How to win support for the well-being of early-career researchers

Jana Lasser     |     jana.lasser@tugraz.at     |     @janalasser

Vanessa Pires     |     vanpires@uni-mainz.de

Jana Lasser     |     n2board@lists.gwdg.de     |     @janalasser

slides available at
https://janalasser.at/talks/N2_mental_health/

Overview

  • Organising representation of ECRs to drive change

  • Max Planck PhDnet and N² survey on mental health

  • First steps to improve mental health in the Max Planck Society

  • Current and future actions (Vanessa)



    • Three of the four largest non-university research organisations in Germany + associate members.

    Max Planck PhDnet

  • Elected representatives in most of the 86 Max Planck institutes

  • 2015: change from stipends to contracts for DRs

  • 2019: increase of paid vacation from 20 to 30 days

  • 2020: increase of base salary from 50% to 65% contracts

    • Yearly survey to inform policy changes

  • Working conditions

  • Supervision

  • Equal opportunities

  • Mental health

    • First mental health survey in 2017

    https://www.phdnet.mpg.de/125563/PhDnet_Survey_Report_2017.pdf

    Joint survey within N² in 2019


  • Harmonised survey across all three organisations, 15000 eligible DRs, 4800 respondents.

  • Refined methodology: clinical depression (PHQ9) and state & trait anxiety inventories.

  • First survey to assess mental health in connection to experiences of power abuse.

    • Prevalence of depression and anxiety

    https://www.phdnet.mpg.de/145345/PhDnet_Survey_Report_2019.pdf

    Demographic factors of anxiety

    https://www.phdnet.mpg.de/145345/PhDnet_Survey_Report_2019.pdf

    Demographic factors of anxiety

    https://www.phdnet.mpg.de/145345/PhDnet_Survey_Report_2019.pdf

    Demographic factors of depression

    https://www.phdnet.mpg.de/145345/PhDnet_Survey_Report_2019.pdf

    Demographic factors of depression

    https://www.phdnet.mpg.de/145345/PhDnet_Survey_Report_2019.pdf

    Relation of depression to working hours

    https://www.phdnet.mpg.de/145345/PhDnet_Survey_Report_2019.pdf

    Relation of depression to working hours

    https://www.phdnet.mpg.de/145345/PhDnet_Survey_Report_2019.pdf

    Relation of depression and anxiety to contract duration

    https://www.phdnet.mpg.de/145345/PhDnet_Survey_Report_2019.pdf

    Relation of anxiety and depression to supervision satisfaction

    https://www.phdnet.mpg.de/145345/PhDnet_Survey_Report_2019.pdf

    Relation of anxiety and depression to PhD duration satisfaction

    https://www.phdnet.mpg.de/145345/PhDnet_Survey_Report_2019.pdf

    Relation of anxiety to bullying and harassment

    https://www.phdnet.mpg.de/145345/PhDnet_Survey_Report_2019.pdf

    Relation of anxiety to bullying and harassment

    https://www.phdnet.mpg.de/145345/PhDnet_Survey_Report_2019.pdf

    Mental health depends on many factors

    https://www.phdnet.mpg.de/145345/PhDnet_Survey_Report_2019.pdf

    Mental health depends on many factors

    https://www.phdnet.mpg.de/145345/PhDnet_Survey_Report_2019.pdf

    Survey impact in the Max Planck Society

  • 2017: PhDnet representatives are invited into the operational health management working group of the MPS.

  • 2018: Deteriorating mental health is recognised as occupational hazard.

  • 2018: Mental health of (early career) researchers becomes the first focus topic of operational health management.

  • 2019: MPS launches organisation-wide "employee and managament assistance programme".

    • Survey reports


    Max Planck PhDnet
    https://www.phdnet.mpg.de/145345/PhDnet_Survey_Report_2019.pdf

    Helmholtz Juniors
    https://www.helmholtz.de/fileadmin/user_upload/06_jobs_talente/Helmholtz-Juniors/Survey_Report2019_update.pdf

    Leibniz PhDnet
    https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/69403

    Check out and re-use the questionnaire!


    "Questionnaire for the assessment of the situation of doctoral researchers"


    Hosted at OSF under a CC-BY-SA 4.0 license.

    https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/FVZ48