Balancing her own busy schedule and experience with burnout, Gigi Jaidev ‘25 never really contemplated professors’ experience with the stressor. Smith students are still struggling with isolation and burnout three years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. College faculty are facing similar struggles, but their experiences often fall under the radar of students. The Wurtele Center for Leadership’s event “What is Burnout Anyways” gave students new insight into the lives of professors. Reflecting on the event, Jaidev said, “I suppose I had considered their struggles briefly, but it was very powerful to have professors get up and be vulnerable and share their personal experiences with burnout.”
Nine students and a panel consisting of three faculty members and the Student Government Association president filled the Neilson browsing room on Feb. 16. The “What is Burnout Anyways?” event brought to light a disconnect between student and faculty lives.
Panelists explained that, isolated in their own academic spheres, students and faculty struggle to realize the adversities of others. Attributing this disconnect to a lack of knowledge rather than empathy, panelist Caroline Melly said, “Students don’t understand what faculty lives are like. It’s not that they don’t care, and it’s not that faculty don’t care about students’ lives – they just don’t necessarily hear.”
The term burnout was originally coined by psychologist Herbert Freudenberger in the 1970s. Panelist and Assistant Director of the Wurtele Center Megan Lyster said, “Burnout is a topic that is really gaining traction in higher ed networks now.” Lyster then narrowed the scope of her observations to Smith College’s campus: “It’s something we’re hearing more and more from students, staff and faculty as a thing that’s on their mind.”
This continued conversation served as the Wurtele Center’s inspiration for hosting the “What is Burnout Anyways” event.
Smith College offers students many opportunities to get involved on campus. Smithies immerse themselves in campus jobs, join the over 120 clubs and organizations the college offers and chase internships. They do all of this while also balancing the academics associated with one of the Seven Sister schools.
Jaidev has been taking 24 credits a semester (two classes more than the average Smith course load) in preparation for an accelerated graduation. Jaidev also holds a job in the dining hall.
Reflecting on what originally drew her to the event, Jaidev said, “I was feeling burnt out. I think I mentioned this at the time, I almost skipped it, but I’m really glad I went in the end because it was also a good social experience.”
The discussion portion of the event opened a channel of communication between students and faculty that had previously been closed. Jaidev reflected, “I enjoyed getting to connect with Professor Caroline Melly.”
Melly is an Associate Professor of Anthropology as well as the Director of the Sherrerd Center for Teaching and Learning. Melly works closely with faculty members through her work at the Sherrerd Center. These experiences give Melly insight into the lives and struggles of faculty members.
Melly’s words left Jaidev and other students with a new perspective on burnout. Melly explained that, while the majority of the news surrounding the educational losses of the COVID-19 pandemic focuses on students, professors suffered losses as well.
Revealing the experiences of professors, Melly said, “When the pandemic hit, we tried to hold it together for our students, and we tried really hard to not be vulnerable about the fact that we were on the brink of collapse too.”
Professors’ lives were disrupted when COVID-19 forced the academic world online. They lost research, cared for family members and grappled with the urgent expectation to move curricula online.
The focus of Melly’s observations shifted as she continued speaking. She began sharing details from her personal life. In doing so, Melly showcased her vulnerabilities to students.
Melly recalled a period about seven years ago when she had just received tenure, was writing a book, had a baby boy and was advising students.
She described an instance where a student came into her office and said, “You have it all, this is what I want out of my life.” Melly paused, “And then it all collapsed.”
Her infant son grew ill and the busy schedule Melly had been managing ruptured. Melly reflected on this period and the feelings of burnout that it brought. She associated reaching the point of burnout with a feeling of isolation rather than an overwhelming schedule, “When I look back in retrospect, the only thing that saved me was the ways I foraged connections and kept them anyway.”
Melly’s story is just the tip of the iceberg. The “What is Burnout Anyways” event revealed that no one is immune to the stresses of burnout. The conversations facilitated by the event left students with a new understanding of the far reaches of the burnout pandemic.
Burnout and isolation work hand in hand. The best way to combat both, urges Associate Director of the Wurtele Center Megan Lyster, is “to lean on ourselves as a community.”
