This article from the AWIS newsletter is pertinent to recent discussions on this list.
Work-Life Balance and Success in a Scientific Career Work-life balance in a rigorous academic career is slowly being adopted as part of the scientific communitys lexicon, although some resist its infiltration. Especially in a tough economic climate with a dwindling number of grants being awarded these days, it is of utmost importance for researchers to stay on top of their game and produce results. This often comes at the expense of personal and family obligations, let alone leisure activities. However, some have realized that leisure is an integral part of a researchers life not only for work-life balance, but also for the betterment of ideas and scientific discovery. This month in Nature, Dr. Julie Overbaugh from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA argues, Scientists should make time for play to complement their intense work, maintain creativity and keep the ideas flowing. She acknowledges that while it is sometimes necessary to pull all-nighters in the name of pending deadlines, more hours in the lab does not equate to better results. In fact, she notes, I have many of my best ideas while walking the dogs in the morning, riding my bike home from work or weekending in the mountains. For Dr. Quinones-Hinojosa at Johns Hopkins, on the other hand, these types of activities are utterly incompatible with a serious career in cancer research. Heidi Ledford of Nature News recently decided to investigate 24/7 labs where the number of hours logged is most crucial to success in the eyes of the PI, and she interviewed the students and postdocs who work for them. Contrary to many who turned her down due to fear of being portrayed as slave-drivers Dr. Quinones-Hinojosa welcomed her into his lab, eager to show off his neurosurgery skills and devoted research team of tired students and postdocs. At first glance, it would seem that with 13 concurrent grants, 113 publications since 2005 and an h index of 27, compared with the average of 10.7 among his neuroscience colleagues, that the long hours Dr. Quinones-Hinojosa requires of himself and his team have paid off in spades. However, it all depends on how you measure success. Attending late-night lab meetings every Friday and working through all major holidays, some of the students in this lab cited not being able to see their families abroad for years. Furthermore, the PI himself admits to being an absentee father. He notes that while in residency at the University of California, San Francisco, his three young children thought he lived at the hospital, and effectively he did clocking 140 hours a week. Yet strangely, he seems to truly enjoy his career and life choices. This then begs the question of how to define work-life balance. Some have argued that this term is insufficient; rejecting the notion that any semblance of balance between work and family or personal life can reasonably by achieved in the throes of a research-oriented academic career. Instead, terms such as work-life satisfaction have emerged. This suggests that whatever ratio of work to personal time needs to be achieved in order for an individual to be satisfied is sufficient. But one has to wonder if Dr. Quinones-Hinojosa would even be able to choose his current work-life ratio without a spouse at home to take care of their three children? Because many women scientists dont have the luxury of choosing between work and family, it is vitally important for academic institutions to adopt flexible work-life policies, and encourage employees to take advantage of them. At AWIS, we have just begun a new initiative to study and identify best practices for workplace flexibility in academia. Tools for Change: A Project for Stepping Up Retention of Women in the Academic STEM Pipeline is a partnership between AWIS and Dr. Mary Ann Mason from the Center for Economics & Family Security at UC Berkeley, as well as Dr. Joan C. Williams from the Center for WorkLife Law at UC Hastings. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE program, our study will provide a rigorous economic analysis on the cost of losing precious talent throughout the "leaky" STEM pipeline and the benefits of implementing flexible, family-responsive workplace practices.
