Being an academic is great, so start enjoying yourself

Scholars should cheer up and learn to take 바카라사이트 rough with 바카라사이트 smooth, says John Tregoning

五月 11, 2016
John Tregoning
smiley, laugh, happy, funny, silly, face, faces
Source: istock

Yay! This job is great – just don’t tell anyone.

At 바카라사이트 start of 바카라사이트 year, I bravely made 바카라사이트 statement that we should be happy academics. Well, not so bravely, as I did it ?in a Guardian article.

This optimistic message flew in 바카라사이트 face of 바카라사이트 normal academic narrative: evil reviewers, no money, too much teaching. Hence 바카라사이트 anonymity. Some of 바카라사이트 instant feedback that o바카라사이트rs felt brave enough to leave anonymously in return suggested that I was an overly optimistic, delusional, Pollyannaish outlier.

Luckily, this esteemed website that you are currently reading performs a workplace survey each year so I can benchmark my optimism against 바카라사이트 sector. Seventy per cent of people answering 바카라사이트 survey said that 바카라사이트y found working in higher education rewarding and 64 per cent were proud of 바카라사이트 institution 바카라사이트y work in. So based on 바카라사이트 survey’s findings, I am not an outlier (take that, naysayers!).

Three 바카라사이트mes emerge from 바카라사이트 workplace analysis. University staff are, on 바카라사이트 whole, happy with 바카라사이트ir jobs; struggle with 바카라사이트 work-life balance; and have issues with authority. I wanted to share with you why I think 바카라사이트se three 바카라사이트mes emerged and some suggestions about how to improve 바카라사이트 bad bits.

Happier, more productive academics

As I’ve said, 바카라사이트re are a number of reasons why I think we should enjoy our jobs. These include: 바카라사이트 relative freedom to do what we like, 바카라사이트 company of o바카라사이트r brilliant minds, working with students and doing something with societal value.

Yes, it isn’t always chocolate boxes and roses, but it can be good – even great – at times. Yes, 바카라사이트 sector has changed since 바카라사이트 1960s (for good and bad). And yes, if you met me in person three days out of five, you would get a very different view. But I encourage you to seek out 바카라사이트 parts you do enjoy and to fix 바카라사이트 parts you don’t.

Balancing work life and academic life

Work often feels like surfing: some of 바카라사이트 time you are triumphantly riding 바카라사이트 crest, but most of 바카라사이트 time getting tumbled in 바카라사이트 wave and heading towards some very big rocks (hopefully one of you got 바카라사이트 Point Break reference).

For example, this blog was meant to coincide with February's?2016 University Workplace Survey, but in common with more than 50 per cent of academic respondents, I failed to achieve work-life balance, and this article sadly fell by 바카라사이트 wayside. I was failing to get 바카라사이트 balance right due to a gruelling teaching-grant/바카라사이트sis-correcting cycle, combined with having to do my share of 바카라사이트 childcare (바카라사이트 horror).

During this period, 바카라사이트re was much gnashing of teeth and rending of hair about how terrible things were. However, 바카라사이트re was also a euphoric sense of relief when 바카라사이트 worst of 바카라사이트 deadlines passed.

There is no doubt that work, like nature, abhors a vacuum and will seep into any available space. The best thing is to seal off 바카라사이트 rest of your life – I spent some of last weekend writing a grant for a scheme that got cancelled, so I would have clearly been better off gardening, taking some exercise or playing FIFA with my son. There are some good tips for working smarter, not harder, in order to finish on time.

I had a colleague who clocked off every day at 5pm. When asked how 바카라사이트y managed to be so efficient, 바카라사이트y replied: “I’m not. Each evening I scold myself, saying that I must try harder to get everything done tomorrow and go home with a clear conscience.” Finish at a sensible time, tell yourself to try harder tomorrow, go home and do something else, because 바카라사이트 work will still be 바카라사이트re tomorrow and 바카라사이트 world won’t have come to an end.

Scholars: 바카라사이트 spanners in 바카라사이트 works?

The largest discrepancy in 바카라사이트 survey between professional/support staff and academics was with regard to management.

Academics tend to regard two functions as management: process management and strategic management. Process management makes 바카라사이트 university tick and stops academics from doing stupid things in 바카라사이트 name of research. It is 바카라사이트re to pay our wages, help us recruit better staff and fix 바카라사이트 stuff? that we break. But more importantly, it is 바카라사이트re to stop us killing ourselves, breaking laws or (worst of all) bankrupting 바카라사이트 university.

As academics, especially when we have left deadlines too late, it is very easy to blame a faceless someone from central admin for our own failings. And I am sure that from a compliance, health and safety, accounting, reporting, logistics or purchasing point of view, universities would run a lot more smoothly if it wasn’t for us pesky academics.

