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A lot of grad students/post-docs have been telling me that they are interested in small liberal arts colleges (#SLAC) b/c SLACs have "good work-life balance." Let me comment on this briefly. 1/n
2/n SLACs simply have a different incentive structure/set of requirements for tenure & promotion. The way I see it, since the focus is more on teaching, that's something more within the faculty member's direct control (in contrast to grants, you never know what'll land).
3/n For those interested in a SLAC prof job, or ANY job for that matter, your work-life balance depends on (1) alignment b/w your vision for your work, what's asked of you by the institution, & what resources your institution provides you to reach those requirements.
4/n You could end up in a place that requires you to have 1 publication before tenure, but you're teaching a 4/4 load and you have no start-up funds. That's cause for stress!
5/n but I would argue the most important source of work-life balance is (2) yourself and your ability to set boundaries. There is nothing about academia, especially in our current cultural/economic moment, that encourages us to care for the well-being of ourselves & others.
6/n saying no to work that you have no room to do is *not* selfish, it does *not* mean that you don't care about your students, it does *not* mean that you don't love science. In fact, the opposite is true: you love all these things enough to give them your full presence of mind.
7/7 All that to say, if you're interested in SLACs for work-life balance but you haven't cultivated the habits of setting boundaries, then it's a lost cause no matter what type of institution or job you're in.
