I was interested in this article published in Chronicle about how to have happy professors. The article spoke about a study that surveyed over 3,000 recently tenured associate professors to determine what they found important in being committed to their institution. Their results showed that a supportive and caring environment was crucial to their appeasement. The results were summed as followed:

Organizations that cultivate a climate of support will, on average, exhibit higher levels of commitment than those that focus on external policies and procedures

An interesting result they found from their study was when they focused on immediate work environment of employees, race- and ethnicity-linked gaps in committee disappeared. The article argues that instead of focusing on workshops, initiatives, programs, etc., institutions should instead focus on cultivating a respectful and inviting work environment and friendly interactions between employees.

I found this article and study interesting because to me, this is obvious. No one wants to go to a work place where they feel unwelcome by their peers. Particularly, in academia, where if one receives tenure, they are working with their colleagues for, essentially, the rest of their career. Academia is also not a place where one can survive on their own. Collaborations are crucial to research, particularly now with the increase in interdisciplinary research. If someone feels they cannot work with their peers, not only will their mental state suffer but their work will suffer as well.

But how do we fix this? Not every one is a nice person and you cannot force people to change. How do you encourage a friendly and open environment? I think this is a criteria that should be looked at when hiring new faculty members. They should look at the personality of the person coming in and current faculty members should have the opportunity to interact with their new potential colleague so that they may get a feel for how they’ll work together. This is a hard thing to look for because not every one responds to someone’s personality the same way. But I believe this could help reduce conflicts in the future. In my opinion, the quality of research or work doesn’t matter if someone can’t connect with their colleagues or students. A good connection with others will open the door to more effective teamwork and better mentorship for future generations.