can help you to draw a line between work and family. Even carving an area on a table dedicated to your work time can help with calm and work–life balance.

In order for your resulting work to be of high quality, diligence is key. In addition to being focused on your task, you should also establish a routine and prioritize your tasks, being able to then gain more control over your time. Learning to say no is also critical. Below we expand on these issues in the context of efficiency and productivity.

Rule 4: Commit to strategies that increase your efficiency and productivity

Many people use to-do lists and outline daily/weekly tasks, defining both work- and nonwork-related obligations that need to be accomplished. For nonwork responsibilities, devise a strategy with your family or those you live with to delegate tasks. Make sure responsibilities at home are clearly outlined and evenly distributed.

• Manage your time. Learning how to effectively manage your time and focus while at work is critical. Set a schedule to help in managing time, and do not forget to include buffer times between your plans, such as a coffee break with colleagues and a walk away from the bench or computer screen, to socialize and rest. Outside of busy periods, try to keep routines of work hours. Try time blocking, for example, check email and other social media (e.g., Slack) messages at specific times of the workday, and, if possible, arrange meetings at concentrated times during the day. This will maximize the amount of deep work that can be done during work hours. Sometimes, multitasking, for instance, running a few experiments at the same time or trying to work in between several meetings, may not result in great outcomes; have realistic plans and monotask if you find it better.
• Minimize decision fatigue. Decision fatigue refers to the deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual after a long session of decision-making. Decision fatigue depletes self-control, which results in emotional stress, underachievement, lack of persistence, and even failures of task performance [ 49 ]. To reduce this, make the most important decisions first in your workday, and limit and simplify your choices.
• Collaborate. Workplace and home collaborations can take some of the load off and help in managing stress. Adjusting to teamwork or training a student may seem like extra commitments at the beginning, but, in the long run, they can help delegate some of the tasks on your calendar and help maintain a better work–life balance.
• Do not overcommit. Learn to say “no” [ 46 ]. Consider that accepting extra, low-impact tasks will sacrifice your nonwork time and may also take attention off your other important work appointments. Try to drop activities that drain your energy, such as nonessential meetings that do not enhance your life or career, and be efficient within this limited time with set goals.
• Discover your own strategies. Try to figure out what strategies work for you, and apply these to your life. Individuals respond differently to time of the day, physical conditions, and stress. Productivity may come with creative arrangements, and a high degree of organization may not work for everyone. Sometimes, improvisation and flexible schedules might be what you need.

As you begin to make decisions about the best way to manage your time, being strategic is key to prioritizing. You should aim to review your strategy and ability to stick to it often.

Rule 5: Have a long-term strategy to help with prioritization, and review it regularly

Having a long-term strategy that considers what you want to achieve and the timelines needed to get there can help with prioritization and deciding what to take on and what to say no to. This not only includes goals linked to your research career but also what is important to you outside of work, whatever this may be. When managing your work and nonwork tasks, see how well they align with your short- and long-term goals when you are deciding on the time and energy you need to allocate to attain them. With daily tasks, starting each day with the most important task, allocating the most productive hours to important tasks, as well as grouping similar tasks might help increase productivity and efficiency. A long-term look can help justify time spent on particular tasks, such as learning new skills, which might be taking extra time now but would help reduce stress in the long term. It is important to review your strategic goals and how well you are doing regularly, updating your strategy as needed. Consider using weekly time management charts to assess your task delegation retrospectively ( Fig 1 ). Have you been able to reach the goals you set? Did your time get taken up by other tasks? Did you use additional time to meet work goals at the expense of priorities outside of work? Are the goals you have set realistic and achievable, or do you need to make adjustments? If this appears overwhelming remember that your plans do not necessarily need to be detailed, simply keeping track of the hours spent working can be useful [ 26 ]. It is normal for priorities to change over time. Choose mentors that can help you achieve your short- and long-term goals, and consult with them regularly on your work–life balance strategies [ 31 ].

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Dynamic, prospective, or retrospective weekly or monthly time management assessment charts can help researchers with improving their work–life balance by determining exactly how they spend their time. There are 164 hours in a week. Example hour allocation is shown here for academics across career stages [ 50 ]. Hours allocated will vary depending on the researcher’s disciplines (for instance, humanities versus life sciences or engineering) and circumstances such as end or beginning of semester, when approaching a deadline, or when a committee is busiest. Teaching responsibilities include course instruction and administration, including grading and evaluation. Family time includes interacting, dining, and performing housekeeping chores with family members. Research activities include performing research and literature review time. External service may include manuscript or grant reviewing and editorial tasks. Meetings may include lab/group meetings, departmental faculty meetings, or other council meetings. Self-care activities may include attending to one’s hobbies. Internal service includes department and university service. Weekends and public holidays are included in the weeks. Other tasks not included in this chart may be professional development, writing letters of recommendation, advising undergraduate students, faculty and student hiring/recruitment, marketing/public relations, fundraising, phone calls, reception/dinner, commute/travel, scheduling/planning, and reporting. ECR, early career researcher; MLCR, mid- to later career researcher; PI, principal investigator. Figure created using ggplot library in R [ 51 ].

