One in four academics in the Netherlands experiences symptoms of depression and/or anxiety, according to research by The Young Academy. 'We’ve created a culture of hypercompetition in academia', says psychiatrist and researcher Joeri Tijdink.

Nearly two thousand academics, from PhD candidates to full professors, anonymously completed a questionnaire for The Young Academy, a society of relatively young leading researchers. The findings show that many academics experience mental health problems. The Young Academy links these mental health problems to a lack of social safety, as well as to publication pressure and temporary contracts.

Around 25 per cent of respondents experience moderate to severe symptoms of depression. Almost as many academics reported symptoms of anxiety. This does not mean that they have depression or an anxiety disorder, but they do experience symptoms such as low mood, insomnia, tension or excessive worrying.

‘We already knew that the mental health of academics, particularly that of PhD candidates, is under pressure’, says Joeri Tijdink, a psychiatrist and researcher at Amsterdam UMC. Tijdink is also one of the report’s authors. ‘But postdocs and assistant professors appear to be vulnerable too.’ 

Why are young researchers particularly vulnerable?

‘Academia has a strong hierarchy. This creates a competitive culture. Research funding is also limited, which further intensifies the competition. In addition, temporary contracts create a great deal of uncertainty among young researchers. It’s not unusual for postdocs to have several temporary contracts in succession. This causes uncertainty and unrest.’

You also write that there are major differences between researchers who were and were not raised in the Netherlands.

‘That’s right. International researchers experience more mental health problems and derive less satisfaction from their work. This may be due to a lack of a social network. We see that having a social network can contribute to good mental health. It’s often more difficult for international researchers to build such a network: their family doesn’t live nearby and it can also be difficult to make new friends.’

Are there also differences between men and women?

‘We did expect that. In the general population, symptoms such as anxiety and depression are more common among women than men. Among the respondents, women reported symptoms of anxiety more often.’

‘Surprisingly, however, we found no difference between men and women in symptoms of depression: they reported them equally often. We do not have an explanation for that yet. It’s something we need to investigate further.’

Mental health problems among academics have been discussed for some time. Why is this problem so persistent?

‘It has to do with the research environment. We’ve created a culture of hypercompetition in academia. In that kind of environment, you can easily end up working too much, particularly if your manager or supervisor does the same. It can quickly come to be seen as normal.’

In the survey, The Young Academy asked respondents to consider the following statement: “I feel under pressure to work longer than my regular hours”. More than half of the researchers agreed.

In spite of stress and mental health problems, academics experience relatively high levels of job satisfaction. How do you explain that?

‘This tension was one of the reasons we decided to conduct the study. We know that academics experience a great deal of stress and pressure, but at the same time many of them find it incredibly enjoyable and rewarding to work in academia. How can the two be reconciled?’

‘You can always say that more money needs to go to research, but it’s a myth that more money will solve all the problems’

‘Many researchers regard their work as a passion: more than half say it is the best job in the world. They feel that they contribute to solving societal problems. That makes their work meaningful and inspiring.’

What needs to change to truly address these problems?

‘You can always say that more money needs to go to research. But it’s a myth that more money will solve all the problems. There are other factors that can make a difference too. For example, create a safe and positive research culture and invest in good leadership.’

‘A strong social network is associated with fewer mental health problems. Institutions can help by encouraging social activities or ensuring that academics work less overtime. This is particularly important for international researchers, so that they can settle in well here.’

And for young academics?

‘There need to be more stable positions. Early-career academics often experience a great deal of uncertainty. If we can offer more permanent contracts, that may have a positive effect on their mental health.’

‘And we also need to talk more about job satisfaction. We often talk about how demanding an academic career is, but less about what makes people happy at work. Of course, there is a problem. But working in academia is also wonderful; there is so much beauty to it. And we should focus more on that.’

Article by Naomi Bergshoeff (HOP). Translation: Taalcentrum-VU