Constraints Of Chronos

Time is a kind of important resources,as well as the conditions of people's work activities.With the accelerated pace of society,time is getting more and more scarce and precious,especially for academic profession,which ideal leisure and tranquillity has been drifting away.Time allocation is a window that reflects the situation of academic profession.Based on the combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods,this paper is trying to analyze the current situation and influencing factors of faculty members' working time and its allocation in research universities of China,in order to obtain a deeper understanding of the academic work and faculty living state.In the present,the connection of university and society is increasingly close,and the contents of academic work are more complicated.We find that academic work mainly includes teaching,research and social service activities,but each contains many complex affairs,involving inside and outside the university work,as well as paid and unpaid activities.According to the questionnaire survey data,interviews and observation materials,we also find that academic profession is not as free as people think.Faculty members' working hours are not only significantly longer than the legal standards,but also extend to the family time and leisure time.In working time allocation,faculty hold a greater time dedication to research over teaching and social service activities.For the causes of the above phenomenon,this study analyzed from the individual,organizational and the social macro level,according to the role and the workplace of faculty members.Firstly,as the result of individual selection,time allocation is influenced by faculty individual factors.Academic interest is the driving force of faculty work,which could encourage academics to devote themselves to academic profession.In a sense,academic profession could be considered as a "Beruf",that needs"self-imposed" academic dedication and adherence,forcing academics to spend tremendously long hours on academic work.Working habit is an individual unconscious repetition,which could strengthen faculty time allocation.Secondly,as the necessary working field,the internal factors of university organizations could affect the faculty members' working hours and their distribution.The evaluation system is usually viewed as a"wind vane",guiding individual working time patterns of faculty.The salary and welfare system is the material basis of working and living,promoting faculty's working enthusiasm.With instrumental rationality and performance appraisal,this system will make academic staff have an instrumental rationality in their time allocation.The power relations in the university could clamp faculty's time order.As a result of abused administrative power,administrative management time is prior to faculty individual free time;because of hierarchical power,the academics at research universities who possess less power have to demise their free time.In addition,the university academic atmosphere could make faculty working time and its distribution assimilate into the reference group.Finally,faculty's working hours and their allocation are closely associated with external environment change.The intimate relationship between market economy and university has promoted the emergence of academic capitalism.Under the influence of academic capitalism,academics have a strong utilitarianism in working time allocation,emphasizing the logic of the market and capital.The development of science and technology could facilitate people,but it also control people's lives and kidnap the time firmly,exacerbating the fragmentation of the working hours.In addition,Under the dual influence of the traditional idea of "men go out and women stay home"and performance concern,women are further marginalized in the academic profession.Assuredly,these three factors are not independent,but integrated and intertwined each other,impacting faculty working time and its allocation together.Time is irreversible,but people's life is limited.In the control and distress of time,the situation of academic profession is gloomy.Therefore,we should think about how to build an excellent internal and external academic environment,and make the academic work be full of vitality in the free and relaxed rhythm.