PhD candidates’ and supervisors’ wellbeing and experiences of supervision

Abstract

PhD candidates’ wellbeing has become a global concern over the past decade, and the topic has been addressed in several studies. At the same time, PhD supervisors’ wellbeing has remained largely unexplored. Also, most studies about supervisors’ and supervisees’ wellbeing have focused on negative aspects, such as stress and burnout, and they have generally ignored positive aspects, such as work engagement. For this study, we explored the variations in PhD candidates’ and supervisors’ occupational wellbeing regarding experienced burnout and engagement. In addition, we explored whether the perceptions of the quantity and quality of supervision were related to such variations among PhD candidates and supervisors. Overall, 768 PhD candidates and 560 supervisors from a research-intensive, multidisciplinary university participated in this quantitative study, and questionnaire data from the study were analysed using latent profile analysis. Four engagement–burnout profiles were identified among PhD candidates and supervisors, each showing unique combinations of the levels of the dimensions that were measured. The results showed that the supervisory experience was related to the wellbeing of both the PhD candidates and the supervisors, in terms of engagement and burnout, but in slightly different ways. The findings imply that developing functional supervisory practices is an investment not only in degree completion, but also in supervisors’ and supervisees’ wellbeing.