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009124.g001

In order to do your best in life and work, you need to put yourself first. You can do that by paying attention to your eating and sleeping schedule and engaging in activities that will keep you physically healthy and stimulate your mind.

Rule 6: Make your health a priority

You are not only defined by your work. Spending time on self-care and relaxation is a necessity in life to maintain a healthy body and mind, leading to a fulfilling lifestyle. This, in turn, will enable you to achieve peak performance and productivity in the workspace.

• Eat a healthy diet. A balanced diet with emphasis on fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean protein enhances the ability to retain knowledge as well as stamina and well-being. An option could be keeping fruit baskets in your office with your colleagues.
• Get enough sleep. Lack of sleep increases stress, and associated fatigue is linked to poor work–life balance [ 52 ]. One potential way to improve sleep quality is to avoid using personal electronic devices, such as smartphones and tablets, during your personal and other nonwork times, particularly right before going to sleep as screen time is associated with less and poorer quality rest [ 53 , 54 ].
• Prioritize your physical and mental health. Set time aside for individual or group physical activities of your choice. Schedule specific times for social activities and exercise to unwind, by arranging ahead of time with others or signing up to regular classes, making the plans harder to cancel. Using the gym at your workplace during a break can freshen you. Or you can bike or jog to work if safe to have some daily exercise. Equally important is dedicated time for your mental health. Reading a book, listening to music, gardening, many other activities, or if you prefer, regularly talking to a therapist could help you disengage from work, enjoy other aspects of life, rest, process, and recharge.
• Try meditation or mindfulness exercises. Meditation can reduce stress and increase productivity [ 29 ]; it will help you focus your thoughts and develop more self-awareness. If you are aware of when and why you are stressed or exhausted, these feelings become a trigger for you to lean into a boundary such as taking a screen break, going for a walk, or simply resting your eyes for 15 minutes before jumping back into a task or meeting. You can do meditation or yoga at home for short intervals. Do what is realistic for your life at the time and what helps you along.
• Make time for your hobbies and relaxation. Set aside time each day for an activity that you enjoy [ 28 , 55 , 56 ]. Discover activities you can do with your partner, family, or friends—such as hiking, dancing, or taking cooking classes. Listen to your favorite music at work to foster concentration, reduce stress and anxiety, and stimulate creativity [ 57 ].

While your work is important, you will be much happier if you schedule some social time into your week. This is a simple need, and methods vary from person to person, but the common goal is to increase your sense of connection and belonging, satisfaction with life, and/or energy.

Rule 7: Regularly interact with family and friends

Your work schedule does not need to lead to loss of your personal relationships. Scheduling time off to meet in-person or interact online with your loved ones in advance will make it harder to cancel plans in favor of working longer. As an example of good practice, most parents, even in academia, need to schedule their time around family responsibilities, which actually obliges them to maintain a work–life balance; they typically do not overstay at work every day, take the weekends off, and use annual leave. Meeting with friends and family will provide a chance to reconnect with them and your shared values. If you live in a country different from your family and friends, it is important to keep in touch using online audiovisual call and chat technologies. Other ways to relax include taking walks with loved ones, being out in nature, or playing board games. Social downtime can help replenish a person’s attention and motivation, encourages productivity and creativity, and is essential to both achieve our highest levels of performance and form stable memories in everyday life [ 58 ].

In addition to spending time for yourself and with family and friends, engaging in activities that are important to you, even when these activities are demanding, can bring a needed sense of achievement and satisfaction.

