Can scientific impact come at a personal cost for researchers? This study examines a central tension in contemporary academic careers: research evaluation systems increasingly reward visibility, citations and scientific impact, yet their effects on researchers’ happiness remain poorly understood.

Drawing on a large two-wave survey of researchers in Spain, the article shows that scientific impact may paradoxically reduce happiness. This relationship is partly explained by the way impact-related pressures affect how work is integrated into —or interferes with— personal life. The study also shows that prosocial motivation and creativity can help sustain happiness, especially when academic conditions allow researchers to connect scientific work with a meaningful personal life.

Key findings:

• Scientific impact does not always translate into greater happiness: in metric-driven contexts, it may generate pressure, anxiety and strain.
• Work/personal life balance is key to understanding how scientific impact affects researchers’ well-being.
• Prosocial motivation and creativity can act as protective resources, helping make research careers more sustainable.

How can research evaluation systems recognise scientific excellence without putting researchers’ happiness and career sustainability at risk?

Joaquín M. Azagra-Caro & Ana M. Tur-Porcar (2026). Scientific impact at the expense of happiness? Work/life balance in performance-driven research careers. Research Evaluation, 35(1), rvag030.