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Heeding the happiness call: why academia needs to take faculty mental health more seriously

Group leaders voice their struggles with mental health to remove stigma and bolster institutional support.
By
  1. Amanda Heidt

    1. Amanda Heidt is a freelance writer and editor in Moab, Utah.

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Christine Le was drawn to academia for many reasons: the hours are flexible, and researchers have broad licence to pursue interesting projects, collaborate with peers and mentor students. Le, a chemist at York University in Toronto, Canada, takes pride especially in ushering in the next generation of scientists. But she has also had to balance dozens of other tasks — from managing a budget to sitting on committees and drafting lesson plans — that sometimes leave her drained. As much as she enjoys her job as an assistant professor and laboratory head, which she started almost three years ago, Le says that success sometimes comes at the expense of her own mental health. “You end up putting yourself on the back burner often, which you shouldn’t do, but it’s hard not to when there are people relying on you.”

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00419-0

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 20 February 2023: An earlier version of this feature erroneously stated that Christine Le is an associate professor.

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