It’s time to acknowledge mental health in scientific academia
18 Aug 2021
According to a new study, the immense pressure scientific researchers are under is impacting their mental wellbeing. Here Abhishek Goel discusses the results and potential implications of the ongoing, sometimes overwhelming, stress faced within today’s academic environment.
It’s important for people to realise that pressure and exploitation don’t produce the best research outcomes
There’s a lot of pressure on scientific researchers to come up with answers to the world’s problems, often with little regard for what these pressures can do to the researchers themselves. As it stands, there is little information available about the life of a researcher, but a recent survey tells us the academic environment is harsh, competitive, and rife with failure and rejection.
In the mental health survey conducted before the pandemic by Cactus Communications, over one third of respondents indicated that they often felt overwhelmed by their work situation and this was negatively impacting their mental health. Sixty-five per cent said that they were under tremendous pressure to publish papers, secure grants, and complete projects without the benefits of social interactions at the workplace to dispel tension. Thirty-one per cent of participants reported that they worked over 50 hours a week from home. These are pre-COVID statistics, and the situation has likely worsened during the pandemic.
One participant commented, “The culture needs to change. The expectation that everyone needs to be constantly working, no matter what, is incredibly damaging.” The message from respondents is clear: academic culture needs to change to promote a healthy work-life balance.
Officials can take the lead in destigmatising mental health in academia by encouraging open discussion, structuring policies to better regulate working hours, and implementing stricter rules to police discrimination, bullying, and harassment. Institutions should create confidential spaces for mental health support on- or off-site, and decision-makers need to be aware of research areas lacking support so that appropriate changes can be made.
It’s important for people to realise that pressure and exploitation don’t produce the best research outcomes. Valuing people holistically will make the research community a happier one, and the quality of research will be significantly better too. After all, a happy community is a productive community.
To read the mental health report, visit www.cactusglobal.com/mental-health-survey/
Author: Abhishek Goel is Co-founder and CEO of Cactus Communications cactusglobal.com
