Pracovní očekávání vědeckého personálu v postpandemické budoucnosti

The Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic aggravated existing tensions on academic workers, while also precipitating certain changes and disruption to research practices. It impacted all academic personnel – faculty members, administrators, researchers, students, in which early career researchers were found to be the most vulnerable section in academia to be hit. The thesis deeply investigated the experience of this particular population during COVID-19. The author’s focus was on the impacts of COVID-19 on junior researchers including Ph.D. students, Early-stage-career researchers, and Postdoctoral researchers. With this as a backdrop, this study further explored their concerns and expectations about returning to office post-COVID-19 to propose organizational leaders a direction in easing researchers’ concerns and ensuring relevant supports to reassure employee confidence in a safe return to work and recover the lost productivity. The study was based on an in-depth literature review and qualitative research conducted in the form of semi-structured interviews with 13 researchers in the Czech Republic who have less than five years in research academia and had been working through the pandemic time. The findings demonstrate that COVID-19 represents a period of harsh trials to their personal and work dimensions. Many researchers encounter negative mental well-being, inconvenience in daily activities and struggle to do research in a time of turmoil. During and after pandemic, health and safety are prioritized more than ever before and researchers do not expect their organization to relax COVID-19 measures too soon post-pandemic. Other concerns are found to revolve around job and income security, job search, and childcare. Besides an exodus to cyberspace in academia with many researchers who would like to switch to a hybrid model of working in the post-COVID-19 future, full-time on-site work is still a preference of a large part of junior researchers, especially for those whose living space and working mechanisms at home are insufficient and not ideal for home office. While hybrid work mode increases flexibility and work-life balance, working 100% in offices and laboratories allows a higher level of concentration, conducting experiments, and socializing with colleagues. The pandemic crisis magnifies the issues plaguing junior researchers. However, it also offers an unprecedented opportunity to reset scientific work practices. Shoring up the foundation of research work will demand an effort from the public, funding organizations, universities, and academic institutes to rethink how they could support young research scholars, which starts from spending time listening to their thoughts, concerns, and expectations.