We all do admin. It’s not why you did a PhD. You wanted to teach and you wanted to research. Still, institutions only run because academics also take on collegiate, non-teaching, non-research roles. It’s part of being in a team.
The point is not to do all the roles, all the time. It’s to choose them wisely so you keep time and headspace for writing. Not all admin is created equal, and structures vary by department and country, but these principles travel. Here are the big three pitfalls, and how to avoid them.
Roles that are too big for your seniority
Junior colleagues, especially those on probation or tenure track, often feel pressure to say yes to everything. You may be “offered” a portfolio that flatters the ego but outstrips your grade and experience. Do not expect leaders to match roles to career stage. Workload often lands on whoever seems available.
Why this hurts:
You lack the hierarchical clout to move senior colleagues. Academia is hierarchical in practice; a junior cannot compel a professor.
You lack speed through experience. Seniors prep, grade, and administrate faster. Early on, your core duties already fill the week.
You are not paid or buffered, for the fallout. Oversized roles end in tears. Yours, and sometimes the department’s.
High-risk examples for the under-senior: head of department or school, director of research, director of undergraduate studies, head of teaching and learning. If your gut says, “too big,” it probably is.
What to do:
Ask for scope, decision rights, support, and workload time in writing.
Decline cleanly: “At my current grade and load I can’t do this to standard. I can take X smaller role instead.”
2. Roles that clash with your stress profile
Do not choose admin because it’s interesting or because you could be good at it. Choose what suits your temperament. Admin maps neatly onto burnout drivers: too many tasks, high expectations with low control, uncertainty, difficult personalities, and low autonomy.
Know your main stressor:
Too many tasks with too little time — avoid rolling, reactive workloads with constant micro-deadlines.
Expectation stress — avoid high-stakes quality judgements without clear criteria.
Risk and uncertainty — avoid fuzzy scope and shifting rules.
Toxic people — avoid committees led by combative personalities.
Low autonomy — avoid portfolios where every decision crawls up several layers.
I chose roles that maximised agency over timing and execution. Not the least work, the most control. That preserved my writing.
What to do:
Audit roles against your stressor. If you need autonomy, prefer contained, cyclical portfolios with predictable calendars and clear decision rights.
Ask practical questions: What are the four corners of the role? What can I decide alone? What is the cadence? Where does most time actually go?
3. Roles with the wrong people
Who you work with matters as much as the work. Some portfolios are solo with administrative support. Others tie you into committees across department, faculty, and university. If the team includes your “Brenda” the colleague who drains capacity, the role will cost more than it looks.
A comparison from my own choices:
Chair, postgraduate exam board: smaller cohort, four meetings a year, fixed dates, defined tasks, solo leadership with admin support, high agency, few extra meetings.
Chair, undergraduate exam board: very large cohort, intense stress peaks, still limited meetings but heavy coordination.
Director of research in the UK: ref-driven, multi-layered. Meetings and papers across several levels. In my view, no one below professor should carry it.
What to do:
Prefer solo or small-crew roles if team dynamics drain you.
If a team role is required, check who else is on it and how conflict is handled.
Shape the story on your CV
Every admin line signals a narrative. If you repeatedly take pastoral roles, you can be read as less research-focused, fair or not. If you want progression on the administrative path, seek roles with visible leadership and decision-making, not just service.
Choose with intent:
Align each role to the track you want: research culture, programme quality, external partnerships, leadership.
Time-box commitments and rotate. Do not let “just this year” become your permanent identity.
Protect your writing by design
One role at a time. Multiple portfolios are why you can’t write.
Get scope, decision rights, support, and workload allocation documented.
Prefer predictability. Cyclical calendars beat perpetual firefighting.
Match role to your stress profile. Choose for fit, not interest.
Choose your colleagues. Less Brenda, more bandwidth.
Admin is part of the job. Let it be the part that supports your research life, not the part that swallows it.