ABSTRACT
Topics discussed in this chapter include the distinctive rewards and demands associated with a faculty position, followed by issues pertinent to juggling family and career, engaging in self-care, and avoiding burnout. This chapter integrates findings from existing literature with the perspectives of three school psychology academics who have great personal interest in work–life balance, self-care, and burnout prevention. This chapter describes how academics might pursue engagement (i.e., vigor, dedication, and absorption) and physical and emotional wellness throughout one’s academic career endure, as well as how academic parents can endure during the most emotionally and physically exhausting periods—arguably tenure-earning and early childhood years. We draw attention to how one of the biggest advantages inherent to an academic career—flexibility in scheduling—also presents one of the largest challenges—how to impose boundaries on an unbounded workflow. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how academics might advocate for themselves and others in order to recruit and retain school psychologists in academic positions that value work, family, and wellness. Individual differences in faculty members’ needs, preferences, resources, and values are acknowledged.
