What drives my candidacy: These Patterns Must Change

I am running because our work environment matters every single day.

Findings from NIFU’s national Forskerhverdag survey from 2025 show that a large majority of temporary staff report being happy at work. That is encouraging. But the same data also reveal paradoxes that we at NTNU should take seriously.

Many of us work long hours, shift between teaching, research, conferences, and administration, and keep projects moving under tight deadlines. This creates stress and uncertainty. That in itself is not unusual in academia or similar professions. What concerns me is that early career researchers are once again the outliers in statistics measuring work environment and well-being.

More than two in three PhD candidates, and a similar share of postdocs, report that feelings such as restlessness or nervousness are job related, far above both the national and academic averages. Many of us also report job related sleep problems, which may reflect dedication and grit, but also show that our workload follows us throughout the day.

Workload alone is not the only explanation. Culture matters too. Even though temporary employees have supervisors from day one, we still report lower access to help from colleagues compared with other groups in academia. And it is undeniable that the temporary nature of our positions is a factor that affects our work.

Entering academia is and should be a challenge to overcome. Good research demands hard work and, yes, a few sleepless nights. But it is crucial that NTNU provides conditions in which temporary employees can thrive, develop, and contribute. Our work environment fundamentally shapes our ability to grow as researchers. What I cannot accept is that we continue to treat these patterns as inescapable for early‑career researchers.

If this resonates with you and your colleagues, I am your candidate!