In the mystery novel ‘Bury Your Dead’, Canadian author Louise Penny follows two Quebecois police officers who were involved in a serious shootout/bombing incident and are now on leave while they recover. Both their peers and the public know about the events and understand that they need time to heal, both physically and mentally – it’s considered a necessary part of their jobs.
So how does academia deal with these types of things? Granted we’re not likely to be in a shootout or bombing incident, although classrooms in South African universities post instructions on what to do in case of a bomb, and faculty at several US universities have had to deal with shooting incidents (e.g., the Amy Bishop incident). But with so many major events happening in our lives, I’m curious about what universities and colleagues see as the best way for us to juggle the private with the work side of life.