The piling stress of young academics

Slow stress is creeping into the work of young academics, writes Irene Kamara. A blog post, a workshop and a review. Not the big deadlines, but the accumulation of smaller tasks generates the quiet pressure that often goes unnoticed.

‘Hey Bas, would you like to help with organizing this conference? It would be a great opportunity for your resume.’

‘Tessa, I am writing with Maria this piece for a blogpost that is exactly on your topic. Will you join us?’

The life of the young academic is filled with such decisions; A proposal to organize an event, contribute to a low impact/low effort publication, review some papers, give a presentation somewhere. All perhaps good opportunities with good intentions: bonding with colleagues and networking with other experts, gaining some experience and skills, acquiring some small funding. But how much is enough? And how much is too much?

On the one hand, as young academics we strive for excellence, and also impact. We aim to give back to society, contribute to policy making, be seen and talk about our academic passions. We may want to act collegial, be a good academic citizen. We are also aware and concerned with external factors such as budget cuts to higher education and other financial constraints.

On the other hand, there is as much as one can do in an academic year. In a two hour time slot on a Friday morning, free from teaching: should you follow a training or review a paper for a journal? Or none?

How one can make those decisions is sometimes impulsive; some other times, there is a great mentor, that you can ask. Or you have a good internal compass and a plan. Or simply learn the hard way; from mistakes.

What is certain is that all these small, less important tasks, pile up and contribute to one’s workload, and stress levels. A blog post and a workshop organisation will also translate to a series of meetings, email exchanges, and ultimately deadlines.

In environmental studies (Nixon, 2011), slow violence is a concept used to denote violence that occurs gradually and is not necessarily visible. Should we speak of ‘slow stress’ and the consequences on young academics? Stress that often creeps in unnoticed, finding its place, next to the big project deadlines and teaching tasks.

Some of this stress may stem from the absence of clear career goals and guidance on how to achieve them. Or peer pressure. Or other external factors.

I do not have unfortunately a magic recipe on how to make good choices. My message here is: we should be aware of the hidden risks of smaller tasks, and choose wisely, according to the career stage, asking for guidance and advice from people we admire and respect, and always taking good care of ourselves and prioritizing our health and well-being.

_Advertentie.