Burning the midnight oil
A tweet from classicist Mary Beard claiming that she worked “over 100” hours per week sparked a fierce debate among fellow academics. ANNA WHITELOCK looks at the reaction online
When the respected Cambridge classicist Mary Beard (@wmarybeard) recently tweeted, “Can I ask academics of any level of seniority how many hours a week they reckon they work? My current estimate is over 100. I am a mug. But what is the norm in real life?” she can hardly have expected the response that ensued.
Rebecca Brückmann (@historleans) led the angry responses: “I’m sorry, but I am not remotely impressed by academics working 100 hours/week... you cannot tell me that you maintain the same productivity for 100 hours as you could for 40–50. And you are setting a horrible example for junior scholars in terms of self-exploitation.”
Brückmann continued: “It is quite impossible for people with caring responsibilities, less than stellar health or no means for external cleaning services (plus people who want to have a semblance of a social life) to work that many hours. In a sense, it is also a privilege to boast about that workload.”
Having initially accused her of “virtue signalling”, Akil N Awan (@AKil_N_ Awan) later reflected that Beard’s post was “a cry for help”. While stating that the decision to tweet on the eve of strike action organised by the University and College Union (UCU) over pensions, pay and working conditions was “ill timed”, Awan pointed out that excessive workloads could be experienced by all academics, and that anyone who can’t keep up is then perceived as “failing”.
Liz Oakley-Brown
(@earlymodat Lancs) concurred, pointing to a wider issue. “Professor Beard, I admire your work immeasurably and respect – without question – how much graft your excellent public-facing scholarship takes. This is a structural problem. Higher education assumes we are all ‘mugs’: exhaustion has become the norm. I’m striking to stop this rot for all.”
As the strike unfolded and historians took to the picket lines, Twitter became a lively forum for sharing experiences. “I have heard colleagues say they haven’t taken a holiday in years…” wrote Amy Burge (@dramyburge). “Almost every time I ask a colleague how they are, the answer is ‘busy’ or ‘tired’ or stressed.”
Beard later said she was “gutted” that her original comment had been misread as a boast, and that she wanted people to recognise that overwork “runs right through the system”. But whatever the rights and wrongs of her tweet, one can’t help feeling that perhaps something rather bigger is at stake – the value, freedom and desirability of a scholarly life.
Higher education assumes we are all ‘mugs’: exhaustion has become the norm