Life and work of researchers trapped in the COVID-19 pandemic vicious cycle

COVID-19 has disrupted researchers’ work and posed challenges to their life routines. We have surveyed 740 researchers of which 66% experienced a decrease in productivity, 50% indicated increased workload, and 66% reported they have been feeling internal pressure to make progress. Those whose research required physical presence in a lab or the field experienced considerable disruption and productivity decrease. About 82% of this group will try to permanently reduce their work dependency on physical presence. Parents and those taking care of vulnerable dependents have been spending less time on research due to their role conflict. We further observed a gender gap in the overall disruption consequences; more female researchers have been experiencing a reduction in productivity and external pressure to make progress. The results of this study can help institution leaders and policymakers better understand the pandemic’s challenges for the research community and motivate appropriate measures to instill long-term solutions.