A few thoughts on academic hours and 4 day weeks. I’m all for the latter where it works, but it often won’t for academics because our research work can’t be done “efficiently”. It is sometimes painstaking; it always involves patient reflection.

The same is true of our teaching, grading and doctoral supervision. We often need to work slowly, and actually to resist our desire to be too quick in our judgements. Even our administrative activities often require us to be patient and deliberative.

That’s before even mentioning public engagement activity. So, while I am not going to say we should be working 100 hours per week, I am going to suggest that the kind of work we do doesn’t easily map onto the “efficient productivity” models that some have talked about.

Could I be “as productive” in half the hours I currently work? No, I could not, because the production itself is a slow and patient task. Some research into shorter working weeks shows that they can actually generate more stress because they are more intensive.

None of this is intended to play down the problem of over-work in the academic world. It is real, but let’s not suggest the alternative is a shorter week. The real alternative is a better funded academic sector, with less financial pressure that places workload on fewer shoulders

... and that allows us the time and space to do our job well. So, while not endorsing the over-work culture, I have to disagree with many of the comments directed towards @wmarybeard. We need to slow down, and that might require flexible hours, not shorter ones.