Overworking in HCI: A Reflection on Why We Are Burned Out, Stressed, and out of Control; And WhatWe Can Do about It

Abstract

In this alt.chi submission, we explore overwork in academic Human- Computer Interaction (HCI) research. We first ask why it is that we overwork: a combination of external pressures including cutthroat publication-centric competition, lack of recognition for invisible research labor facilitated by technologies that promote overwork and further hide the labor behind research, and institutionalized overwork norms reified through toxic advising practices; along with internal pressures, including information opacity and precarious employment as tools for self-exploitation, intense personal and emotional investment in research, and our relational commitments to each other. We explore overwork's detrimental consequences to individual researchers, the relationships between them, and research integrity. Our analysis of overwork in academia underscores the urgent need to halt our overwork norms and pivot towards reasonable, responsible, and health-conscious work practices-before we burn to a crisp in the name of more publications.