Staying sane in the academy: How to say no and deal with multiple failures

We all know that workload management is an issue in academic jobs. Not only do we typically need to balance teaching, research, and service, and in a research-intensive environment, we also need to balance the number of research projects we undertake relative to the resources we have.

In addition to being overworked, we often have to deal with failure, both when we realise we are not getting the results we hope for in our research and when we try to publish and get funding, ultimately accumulating more negative than positive feedback over time.

Coping with an excessive workload and multiple failures can take a toll on our mental health. Yet, saying no and bouncing from failure is easier said than done, especially early in one’s career and when experiencing job insecurity.

In the first part of this interactive session, we will brainstorm strategies for choosing worthwhile research projects (including some project management tools to assist) and saying no to requests. In the second part, we will talk about how we can build personal resources to cope with failures and rejections.

About the Speaker:

Professor Marylène Gagné is a John Curtin Distinguished Professor at the Future of Work Institute. Marylène's research examines how organisations, through their structures, cultures, rewards, tasks, and management, affect people’s motivational orientations towards their work, including volunteer work, and how quality of motivation influences performance and well-being in the workplace.

Venue

Curtin Graduate School of Business

78 Murray Street

Perth WA 6000

RSVP

RSVP to Diane Garnham is essential (diane.garnham@curtin.edu.au)

Please note registration for this session is for in-person attendance only.

About the Future of Work Institute (FOWI) Academy

​The FOWI Academy is an informal program of learning, designed for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) within the domains of Management, Organisational Psychology and Organisational Behaviour. People from other disciplines and all career stages are welcome to join at any stage. For more information, click here.

About the Future of Work Institute

The Future of Work Institute promotes productive and meaningful work as an essential foundation of a healthy economy and society. The Institute is located within the Curtin Business School at Curtin University. For more information, click here.