Striving for work-life balance can take its toll on your career.
Scientists' work obligations conflict with their personal lives three or more times a week, finds a poll of 4,225 scientists by the Association for Women in Science (AWIS) in Alexandria, Virginia. A third of respondents to the global work–life satisfaction survey said that achieving work–life balance damages their careers. "There's a lot of stress out there; it's global and not gender-specific," says AWIS past-president Joan Herbers, who blames the dissatisfaction in part on rigid tenure timelines and requirements. Extending the tenure clock to allow for birth or adoption, and asking tenure committees to rate candidates on the basis of their publications' impact rather than total number, would ease stress, says Herbers.
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Stress survey. Nature 483, 501 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nj7390-501b
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nj7390-501b