Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Early Career Publishing Professionals: Perspectives from the Remote Workplace

Between the impacts of COVID-19 and the Great Resignation, many people are changing fields or finding new jobs, including those within the scholarly publishing community. Increased opportunities for remote work can provide expanded geographic flexibility, better work-life balance, and higher levels of productivity. However, the benefits of remote work may also come at a cost for those in the early stages of their career.

We collected perspectives from early career members of the scholarly publishing community who have moved to a remote or hybrid environment. We asked them to describe the perceived benefits and challenges faced by a transition to remote work and changes in their career. We also reached out to managers and mentors to ask their thoughts about bringing new employees up to speed and providing effective mentorship in a remote or hybrid environment.

We also asked both groups to provide recommendations to the other for how these challenges can be addressed and mitigated going forward. It is vital that both early-career members of the scholarly publishing community, and their managers and mentors, learn to adapt and thrive in a virtual setting as the reality of the remote workplace is here to stay.