Work-life balance in doctoral studies at LTH

Abstract

Work-life balance is a steadily recurring issue as it pertains to doctoral studies. Partly because it lies in the grey-zone between pursing passion and a professional career. The latter is also complicated by being subordinate to a supervisor which may have commitments to project deliverables. Thus it is expected that several intertwined factors can contribute to poor work-life balance in doctoral studies. In this report, this issue is investigated by means of a survey conducted at the Faculty of Engineering at Lund University in October 2023 as part of the docent course. The main findings of the survey are that students work considerably more than stipulated on their employment contract. However, this may not be due to outside pressures. But it has a significant effect on their private life