Rule 8: Make time for volunteer work or similar commitments that are important and meaningful to you

Many find additional engagements outside of their day to day jobs both important and rewarding. These activities would not be considered hobbies or relaxation, examples may include volunteering for the local community (e.g., at pet shelters, food banks, and environmental efforts), regional and online communities (e.g., student advocacy groups), time on boards or committees outside of work (e.g., acting as treasurer or secretary of a club), and learning a new language when you have moved to a new place. Many ECRs enjoy taking their work one step forward to volunteer with organizations focused on the societal value or impact of their work. This can help expand your perspective as an ECR working on a particular research topic, by understanding the broader picture of what you are working on and why and giving it a human impact dimension. Others may opt to volunteer in activities that are entirely independent of their research, which can provide opportunities to clear your mind for a good period of time and boost your mood. Although these activities add extra work to your schedule, if they are important to you, then you might find it difficult to find balance without the sense of achievement and reward they bring. However, when under pressure from work and home, finding time for these activities can be challenging—remember that work–life balance needs to be continually reassessed; consider taking a break if you need to and revisiting these extra commitments at a better time.

In addition to advisors and departments, institutions can take measures to support ECRs and provide them with necessary resources to thrive. They should also create a culture where asking for help is encouraged, and support for the well-being of researchers exists at their institution.

Rule 9: Seek out or help create peer and institutional support systems

Support systems are also critical to your success, and building more than one will increase your chances of success and balance overall [ 59 ]. At work, join forces with coworkers who can cover for you—and vice versa—when family conflicts arise. At home, enlist trusted friends and loved ones to pitch in with childcare or household responsibilities when you need to work overtime or travel. Seek support in academic communities and organizations who are working on mental health and well-being. For instance, PhD balance is a community space for academics to learn from shared experiences, to openly discuss and receive help for difficult situations, and to create resources and connect with others [ 60 ]. Dragonfly Mental Health, a nonprofit organization, strives to improve mental health care access and address the unhealthy culture pervading academia [ 61 ]. Everyone may need help from time to time. If life feels too chaotic to manage and you feel overwhelmed, talk with a professional, such as a counselor or other mental health provider. If your employer offers an employee assistance program, take advantage of available services. Joining a support and peer mentorship group, such as graduate, postdoctoral or faculty Slack communities [ 31 ], or working parents seeking and sharing work–life balance strategies, provides at least two key advantages: an opportunity to vent to people who truly understand your experiences and the ability to strategize with a group about how to improve your situation. A combination of these steps will help researchers to improve their work–life balance.

Finally, if your ability to effectively implement the advice in Rules 1 to 8 is constrained by the culture in your lab or pressure from the academic system, seek support from mentors, and advocate for yourself and for the change you would like to see.

Rule 10: Open a dialogue about the importance of work–life balance and advocate for systemic change

Spreading awareness and promoting good practice for managing work–life balance are essential toward shifting the prevailing culture away from current excellence at any cost practices. While major change is only likely to come about with a coordinated shift in the way that research laboratories, institutions, publishers, funders, and governments assess research endeavors at a broadscale, there is much that can be done at smaller scales to improve the culture at institutions and within labs [ 62 ]. Leverage the support of communities that empower ECRs to participate in advocating for the importance of mental well-being in academia through research and programs (see Rule 9). Discussions on work–life balance can also be initiated through seminars and courses. You can ask for, or if you plan to get more involved, organize workshops and training in your institute for ECRs. Another way to encourage collective work–life balance could be to host activities such as family and employee sports, outdoor movies, or picnic events encouraging family-friendly time and team building. Advocate for policies in your workplace that can help reduce conflict between work and other responsibilities, for example, childcare services or pet-friendly workspaces. To advocate at larger scales, you can join graduate/postdoctoral researcher associations, unions, or work councils to actively pursue work–life balance–friendly policies and employment contracts at institutes and through funding agencies. For instance, institutions and funding agencies that do not encourage the traditional gender roles allowing both men and women to take family leave, see better work–life balance, and reduced work–life conflict [ 63 , 64 ]. If the culture in your research lab constrains your ability to manage your work–life balance in a way you find satisfactory, shifting departmental and institutional attitudes and policies can put pressure on PIs to build a more supportive work culture via steps outlined elsewhere [ 11 , 12 , 31 – 33 ]. Although organizational culture cannot be changed overnight, changes in policy can go a long way in creating a culture that aids work–life balance in the academic workplace [ 62 – 64 ].

