Rethinking growth and resilience in the research ecosystem

The International Science Council and its Member, the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), in partnership with Nature, have launched a new six-part podcast series exploring the evolving landscape of research careers. Across the series, early- and mid-career researchers converse with senior scientists, sharing experiences of growth, collaboration, and resilience in the face of rapid change.

The latest episode of the International Science Council’s podcast explores the mental health and well-being of early- and mid-career researchers. Science journalist Izzie Clarke speaks with Lori Foster, President of the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP), and Yensi Flores Bueso, Co-Chair of the Global Young Academy (GYA), about how precarious contracts, competition, and limited resources impact researchers’ resilience and productivity. They underline that caring for scientists’ well-being is not only humane but vital for the future of science.

In the discussion, they call for research environments that value collaboration, inclusion, and psychological safety. They urge institutions to recognize diverse career paths, reward long-term teamwork over short-term output, and provide stronger mentoring and peer networks.

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Transcript

Izzie Clarke: 00:01

Hello and welcome to this podcast presented in partnership with the International Science Council, with the support of the China Association for Science and Technology. I’m science journalist Izzie Clarke.

The future of science relies on the well-being of early- to mid-career researchers, that they feel supported in their workplace so that collaboratively their fields can continue to evolve. But with funding and publication demands, to name a few, how is that possible and what else is needed to mentally support researchers?

To help answer these all-important questions, I’m joined by Yensi Flores Bueso, co-chair of the Global Young Academy, and a Marie Curie Career Fellow at the Institute for Protein Design and the Cancer Research centre at University College Cork.

Yensi Flores Bueso: 00:51

Hi, Izzie.

Izzie Clarke: 00:52

And Lori Foster, the President of the International Association of Applied Psychology and Professor of Organizational Psychology at North Carolina State University.

Lori Foster: 01:04

Hi, Izzie. Great to be here.

Izzie Clarke: 01:06

Well, I think today’s conversation is an important one. We’re talking about mental health and well-being. So, let’s start with the question for both of you. Why do we need to rethink resilience in the research ecosystem, especially when it comes to early- and mid-career researchers?

Lori Foster: 01:22

Sure. I think we’re talking about how to prevent things like burnout, how to foster resilience and thriving. And I suppose I have two answers. So, one is it’s simply the humane thing to do. We have to take care of ourselves and we have to take care of each other. And then answer number two, if we need a business case, is it’s the right thing to do from the standpoint of the advancement of our sciences. If we are in an ecosystem and we are burning out some of our resources, then we are not going to be able to sustain growth and productivity in that ecosystem.

Yensi Flores Bueso: 01:56

I agree with Lori. Science would benefit from scientific systems that can help encourage the different abilities and the different characteristics and the strengths that every researcher has. And being burnt out, or this hyper competition, I don’t think that it benefits some of the characteristics of certain researchers because, at the end of the day, science, it’s done by teams. You need this combination of different abilities and strengths to build a strong team in science.

Izzie Clarke: 02:28

Lori, what would you say are some of the pressures that early- and mid-career researchers face?

Lori Foster: 02:35

Yeah, thanks Izzie. And I’m going to be really interested in Yensi’s perspective on this, as well, given that she is at an earlier career stage than I am. But it can be workload, particularly in the context of the other life pressures that may be going on. That could be anything from paying off student loans to raising a family, to building your social network with your friend groups and all of those things… maintaining your physical activity and exercise, getting enough sleep. So, all of those things can be factors, in addition to the climate or the culture of the work environment, right? And we’re going to see some variability there. But for many, early- and mid-career researchers, that’s a real factor that can be a barrier.

Izzie Clarke: 03:22

And Yensi, if you’re happy to talk about this, have you experienced any pressures to secure funding or publishing or anything like that that might have impacted your well-being in this stage of your career?

Yensi Flores Bueso: 03:35

Yeah, especially coming from the Global South, where there’s less resources available, you have to compete harder for getting the few opportunities that are there. People who have less opportunities are at disadvantage. Right now, the current systems, what they evaluate are opportunities rather than ability. So, this has definitely impacted my life.

Even in the Global North, researchers live in certain precarity. The contracts are usually just temporary and the salaries are very low in early stages, and there’s a lot of insecurity of what is going to happen next.

You have to compete for the funding or the positions that will let you advance your career. Then you’re always being hyperproductive and that results in burnouts or, in my personal case, I can say that definitely it takes most of my time. It can affect your health, your sleep, for example, and if a woman, for example, has a family, it will be super difficult.

Izzie Clarke: 04:42

That’s also a lot to take on in addition to academic work and research, which in itself is a tasking job on top of all of those other things to contend with. So, in those moments of stress, was there anything or anyone that helped you regain a sense of balance or peace during those more difficult times?

Yensi Flores Bueso: 05:05

Yes. Well, I would say one, mentors. I have been lucky to be supported by my mentors who, in between grants, for example, gave me a contract for a couple of months to help me not be without a job for two or three months, which is especially dangerous for me because my visa depends on my job.

Then my peers, for example, I am lucky that I joined the Global Young Academy (GYA) because I can interact with different people from around the world and hear their perspectives, as well as they hear me. And another thing, I got involved in something called the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessments. These gave me a lot of hope and purpose. It aims to change the way that we evaluate researchers to kind of make space and room for all kind of contributions, not only publications.

Izzie Clarke: 05:55

And I guess that goes back to what you were saying earlier about having the diversity of different strengths and skills in your team, as well, and sharing that with your peers.

So, Lori, from a psychological science perspective, what are some of the common and potentially overlooked signs of burnout or mental strain in research environments?

