Nearly 2,000 academics, from PhD candidates to full professors, anonymously completed a questionnaire from De Jonge Akademie, a society of relatively young leading scientists. The results show that many scientists experience mental health problems. According to De Jonge Akademie, this is linked to an unsafe social environment, publication pressure, and temporary employment contracts.

About 25 percent of respondents experience moderate to severe symptoms of depression. Almost as many scientists reported symptoms of anxiety. This does not mean that they have depression or an anxiety disorder. They may, for example, experience low mood, insomnia, tension, or excessive worrying.

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

Why are young researchers particularly vulnerable?

“Academia has a strong hierarchy. That creates a competitive culture. There is also only limited research funding available, which further intensifies that competition. In addition, young researchers face a great deal of uncertainty because of temporary employment contracts. It is not uncommon for postdocs to have several temporary contracts in succession. That creates uncertainty and unrest.”

You write that there are also major differences between researchers who did or did not grow up in the Netherlands.

“Indeed. Foreign researchers experience more mental health problems and derive less enjoyment from their work. This may be due to a lack of a social network. We see that having a social network can contribute to mental health. For foreign researchers, it is often more difficult to build such a network: their families do not live nearby, and making new friends can also be challenging.”

Do we also see differences between men and women?

“We did expect to see some. 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.”

“But strikingly, we saw no difference between men and women when it came to depressive symptoms: they reported these symptoms equally often. We do not have an explanation for that yet. This would require further research.”

Mental health problems among scientists have been discussed for some time. What makes this problem so persistent?

“It has to do with the research environment. We have created a culture of hypercompetition in academia. In such an environment, it is easy to start working overtime, especially when your supervisor or adviser does the same. It quickly becomes seen as normal.”

In the study, De Jonge Akademie presented researchers with the statement: “I feel pressured to work longer than my regular hours.” More than half of the researchers agreed.

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

“This tension was one of the reasons we started the study. We know that there is a lot of stress and pressure, but at the same time, many scientists find it incredibly enjoyable and rewarding to work in academia. How do you reconcile the two?”

“Many researchers see their work as a passion: more than half call it 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 actually address these problems?

“You can always say that more money should go to science. But it is a myth that more money will solve all the problems. There are other factors that can make a difference. For example, create a safe and pleasant 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 by reducing the amount of overtime scientists work. This is especially important for foreign researchers, so that they can settle in well here.”

And what about young academics?

“There need to be more stable positions. Academics often experience a great deal of uncertainty early in their careers. If we can offer more permanent contracts, this could have a positive effect on their mental health.”

“And we also need to talk more about job satisfaction. We often talk about how difficult an academic career is, but less about what makes people happy in their work. There is, of course, a problem. But working in science is also wonderful; there is so much beauty in it. We should focus more on that.”

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.