Embodying well-being in research: key principles and praxis

Area of Science:

• * Well-being research
• * Academic culture
• * Early-career scholar development

Background:

• * Growing public and scientific focus on well-being.
• * Paradox: Well-being research outcomes may compromise researcher well-being.
• * High rates of anxiety and depression among graduate students and postdocs (20-50%).

Purpose of the Study:

• * Identify barriers to well-being within research processes.
• * Propose principles and practices to foster researcher well-being.
• * Re-envision research praxis to embed well-being in both process and product.

Main Methods:

• * Perspective paper developed by an interdisciplinary coalition of early-career scholars.
• * Identification of key barriers to well-being in research.
• * Proposal of four guiding principles and associated practices.

Main Results:

• * Identified key barriers to fostering well-being in research.
• * Proposed four guiding principles: cultivate belonging, center communities, question cultural systems, and embody cultural change.
• * Advocated for community-based, participatory approaches.

Conclusions:

• * Integrating well-being into research processes is crucial for sustainability.
• * Proposed principles can transform research culture and enhance societal impact.
• * Fostering solidarity between researchers and historically excluded communities is key.