Many in STEM, myself included, work long hours. More than 40 per week.

This is not a good thing. It makes us overtired and overworked. We make mistakes, become less creative, and worse scientists.

Worse, it pulls us away from the richness of the human experience.

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This is something that needs to change. Fundamentally. Institutionally. Culturally.

On a personal level, I have a tendency to overwork myself, and it's taken a lot of self work to learn to make time for myself, my family, and my community.

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On the other hand, the brutal truth is that our field is competitive. You'll be competing against really talented, productive people. Many of whom work long hours. And even if you're the best, the massive luck component means being the best may not be enough.

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So if you're in charge of students or postdocs, what do you do? How do you best serve their needs as growing professionals in this environment? I've been struggling with this a lot, as of late.

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The conclusion I've come to is this. You have an honest conversation. You tell them: "This is the situation. And it sucks. You need to assess your needs and your values and act accordingly. And I have your back regardless."

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We need to question our assumed definitions of success. And redefine it to serve us all better. A successful PhD isn't defined by publications, postdoc prospects, or any other single metric. It's successful if it serves the needs of the student. Nothing more. Nothing less.

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Oops. Meant to tag @AcademicChatter