The barriers and facilitators of mental health for a casual academic in higher education: An autoethnographic approach

Abstract

The mental health of academic staff is under increasing pressure due to the multiple layers of contemporary stressors. Casual or temporary academic staff are a unique group within higher education that experience additional stress inherent to precarious work. This paper applies an autoethnographic research approach to explore the barriers and facilitators of mental health experienced by a casual academic in Australian higher education contexts. Using a psychosocial risk lens, the nuances of stress-mediated challenges are analysed. Future interventions that move away from individually-focused approaches towards leadership and organisational level strategies to promote mental health among casual academic staff are then critically discussed.