Figure 1. Approaches to enhancing academic agency among ECRs through the actions of ECRs themselves, their PIs, and the institutions that govern academic research.
Abstract
Academia faces significant challenges in workplace relations and academic well-being that require urgent attention to ensure its long-term sustainability. Efforts to create a fairer academic environment must begin with reflection on the treatment of early-career researchers (ECRs), an acknowledgement of their value to the process, and a reassessment of their relationships with the senior academics on whom they depend. While not all challenges faced by ECRs can be resolved from within academia, fostering ‘academic agency’ among ECRs may improve well-being and strengthen academia’s collective resilience to external pressures. Structural reforms at the institutional level are outlined, alongside practical ways for ECRs to reclaim their academic agency with the active support of principal investigators.