ABSTRACT
Despite the increased labour force participation of women observed in recent decades in almost all ‘industrialised countries’, gendered norms and expectations of an asymmetric division of labour remain deeply embedded in employment as well as in care and family regimes. Building on a premise that both academia and the family are greedy institutions demanding an all-encompassing engagement from individuals, this chapter discusses the work–life balance of academics from SSH and STEM research institutions in six countries: Belgium, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Switzerland. Drawing on the data from qualitative interviews with academics, it was found that increasing workloads, long working hours, a permeable boundary between work and private life and the gendered divisions of family responsibilities are a shared reality for academics across national contexts. Uncertain and precarious work positions further contribute to the increasing insecurities and poor wellbeing of researchers, particularly in early stages of their careers. By analysing national- and organisational-level work–life balance policies, this chapter relates such policies to individual biographies, demonstrating how different welfare, care and work regimes construct different layers of academic precariousness and insecurity.