Conclusions

Most academic jobs come with flexible working hours, which can be advantageous when researchers attempt to balance the competing obligations in their lives. Yet, ECRs typically work significantly longer than the normal working hours of academic employment contracts [ 65 ]. How researchers spend their time has major impacts on their well-being, productivity, and professional scale of impact and those of their mentees, family, colleagues, and institutions in the short and long term. Academic culture has normalized and ignored overworking often at the expense of a social life, or of even greater concern, at the expense of researchers’ health and well-being. It is important for all academic researchers, institutions, and funding agencies to credit service and administrative activities, to acknowledge difficulties in satisfying work- and nonwork-related obligations in academic careers, and support diverse strategies to attain work–life balance [ 29 , 30 ]. It is imperative to examine work–life balance practices by ECRs, suggest improvements, and integrate these into employment and promotion offers. Here, we provided recommendations for ECRs to improve management of the balance between their professional and personal lives, but striking a healthy work–life balance is not a one-shot deal. Managing work–life balance is a continuous process as your family, interests, and work life change. Working long hours does not equate to working better. Regularly examine your priorities—and, if necessary, make changes—to ensure you stay on track. Ultimately, for the benefit of researchers and the important work that they do, both individuals and institutions need to make health and well-being a priority.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Inez Lam of Johns Hopkins University for valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. We also thank the facilitators of the 2019–2020 eLife Community Ambassador program.

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• 23. Loissel E, Deathridge J, King SRF, Pérez Valle H, Rodgers PA. Mental Health in Academia. In: collection by eLife [Internet]. eLife. Sciences Publications Limited; 23 Oct 2019 [cited 2020 Jul 21]. Available from: https://elifesciences.org/collections/ad8125f3/mental-health-in-academia https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.52881 pmid:31642808
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5 thoughts for new college grads seeking to find the right balance between meaningful work and making money

Professor of Ethics and Business Law, University of St. Thomas

Professor of Management, Babson College

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The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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The Class of 2024 had a college experience like no other, starting its first year during peak pandemic and graduating amid protests of the war in Gaza. Many of its graduates will be joining a working world that holds their future in its hands and that was transformed by technological advancements and changing attitudes about work while they were in school. What can they expect from the world of work today?

As a philosopher and a psychologist who began our careers in management consulting – and now teach ethics and leadership and study why people work – we have five thoughts for new college graduates to consider as they head out into the “real world.”

1. The good news: Overall, people are satisfied at work

The 2024 report from The Conference Board , a nonprofit organization that studies workforce and other trends, shows that almost two-thirds of employees report being satisfied with their jobs. Overall satisfaction at work is at its highest point since the survey started in 1987, rising every year since the pandemic, although women report far lower satisfaction than men.

The factors influencing satisfaction increases have included flexibility and work-life balance, especially among employees who have remained with their employers for more than three years. This suggests that some of the changes in work location and hours implemented by employers during COVID-19 are still valued higher than simply switching gigs for a better deal.

Employees still want COVID-19-era levels of autonomy, for example prioritizing Wednesdays over Fridays in the office. Facing a shortage of workers , some employers are seeking to deliver such perks to keep them.

2. The bad news: Employees are not engaged

Despite this record-level satisfaction, work engagement is at a 10-year low , continuing a downward trend. Employees may be compensating for a pandemic that led many people to work more hours , with at least half seeking to “ quiet quit ” – that is, doing the bare minimum required in their job descriptions and leaving work at work at the end of the day. Workers who are not engaged are not necessarily working fewer hours overall, but they may be less willing to bring their work home with them, literally or figuratively, or even to give their best effort during regular working hours.

Employers, meanwhile – recognizing that engaged employees generally perform better – are stuck paying more for satisfied employees who produce less. In a real-life game of “Would You Rather…?” workers should consider how they would prefer to spend the largest portion of their waking hours: being satisfied or engaged?

3. Seeking work with a purpose is a noble and understandable goal

Today’s graduates are famously considered part of the “ Purpose Generation ,” committed to solving the problems that prior generations have created.

Studies show that workers just entering the labor market care a lot about making a difference through their work. We have studied what it means when people view their work as a calling or have a sense that work is meaningful, all-consuming and may make the world a better place. Those with a strong calling will be more engaged and satisfied with their work and will be happier in their lives as well.

Workers should think about what problem they most want to solve, are best qualified to solve, and that they might be able to get paid to solve. There is a lot of talk about a future world without work , but the world today needs workers who are committed to a better future.

4. It is also understandable to care about money

As much as new entrants to the labor market care about meaningful work and life, data shows that they care even more about high pay and financial security . Material rewards have increased in importance over time, compared with the priorities of prior generations .

With the state of the world that graduates are entering, including soaring home prices , student debt and the threat of inflation , it is not only materially unsurprising but also morally justifiable that many workers are seeking financial stability. Although seeking money at the expense of other goals can take a toll on workers’ well-being, workers need to be cautious of employers who may attempt to exploit their passion for their work by paying less for more effort .

5. It is rare, but not impossible, to find meaningful work that pays

Although COVID led society to recognize the importance of “essential work,” such as health care and critical infrastructure, work that arguably does the most good in society , such as social service and education, is often paid the least.

