Five ways to make the academic workplace happier and healthier this year

"When you spend enough years in academia, you begin to hear the same sentence spoken over and over: "It won't make any difference." We have both heard it, too many times. It is what a doctoral student says when a supervisor crosses a line and they are encouraged to report misconduct. It is what a postdoc says when they are urged to complain after being asked to work unpaid overtime, under the shadow of a recommendation letter."

"And it is what a young academic tells themself when they experience humiliation or dismissal and cannot find a formal channel through which to discuss their situation. Academic life has changed. But we feel that academic culture hasn't kept up. One of us (F.G.S.) has spent eight years working with educators across Europe to promote mentorship training, safe learning environments and ethical leadership. The other (R.A.H.) has spent decades listening to doctoral students who feel voiceless."

Many doctoral students and postdocs commonly say 'It won't make any difference' when facing misconduct, unpaid overtime, humiliation or dismissal, and lack formal channels to report concerns. Academic culture remains strongly hierarchical, prioritizing publication metrics over respectful behaviour and ethical leadership. This hierarchy renders junior staff invisible while prominent publication records can shield abusive conduct. Programs like mentorship training, safe learning environments and leadership development have been promoted, but cultural change lags. An informal international network brings educators and leaders together to address these problems. Without open discussion and systemic change, future researchers may choose industry over academia.

Read at Nature