Despite outsider perceptions and a recent study criticizing the workload of tenured professors, N.C. State faculty workloads tend to increase after receiving tenure.

According to a recent article published by Forbes, being a tenured professor was named one of the least stressful jobs of 2013.

Forbes created the article using a ranking by CareerCast, a job listing and career advisement website that originated in California.

The article has received widespread criticism from professors from various universities who believe their jobs are extremely stressful, contrary to the study’s claims.

David Zonderman, a tenured professor of history at N.C. State, said the Forbes article is very simplistic and is based on the perception of the easy life of professors, but it fails to understand that work and stress are not the same thing.

According to Zonderman, many people have a misunderstanding of what receiving tenure actually involves.

“The first thing that people need to understand is that tenure is not a lifetime contract,” Zonderman said. “Basically what tenure says for university faculty is that you have this job and you cannot be fired or dismissed without some kind of hearing.”

Additionally, Zonderman said people have a misconception of tenure because they think it protects these faculty members from negligence and incompetence, though in reality, it doesn’t.

Zonderman said the idea of tenured faculty members being lazy and having a relaxed lifestyle is a myth, and many members of the senior faculty work extremely hard.

“Tenure is important because it’s the basis of academic freedom, and academic freedom is the basis of a healthy university both in the way you teach and the way you do research,” Zonderman said

Zonderman said maintaining his tenured status has subsequently increased his workload every year and given him more responsibilities.

“In terms of business, I would argue in several cases that many senior faculty are even busier, that they have committee work, more graduate students to work with and they have to work more with national organizations,” Zonderman said.

Zonderman also said faculty members are misunderstood in their roles and are expected to serve as teachers.

“Senior faculty members, in addition to teaching, have a lot of responsibilities such as research, advising and possibly supervising a grant that is worth millions of dollars,” Zonderman said.

John Kessel, a tenured professor of English at N.C. State, said he thought that he had a lot more work when he became tenured. 

“When I was an untenured professor, my main job was to teach my classes and to do enough research that would qualify me to be tenured,” Kessel said. “I did not have a lot of committee meetings or the administration of any programs. Now I have a lot of administrative responsibilities.” 

Zonderman said the vast majority of faculty members at N.C. State are extremely busy and are working an average of 50-60 hours per week, if not more. 

“Most tenured faculty members are extremely busy if they are committed to their research. I know very few faculty members that are tenured and relax while sitting at their desks,” Zonderman said.

Kessel said there are some professors who publish work less frequently and have been teaching the same classes for a long time, which puts less stress on their jobs.