Thesis Format
Integrated Article
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Program
Sociology
Supervisor
Tracey Adams
Abstract
Despite an extensive body of literature on higher education, few studies address how both contract and tenured professors experience the academic workplace shaped by neoliberalism. This dissertation highlights how neoliberal political and economic policies affect the workloads and well-being of professors regardless of hiring position. The dissertation begins with an ethnographic introduction of what prompted the research project followed by Chapter 2 which discusses how neoliberalism has transformed universities. Chapters 3 to 5 explore how this transformation plays out in the academic workplace followed by Chapter 6’s discussion and conclusions.
The first integrated article (Chapter 3) discusses the division of labour surrounding student support. Drawing on quantitative data from a 2023 online survey, the chapter examines the division of labour surrounding student support. It explores the interplay of type of institution, faculty position and social factors, such as gender, race and age, in determining the number of student support requests received by professors and levels of stress experienced.
The second integrated article (Chapter 4) draws on data from the same survey to examine the relationship between overwork and professorial well-being. Workplace stresses and strain levels vary among faculty positions, but findings also show there is a gendered dimension of workplace stressors that impact productivity and well-being. The final integrated article (Chapter 5) is a case study using photovoice to tell the story of five women professors. Their stories of institutional, social and personal barriers offer insight into how women professors actively manage the academic culture of overwork yet work-life balance remains illusory.
The overarching goal of this dissertation is to contribute to the current literature on professions in higher education. In opening the discussion for professors and their unions to challenge existing formal and informal policies that affect their workloads and well-being, this dissertation also promotes a critical assessment of the interplay of faculty position and social factors in the divisions of labour and stress experienced in the academic workplace.
Summary for Lay Audience
This study examines the workloads and well-being of professors working in the fields of study in the arts, humanities and social sciences at 21 publicly funded universities in Ontario. Contract faculty and professors in their early career stages are frequently the focus of studies. This dissertation, however, adopts a more holistic approach by including faculty who are tenured and tenure-track as well as professors hired on a per course basis and on more long-term contracts. The focus is workloads and well-being.
The academic workplace is associated with overwork; professors often experience elongated 50-hour workweeks placing their own physical and mental well-being at risk. Similar to many professions, this overwork is also unpaid work. This dissertation examines in what ways do faculty position and demographic factors, such as gender, race and age, play a contributing role in the well-being of professors. Additionally, it explores how universities have adopted a neoliberal managerial philosophy that mimics that of corporations in the private sector. The resulting institutional attention to quantifiable outputs and bottom-line practices is associated with intensified workloads. The following chapters address how professors mediate institutional and student demands while maintaining a work-life balance.
This dissertation adopts a sociological approach in the exploration of the relationship between hiring conditions and social factors and how professors experience the academic workplace. More specifically, I identify institutional barriers that negatively affect the professional, social and personal identities of professors. The final chapter concludes with key implications and future directions for policy and research.
Recommended Citation
Bresee, Anne-Marie L., "Workloads and well-being in the academic workplace" (2025). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 10848.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/10848
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