The impact of after-hours academic work on the wellbeing of college of pharmacy faculty in Iraq: a qualitative study

This study highlights the detrimental effects of after-hours academic work on pharmacy faculty members’ social, mental, and physical wellbeing. The objective of this study was to explore in-depth the impact of after-hours academic work at home on the wellbeing of college pharmacy faculty members. This qualitative study was conducted through face-to-face individual-based interview with faculty members at the College of Pharmacy, University of Baghdad in Iraq. A purposive sampling was used to enroll faculty with different levels in their academic carrier. Interviews were conducted until reaching the point of saturation. The interviews were conducted from Nov 7 through December 6, 2023. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, translated and analyzed using thematic analysis based on Braun and Clarke’s framework. Twenty faculty members participated in the study: 15 have a Ph.D. while five with master’s degree. The faculty experience years ranged from 8 to 31 years. Pharmacy faculty members must manage a diverse array of academic responsibilities from home, including lecture and exam preparation, grading assignments, conducting research, supervising undergraduate and postgraduate students, and fulfilling administrative duties. These academic duties require extensive daily hours, extending beyond official work time and negatively impacting faculty members’ physical, mental, and social wellbeing. It also limits time for family, social interactions, exercise, and hobbies. After-hours work at home is perceived to heighten the risk of burnout and fosters a negative insight of pharmacy faculty profession. In response, the faculty are calling for increased financial, moral, and logistical institutional support and workload regulations. Potential improvements identified by participants include administrative support, research funding, increased salaries, and regulating workloads by limiting student admissions.