Impact on life scientists: research progress and working conditions
Seventy-seven percent of the respondents stated that their institute has been fully shut down, with only essential services staff present on site. Nineteen percent reported a partial shutdown (where the institute is < 50% operational), and the remaining reported a basically “fully operational” institution.
Our survey confirmed that, overall, there has been a significant impact of institute closures on life scientists: 57% of life scientists reported that they had lost some of their work. This is likely to result in financial consequences, as repetition of work will consume additional funding. Twenty-five percent of respondents reported at least 1 month and up to 6 months of work had been lost due to laboratory shutdown—with large differences seen between wet lab (73%) and dry lab (31%) researchers. At the same time, levels of self-perceived productivity dropped, where dry lab scientists were much more likely to continue carrying out their work from home as expected (29% of dry lab scientists, but only 10% of wet lab scientists, reported “at least 80% productivity”). There was also a more pronounced increase in self-perceived levels of stress (during times of lockdown compared to before) among wet lab scientists, with higher increases seen in trainees and non-tenured professors. On the other hand, some respondents reported that their stress during the laboratory shutdown was lower than during their normal work routine, which could be explained by less frequent interruptions in their daily routine or perhaps reduced expectations from peers and lab heads to deliver results.
The personal living conditions—for example, alone versus living with a spouse or family—and whether scientists are based in an institution within their home country or whether they are expatriates also seem to affect the level of personal impact the COVID-19 outbreak has caused. We observed some differences between male and female scientists, with females reporting fewer productive hours. This is, in part, due to the higher rate of females among wet lab scientists (70% of female versus 60% of male respondents work primarily experimentally) and likely also reflects differences in childcare duties. This suggests a particular vulnerability of female scientists during an institutional shutdown. Another vulnerable group appears to be expatriates, especially trainees working in a life sciences institute located on a continent other than the one where their home country is. Thirty-four percent of these young scientists live alone, compared with only 14% of respondents working in their home country. These expatriates might feel more isolated and may also face potential problems with frequent updates to local regulations due to language difficulties.