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Faculty perceptions of work-life balance: the role of marital/relationship and family status

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Abstract

This study examined correlates of work-life balance perceptions for faculty from various marital/relationship and family statuses, using data from the multi-institutional survey of faculty from the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) project at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. Indicating lower work-life balance among single (rather than married/partnered) faculty, our findings call for colleges and universities to directly address the work-life struggles of single faculty members with and without children. Our findings also underscore the central importance of institutional support for making personal/family obligations and an academic career compatible for all faculty, supports that are correlated with better faculty work-life balance at the level of both individual faculty and the institution. In addition, we argue that institutional supports are particularly important for early-career faculty, who assessed their work-life balance consistently lower than faculty at higher ranks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia

    Nida Denson

  2. Higher Education Program, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA, USA

    Katalin Szelényi

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  1. Nida Denson
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  2. Katalin Szelényi
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Correspondence to Nida Denson.

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Denson, N., Szelényi, K. Faculty perceptions of work-life balance: the role of marital/relationship and family status. High Educ 83, 261–278 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00654-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00654-8

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