Lori Foster: 06:15

Yeah, well, I really appreciated a lot of what Yensi was saying there about joining organizations, joining associations. Because, to your question, Izzie, I think one of those signs might be withdrawal. If you see somebody who’s beginning to isolate a little bit more, withdrawal, perfectionism, cynicism, emotional numbness, drops in curiosity, things like that could be symptomatic and problematic.

And some of us are lucky enough to join a lab that is not only productive but supportive, and some of us aren’t. And so then what? What do you do when you’re not in an environment that feels psychologically safe or has a culture that’s productive and supportive, both?

And what I found, especially looking back similar to what Yensi is saying is that joining organizations, associations, professional associations, did mean a world of good because it fulfilled both needs. It was a way to develop a network, contribute professionally and I was making friends and finding people with common interests. And I found that it also accommodates a variety of different career stages if you join the right organization or pick the right ones. So, I really want to emphasize that important point as well.

Izzie Clarke: 07:32

If a listener sees that a colleague is struggling or they themselves actually feel like things are getting a bit much, what should they do?

Lori Foster: 07:41

Certainly if somebody is at risk or harming themselves or others, it’s important to seek help immediately. If it is something other than that where you start to feel that cynicism creeping in, you start to feel that exhaustion, the lack of personal accomplishment like I don’t feel like I’m very good at my job, I don’t feel like I’m accomplishing anything worthwhile…

If you see those early signs of burnout creeping in, might be stepping in and one, just normalizing it when we’re talking about it with other people like, hey, it looks like you might be struggling? Do you want to talk a little bit about what might be going on? That level of social support for ourselves, building in some of the strategies that we’ve been discussing, can go a long way.

Yensi, I’m curious as to what you think from your personal experience.

Yensi Flores Bueso: 08:29

Yeah, peer support is always very important. As a member of the lab, simple things like, let’s go for a coffee and chat. Just to interact and just trying to distract from what it is because that person has been so hyperfocused on the work, it might just help the brain to kind of restart or something like that. I find also that for me, exercising and being in contact with nature has helped me a lot.

Lori Foster: 08:59

Yeah, the exercise, the nature, the sleep, the nutrition… we cannot overestimate how important those are. We know about the psychological benefits of gratitude, really taking a pause, taking a step back and saying, what am I grateful for? Who am I grateful for? And even journaling that, even if you never show it to anyone, we know that this can have positive impacts for ourselves, individually. And of course, if you share that, then it has positive impacts to the person that you’re grateful for.

Izzie Clarke: 09:27

Yeah. With that in mind, what can research institutions do differently to support healthier and more sustainable career paths, especially for early- and mid-career researchers? Yensi, do you want to start on this?

Yensi Flores Bueso: 09:39

Yes. Well, I think that if institutions start recognizing that there is no one size fits all, it will be helpful towards careers that universities not only consider different evaluation for the positions, but also recognize that nowadays science is done by different profiles. There’s not one rigid path in academia. There’s other roles that can be incorporated.

For example, it’s becoming more important to have data managers, project managers and science communicators, or who integrates the research that is done by the university to policymakers. And all these roles are important and are very important for the scientific system. And they, right now, not always exist.

Izzie Clarke: 10:26

Yeah. And Lori, what do you think about that?

Lori Foster: 10:29

Yeah, the first thing I would encourage institutions to do is to make sure that their reward structure is aligned with the long view. If organizations are hoping for long-term productivity, collaboration, innovation, creativity, then that’s what they need to reward. So many times, they’re rewarding competition, short-term wins, quick publications and as many as you can get.

Two, there’s something called the Job Demands–Resources model. And Yensi, you’ve had me thinking about it during this conversation today. So, we could think broadly about what are the demands of the roles and what are the resources? And those demands can be both demands with respect to acquiring grants, demands with respect to publications or even interpersonal demands that you’re having in your lab and your environment.

And then what are the resources, you use that word Yensi earlier, to meet those demands? And those could be internal resources, they could be external resources, but really looking to make sure that our early- and mid-career researchers have the resources externally and internally that are needed to meet those demands.

And then the third and final thing that I’ll say in answer to this one is maybe less at the institutional level and more at the level of the lab, is to create that psychologically safe environment. That’s the environment that Yensi was describing, where each team member can play to their strengths, where they’re not afraid of getting or punished for thinking outside of the box.

Izzie Clarke: 11:56

And so what advice would you both give to early- and mid-career researchers who are struggling, especially in perhaps competitive or underfunded research environments? Yensi, what do you think?

Yensi Flores Bueso: 12:10

I would just say if they cannot find the support within their own lab or small circle, then to look a bit further to the university, and then if not the university, to other communities to get these support. There are more opportunities. The skills that we acquire in research are also very transferable.

Izzie Clarke: 12:32

And Lori?

Lori Foster: 12:33

For starters, I would say just know that you’re not alone. If you’re struggling, you are not alone. Many, if not all, people go through at different stages of their career. It’s not a weakness. And then I’ll also add two very practical things. One is focus on what’s within your control, your habits, your values, your boundaries. And then I would also say track small wins because, in this environment, it’s often the big grant that feels like the win or the publication, but it takes a long time. And so break that down, celebrate and track those small wins.

Izzie Clarke: 13:08

Yeah, it’s simple but effective. Thank you both so much for joining me today. If you’re an early- or mid-career researcher and you want to be part of a community, then join the International Science Council forum for emerging scientists.

Visit the website council.science/forum. I’m Izzie Clarke and next time we’ll be discussing the benefits of science evolving beyond academic laboratories and institutions. Until then.

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Disclaimer
The information, opinions and recommendations presented in our guest blogs are those of the individual contributors, and do not necessarily reflect the values and beliefs of the International Science Council