Name: Johan Wiklund
Title: Professor of entrepreneurship at Syracuse University and a researcher of mental health and well-being

Dr Johan Wiklund, a professor of entrepreneurship at Syracuse University and a researcher of mental health and well-being, led a seminar organised by SSES focusing particularly on the health of scholars and PhD students. In the following interview, he identifies sources of mental distress in academia, tackles issues related to stigma, and gives pointers on how to deal with it effectively.

How do you feel about the seminar that you conducted today?

It was a very interesting experience. I have to admit I was quite nervous when I started because I’ve never done anything like this before. I mean, I do research about the mental health and well-being of entrepreneurs and, as such, I’ve kind of become more interested in my own mental health and well-being and also in those of PhD students.

I figured, “I’ll see if I can do a seminar on that topic and if there’s any interest.” I think it worked out pretty well.

How long have you been doing research on this topic? How do you think the topic itself and the attitudes of students have changed?

I’ve been doing research on this issue for a little bit over a decade now. If you take Sweden as an example, I’ve seen a drastic change when it comes to mental health in general. It used to be very stigmatised; people didn’t talk about it. I think that’s changed quite a bit and everyone tends to be more open and honest about these things. I think the importance of mental health became even more apparent during COVID when people were at home in lockdown and experienced loneliness, depression and anxiety.

Overall, I think there’s just greater openness. I don’t think problems have necessarily increased, but I do think that we are more aware of their existence.

What was the most common topic discussed during today’s seminar?

What triggered me to suggest this seminar and what, I think, made SSES want to organise it, is the fact that mental health problems are common among PhD students. Studies conducted in the US and Europe (where the Stockholm School of Economics and Uppsala University were part of the sample), found that about 35% of all PhD students had serious or moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression. But only 19% of those 35% received any treatment at all. So the incidence is high – much higher than the population averages – whereas the treatment is sought less. Today we essentially focused on talking about these problems openly and acknowledging that they exist. People shared some of their experiences but also suggested solutions that can be undertaken both by individuals and places of study and work.

What can be the long-term effects if scholars do not pay enough attention to their mental health?

We know by now that to be an effective scholar, you need to be a well-functioning human being; you need to look after yourself both mentally and physically. There’s plenty of evidence showing that that’s the case in many aspects of life.

What are some tips for scholars who were not in attendance at today’s seminar?

I think as researchers themselves they should look up research in two specific areas. First, self-care: sleeping and eating well, exercising, having some kind of practice, whether that’s mindfulness or religious practice, as well as avoiding drugs and alcohol. The other area to read up on is the work-life balance. The peculiar thing about working on a dissertation is that since there’s no job description and it tends to take very long, it’s easy to let it take over your life entirely. I have a very simple rule: none of my PhD students are allowed to work more than 6 hours per day and they need to take one day off work on a weekly basis.

Do you think scholars today are likely to share their mental health struggles?

I do think there’s less stigma now, but I still use techniques that allow anonymity. For instance, I use a platform called Mentimeter, invented by a Swedish company, that lets users leave comments anonymously. This facilitates openness and honesty. I didn’t ask anybody point blank, “What are you struggling with at the moment?” Instead, I encouraged people to initiate conversations themselves.

Do you mean that there are currently not enough opportunities for students to get to know each other?

Yes, I think so. And I also believe that it helps if there’s an active PhD student body that conducts activities. I’m going to give you an example because I actually did an evaluation of a PhD programme for a Norwegian university – I know Norway is not Sweden, but there are similarities. We interviewed a lot of the PhD students and supervisors and noticed that they had similar issues regarding loneliness. One of our suggestions was to start a PhD student organisation that would hold different activities. When I visited the university about three years later, I was very happy to learn that they had started the organisation. My advice would be to do something similar here at the participating institutions because I strongly believe more can be done in terms of peer network building.

How do you think students can improve their relationship with supervisors?

I think it’s crucial to understand that your dissertation is very important to you as a PhD student but not equally important to your advisor. There’s something strange about the student-advisor relationship because in a way it’s as if your advisor is your boss, but at the same time since it’s your dissertation, you are the manager. Therefore, you need to apply your knowledge about project management. At the end of the day, a PhD is basically a four- or five-year project with very few milestones and very few checks and balances, so it’s very hard to know if you’re doing well or if you’re behind or ahead of the schedule. I shared some tips and tricks at the seminar to help PhD students manage both their dissertation and their supervisor. The tips work for my own students and they worked for me when I was a student myself.