Few graduates will find the perfect combination of meaning and money in the same job right out of college, but that does not mean that they cannot aspire to find both over the course of their careers – and, when they are in a position to do so someday, to pay their own employees what they are worth. As for the present, if new workforce entrants feel as though they must accept a lower than desired salary to do work that benefits society, it cannot hurt for them to ask for what they think they deserve.

Even meaningful work can lose its luster when workers feel underappreciated. At its best, however, work can make a meaningful contribution to the lives of workers and a world in need of repair.

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• Satisfaction
• employee engagement
• Higher ed attainment

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• CAREER FEATURE
• 07 November 2022

‘I don’t want this kind of life’: graduate students question career options

• Chris Woolston 0

Chris Woolston is a freelance writer in Billings, Montana.

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One-third of respondents to Nature ’s 2022 global graduate-student survey are lukewarm about the value of their current programme. Sixty-six per cent of the PhD and masters’ students who responded think that their degree will “substantially” or “dramatically” improve their job prospects, but the rest see little or no benefit. Less than one-third agree that they expect to find a permanent job within one year of graduating, or that their programme is leaving them well prepared to eventually find a satisfying career.

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Nature 611 , 413-416 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-03586-8

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Boston University offers striking PhD students 12-month stipends if they work summers

I n its latest efforts to help end a nearly two-month strike by graduate student workers, Boston University proposed granting all PhD students access to a 12-month stipend, a university leader said Tuesday.

The proposal came during the 25th bargaining session between the university and the graduate workers union, said university provost Kenneth Lutchen in an email to BU community members. The strike by graduate workers, who teach classes, grade student work, and conduct research, has impacted classes and university life since late March.

The new 12-month stipend policy would enable all PhD students who were previously on eight-month stipends to work or conduct research over the summer to receive a minimum of $42,159 annually, Lutchen said.

“Students have repeatedly spoken of the challenges of living with an eight-month stipend and how it affects their financial security,” Lutchen said, adding: “We hope that this move at the bargaining table signals our goodwill and seriousness of purpose in moving toward resolution with [Boston University Graduate Workers Union] and reaching an agreement that supports our students.”

The union, which formed in 2022, represents about 3,000 masters, professional, and PhD students and is part of Service Employees International Union Local 509. Its strike calls for stronger health care coverage, pay, and benefits.

David Foley, president of SEIU 509, told the Globe that while the proposal is a “step in the right direction,” it’s a long overdue effort to address the economic insecurity experienced by graduate workers. It excludes hourly workers and does not address the needs of the many graduate workers already struggling to live in Boston on 12-month stipends, Foley said.

“Forty-two thousand dollars is still far from a living wage for any of our members, and we remain committed to fighting for a meaningful end to rent burden and financial insecurity,” Foley said in a statement. “The university has the means — and the obligation — to do better.”

The union said it expects to see more movement from the BU administration now that it has acknowledged graduate workers’ complaints about underpayment.

Currently about 560 grad students remain on strike, according to Rachel Lapal Cavallario, a BU spokesperson. That makes up 20 percent of salaried grad students and 10 percent of hourly ones, she said, according to student and faculty attestation data and hours submitted for hourly students.

As of May 8, about 80 percent of bargaining unit members that receive stipends have been working each week throughout the strike, according to BU’s negotiations team .

Graduate students are currently paid stipends between $27,000 to $40,000, according to the union. The university said those wages are for 20 hours of work per week, while grad workers claim to work more than that.

When the students began striking in March, they asked the school for about a $62,000 stipend, the union said, to which BU said it offered about $42,000 . The union declined to counteroffer, BU said. The students are still advocating for the $62,000 stipend, according to the union.

In March, the school also offered to raise the minimum wage to $18 from $15 for hourly workers and add children under age 6 to the health insurance plan for full-time PhD students.

Graduate workers help grade quizzes and teach lab sessions and supplementary class meetings known as discussion sections. Their absence throughout the strike caused classes and labs to be canceled throughout the semester, several students told the Globe. BU’s spring semester concluded earlier this month, with the summer term beginning on May 21, according to Lapal Cavallario.

The proposal for 12-month stipends came about in part because faculty cited difficulties recruiting PhD students in humanities and social sciences, Lutchen said.

“We appreciate the dedication and patience of everyone involved and are hopeful these efforts will produce significant progress as we head into the summer,” Lutchen said.

Another bargaining session is set to occur in the coming weeks.

Material from prior Globe coverage was used in this report.