The silent burden of academia: relationships among work-related stress, chronotype, fatigue, and mindful eating

Background Academics are a professional group chronically exposed to multidimensional sources of stress, such as long working hours, publication pressure, career uncertainty, work-life imbalance, and workplace bullying. This study was conducted to examine the relationships among chronotype, occupational stress, fatigue, and mindful eating among academics. Method The study was conducted on a total of 506 faculty members—200 men and 306 women, aged 25–65—who voluntarily agreed to participate. Participants completed a questionnaire covering demographic characteristics and dietary habits, along with the Work Stress Scale, the Morning-Evening Type Scale, the Fatigue Scale (FACIT), and the Mindful Eating Scale (MES-30). Results It was determined that 59.5% of the academics were at a healthy body weight, while 37.1% were slightly overweight or obese. It was found that women’s work stress (21.7 ± 7.72) and fatigue (24.5 ± 8.68) scores were significantly higher than those of men (17.5 ± 6.36 and 19.6 ± 7.92, respectively) ( p < 0.001). Men’s emotional eating scores (18.7 ± 4.08) were found to be higher than those of women (16.4 ± 4.83) ( p < 0.001). A strong negative correlation was found between chronotype and work stress (r = −0.250, p < 0.001) and eating mindfulness (r = −0.409, p < 0.001), and a strong positive correlation with fatigue (r = 0.636, p < 0.001). Fatigue was identified as the strongest predictor of work stress (β = 0.537, p < 0.001, R 2 = 0.432). Conclusion This study demonstrates that fatigue is the strongest predictor of work-related stress among academics and that the negative relationship between chronotype and mindful eating indicates a marked disruption in eating behavior among individuals with an evening chronotype. The fact that female academics have significantly higher levels of work stress and fatigue than their male counterparts, and that research assistants bear the highest burden of stress and fatigue compared to those in higher-ranking positions, indicates that the academic hierarchy exacerbates psychosocial inequalities. These findings emphasize the need to prioritize the development of integrated and gender-sensitive intervention programs in academic institutions that address chronotype-based work arrangements, fatigue management, and mindful eating.