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1 . School of Computing Science
A few thoughts on
work-life balance
23 January 2020
Wim Vanderbauwhede
2 .Screenshot from The Guardian web site, taken 20 Jan 2020
3 . Working hours for Physical Sciences researchers
160
140
120
100
count
80
60
40
20
0
<11 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 >80
Hours worked per week
Data from the survey “What researchers think about the culture they work in”,
Wellcome Trust, Jan 2020
4 . Working hours (academics, no PhD or postdocs)
45
40
35
30
25
Count
20
15
10
5
0
<11 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 >80
Hours worked per week
Data from the survey “What researchers think about the culture they work in”,
Wellcome Trust, Jan 2020
7 .Contracts &
Expectations
8 . Contract
• a legal document
– sets out rights and duties (e.g. hours, leave)
– there are penalties if you break the conditions
• an agreement on a transaction with
expectations on both sides
– matters a lot more than the legal side
– not observing the expectation hurts both sides
10 .The biology
of happiness
11 . Brain chemicals
• Neurotransmitters affecting happiness
– dopamine makes you do things: short-term reward,
highly addictive
– serotonin is related to pride, feeling important, joint
achievement
– oxytocin relates to trust, kindness
• Stress hormone: cortisol
– inhibits oxytocin
– is bad for your body, physically as well as mentally
12 .The psychology
of happiness
13 . Happiness from without
• “Doing/achieving/eating X will make me happy”
• Reward from external sources: the dopamine hit
• It works very briefly, not long term
• Can be compulsive
• Watch out for the patterns
14 .Goals, ambition
and success
15 . Goals, ambition, success
• Goals and ambition are positive.
• But you need to ask yourself why:
– Why do I pursue this particular goal/ambition?
– What does success mean to me?
– And what will it bring me?
• If you don’t define success, then success will not make
you happy
17 . Respect
• Everybody wants to be respected
– But the people who know you and like you already
respect you.
– Why does the respect of strangers matter to you?
– It’s an imposed model of success: social hierarchy
– Careful, it’s a trap!
“Those who matter don’t mind and
those who mind don’t matter”
19 . Happiness from within
• It’s your reaction to a situation that
determines your state of mind
• Self-awareness, mindfulness
• Calm and fulfillment: serotonin
• Practicing kindness: oxytocin (social reward)
21 . Pressure
• You feel under pressure to work long hours
– Why is that?
– Remember the contract!
22 .What are your reasons?
Any of these? peer pressure
hard to say no working against your rhythm
perceived expectations difficulty focusing
thinking that you’re not too many distractions
efficient enough everything is a priority
everything seems urgent feeling pressurised
perfectionism daunting goals
habit few other interests
Or others? feeling overwhelmed
23 .Discuss your reasons with your neighbour
peer pressure
hard to say no working against your rhythm
perceived expectations difficulty focusing
thinking that you’re not too many distractions
efficient enough everything is a priority
everything seems urgent feeling pressurised
perfectionism daunting goals
habit few other interests
Or others? feeling overwhelmed
26 .“de boog kan niet altijd gespannen staan”
27 . Resilience
• Resilience is a key characteristic for academics
• To be resilient you need to recharge
• To recharge you need downtime
28 . Productivity
• Working long hours is not productive
– Long hours destroy concentration
– Need for unconscious processing time, essential
for problem solving and creativity
29 . Adding value
• to your own life: personal development
• to other people’s lives
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