Faculty perceptions of work-life balance: the role of marital/relationship and family status

Abstract

This study examined correlates of work-life balance perceptions for faculty from various marital/relationship and family statuses, using data from the multi-institutional survey of faculty from the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) project at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. Indicating lower work-life balance among single (rather than married/partnered) faculty, our findings call for colleges and universities to directly address the work-life struggles of single faculty members with and without children. Our findings also underscore the central importance of institutional support for making personal/family obligations and an academic career compatible for all faculty, supports that are correlated with better faculty work-life balance at the level of both individual faculty and the institution. In addition, we argue that institutional supports are particularly important for early-career faculty, who assessed their work-life balance consistently lower than faculty at higher ranks.