Faculty life follow-up

After posting about the benefits of self-reflection and the struggles of balancing faculty life (see previous entry #FacultyLife below), I wanted to link readers to the recent Wall Street Journal article on the challenges of academic careers. Additionally, we can extend the discussion of "balance" by exploring university resources, such as Virginia Tech's page to promote "Faculty work/life balance" with links to guide faculty through resources.

It is important to note that many people and many professions struggle with work/life balance. The issues of work/life balance isn't limited to academia, it isn't limited to only tenure track, it isn't limited to those with children, and it isn't limited to just women. It is an issue for everyone in our society. Much of the literature I explore is, of course, rooted in academia. It also deals with women along the tenure track as I am personally invested in this topic and it shares my research interests considering communication and higher education culture. But there are many resources out there--and I encourage everyone to avail themselves of the resources offered by your organization and those similar to your organizations.

So many of us struggle with this issue. If you're undertaking personal reflection on work/life and that precarious (unattainable?) balancing act, you may want to consider these additional resources:

• Baker, B. (2011). Having a life in science. BioScience, 61(6), 429-433.
• Beauregard, T. A., & Henry, L. C. (2008). Managing the link between work-life balance practices and organizational performance. Human Resource Management Review, 19(1), 9-22.
• Caproni, P. J. (2004). Work/life balance: You can't get there from here. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 40(2), 208-218.
• Gappa, J. M., & Austin, A. E. (2010). Rethinking academic traditions for twenty-first century faculty. AAUP Journal of Academic Freedom, 1, 1-20.
• Gappa, J. M., Austin, A. E., & Trice, A. G. (2007). Rethinking Faculty Work: Higher Education’s Strategic Imperative. San Francisco: John Wiley and Sons.
• Lang, J. M. (2005). Life on the tenure-track: Lessons from the first year. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins' University Press.
• Lang, J. M. (n.d.). Surviving the fourth dimension. Retrieved August 10, 2011 from Successful Academic site http://www.successfulacademic.com/articles/James_Lang_Collegiality.htm.