Working to Live or Living to Work?

1. Life in the Lab: Working to Live or Living to Work? @BahaNick

2. Survey Says… Scientist/ Lab Technician “need coffee to get through the workday”

3. Workin’ 9 till 5… …and a bit more • Scientists tend to: • Work late into the night • Work at weekends Wang, X. et al. (2012)

4. Workin’ 9 till 5…

5. Overwhelmed “A lifestyle involved in science was incompatible with the life I wanted to lead” “I’ve committed nearly a decade to science with nothing to show for it but publications.” “Meanwhile, our family has not progressed.”

6. Sabbath A pattern of work & rest Sign of relationship between us & God Is primarily about reconnection with God Exodus 31:13

7. Sabbath Not just an observance Up to us to chose how we do it Requires discipline Romans 14:5-6

8. Sabbath Robert Boyle famously carried out scientific experiments on Sunday: “the study of the Booke of Nature, is one of the Ends of the Institution of the Sabbath”

9. Sabbath “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people… …and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath… …So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” Mark 2:27-28

10. Jesus is Lord Early creed adopted by the Christian church Political: replaced Caesar as lord Led to conflict with the society Romans 10:9

11. Science Culture The obituaries – lost but not forgotten “the problem is Nick that you’re competing against people with no life”

12. Science Culture “By continuously putting my family above everything else, I’ve been made to feel like a complete failure” Hostile reactions to other priorities

13. Science Culture “Men or women who [marry] scientists should be clearly aware beforehand… that their spouses are in the grip of a powerful obsession that is likely to take the first place in their lives outside the home, and probably inside too” Sir Peter Medawar (1979) Advice to a Young Scientist

14. Science Culture “Many are under the shadow of wives for whom they are unsuited-and at times society and even humanity as a whole suffers because of the scholar's wife. So many careers have been thwarted because of feminine vanity or capriciousness! As is well known, women show an inclination toward a family…What a lofty egotism!” Santiago Ramón y Cajal(1912) Advice to a Young Investigator

15. Science Culture “[He] draws out each patient’s personal story. “it is a reminder of the urgency of their work” “Everyone’s told not to stress themselves or overdo things, and I could not disagree more,” – they are missing out Ledford (2011) Nature, 477:20-22

16. Science Culture “many of my best ideas [come] while walking the dogs in the morning, riding my bike home from work or weekending in the mountains.” Overbaugh (2011) Nature, 477:27-28

17. Conclusions How does faith make me different? Perspective & balance is healthy Science is precarious Support is essential

18. Questions? We are privileged to work in science? Christians better scientists or just lazier? How do you deal with these issues? Are there any boundaries between your work and home life? Are they necessary?