Where will we put you? Stories of Office Space from a Precarious Academic in Higher Education

Abstract

In the fall of 2021, faculty were preparing for a return to campus after 18 long months of teaching their courses from home. In a post-pandemic world, as we get back to normal in society, many precarious faculty are wondering what “normal” they’re returning to. This paper draws on the author’s personal experience with office space on campus as a precarious faculty member. First, this paper will review the literature on office space for precarious faculty, noting specifically the importance of office space for newcomers to the organization. Secondly, this paper will offer a series of personal reflections of being given office space as a precarious faculty member at four institutions between the years of 2016 and 2018. Finally, this paper will compare the personal reflections with that of the literature and offer a discussion of the inconsistencies of resources that precarious faculty are allocated and the consequences that arise.