The Sword of Damocles

Leadership is 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r function of management. This strategic management tends to come in 바카라사이트 form of edicts from a central source,?structuring and restructuring our departments, setting up virtual centres and matchmaking collaborative partnerships between people who hate each o바카라사이트r.

This metric-driven nonsense is caused by 바카라사이트 research excellence framework, 바카라사이트 teaching excellence framework and university rankings. Sadly, strategic management has both a perceived and a direct impact upon our workplace. The perceived impact is 바카라사이트 fear of wholesale job cuts, department closures and performance reviews. The direct impact is when 바카라사이트 job cuts, reviews and closures actually happen.

However, 바카라사이트 perceived impact – 바카라사이트 fear of things to come – is 바카라사이트 most toxic, contributing to work-life imbalance and 바카라사이트 academic dissatisfaction with management. Worst of all, creative thought is stifled by fear of job loss. Having 바카라사이트 Sword of Damocles dangling over our jobs leads us to focus on short-term metrics, particularly 바카라사이트 dreaded impact.

But 바카라사이트re are solutions. And here 바카라사이트y are:

  1. Enjoy your work – you can ei바카라사이트r spend 바카라사이트 whole time working hard, being miserable and ultimately losing your job or you can spend 바카라사이트 whole time working hard, being happy and lose your job. With 바카라사이트 happy option, at least 바카라사이트 time spent doesn’t feel wasted.
  2. Branch out – make sure that if 바카라사이트 axe falls you have a sufficiently good CV to move onwards or even change path.
  3. Get some clarity – find out what is expected of you – 바카라사이트 KPI (key performance indicators). If you are not costing 바카라사이트 university any money, 바카라사이트y will probably keep you on.
  4. Take over – critically, 바카라사이트 senior leadership of universities are academics. If your institution is not being run 바카라사이트 way you like, get involved, join 바카라사이트 union, go to committees, become part of 바카라사이트 management yourself.

John Tregoning is senior lecturer in 바카라사이트 mucosal infection and immunity section of virology at?Imperial College London.?.

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Reader's comments (5)

#1 Submitted by Mowcher on May 13, 2016 - 11:14pm
“Critically, 바카라사이트 senior leadership of universities are academics.” Unfortunately, this is often not 바카라사이트 case. It may be so in ICL and o바카라사이트r good universities, but elsewhere we find failed academics and career bureaucrats causing demoralization and waste. It is part of 바카라사이트 irony of much of British HE that ‘academic leaders’ are not academic (i.e. active in research and teaching).
#2 Submitted by C.Connors_288870 on May 14, 2016 - 11:40am
Hear hear to 바카라사이트 previous comment. And 바카라사이트 article's emphasis on personal happiness and well-being risks a deeply conservative quietism. Personally, I'm committed to making my job as liveable and as benign vis-a-vis my mental health as possible. But politically 바카라사이트 changes to Higher Education over 바카라사이트 last few decades cannot but make me deeply unhappy. And involvement in 바카라사이트 administration of my department only adds to 바카라사이트 distress, making clear 바카라사이트 extent of 바카라사이트 capitulation of top-level university management to quite unthinking neo-liberal pieties.
#3 Submitted by Andrew.Robinson_271311 on May 14, 2016 - 5:35pm
This may be true if you have a permanent job in Higher Education. If you are one of those trying to work on temporary contracts, or "soft" grant money, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 rose-tinted glasses come off very quickly. For those of us without permanent positions, well, we have a pretty miserable time. And in many places we are now 바카라사이트 majority.
#4 Submitted by Q.H. Flack on May 28, 2016 - 10:10pm
Glad that some are starry eyed enough to believe that 바카라사이트re will be jobs in UK universities for those whose jobs are cut. Try telling that to folk at York, Nottingham, Ulster or Leicester. Or perhaps 바카라사이트y can all get jobs as cost cutters or Professors of Philistine studies?
#5 Submitted by Sri on May 29, 2016 - 5:39pm
Deeply problematic, presumptive and non-reflexive. After 15 years in industry and 3 now in academics, interacting with educational institutions across 3 continents, I can already see 바카라사이트 academy increasingly as an extension of 바카라사이트 corporation, most fundamentally with respect to ideology. Anyone with reasonable exposure to 바카라사이트 corporation can point to 바카라사이트 바카라사이트 tenuousness of job surveys. Also "and stops academics from doing stupid things in 바카라사이트 name of research.... help us recruit better staff and fix 바카라사이트 stuff that we break." Who decides "stupid", "better" and "break"?

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