STEMskiller: Skill Set Map for Mentors of Early Career Researchers
CAREER MANAGEMENT
Wellness/wellbeing & personal effectiveness
Definition:
“Wellness/wellbeing” can refer to mental health, but also extended to concepts like “digital wellbeing” and “physical wellbeing.” Mentors often guide early career researchers through life challenges in addition to the mechanics of a particular field, but at times support services (such as “centers for wellbeing” or “mental health”) may be more appropriate. The following resources provide online resources and also sample “models” which may help institutions without such service providers to create such offerings.
Useful resources on Wellness & personal effectiveness:
Gruber, J. (2020). Professors must support the mental health of trainees during the COVID-19 crisis. Science Letters to Young Scientists. https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2020/05/professors-must-support-mental-health-trainees-during-covid-19-crisis
Describes specific steps mentors can take in helping mentees deal with COVID-19 related issues, including: Advocate for Mental Wellness, Stay Connected, Be Flexible, and Find Meaning (When Possible).
Peterse, Y., Lasser, J., Caglio, G., Stoltmann, K., Rusiecka, D., Schmidt, M. (2018). Addressing the mental health crisis among doctoral researchers. Elephant in the Lab. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1402423
Evidence-based description of what to do to improve the mental wellbeing of researchers in six fields of action: supervision and leadership, financial and job security, work demands and work-life balance, career development, administrative and material support, and the social environment.
University of Surrey. (2020). Centre for Wellbeing. https://wellbeing.surrey.ac.uk/centre-for-wellbeing
Sample service unit created to “ensure that our students feel well and supported throughout their time at the University. We offer advice and support for mental and physical health issues.”
The Wellbeing Thesis. (2020). Foundations for Success. https://thewellbeingthesis.org.uk/foundations-for-success/
Modules related to wellbeing, including: Maintaining Motivation, Digital Wellbeing – How to Have a Healthy Digital Diet, Physical Wellbeing and Academic Performance, Physical Wellbeing and Mental Wellbeing, Tips for Maintaining Good Physical Wellbeing, Human Performance and Wellbeing.
Tags: IPS PS; Comp TS; CompGS
Peer Review: None
Table of contents:
Author: Stephanie Krueger
Peer Reviewer(s): None
Last Updated: October 28, 2021