Thursday, January 12, 2023
9:00 AM EDT / 2:00 PM GMT

As we push for more content submitted – invited submissions, supplemental/special issues – and, don’t get me wrong, we want more content submitted. However, this means more work for Editorial offices but often no increase in staffing/working hours to off-set this growth in workload.

As Editorial offices (Editorial Assistant, Managing Editor, Editorial Manager, Journal Administrator, Peer Review/Submission Administrator, etc.), we already have a base list of responsibilities and tasks pertaining to our role for our journals: to get a manuscript from submission to final decision, including pre- and post- submission tasks.

But with more things needed to be checked in the initial submission checks (as well as all the usual initial checks but including COI, disclosure statements, potential paper mill articles), more tasks in the peer review process expected of administrators (checking and inviting reviewers, even selecting/suggesting) and the time-consuming act of chasing (chasing Editors for their late assignments, late reviewers for their reports, late authors for their submissions), multiple that workload by the increasing content submitted and published.

I have a question to explore: what ways are Editorial offices combating a finite amount of time versus growing responsibilities and content? Time may be a fixed entity – as much as we may wish, we cannot invent more time – but workload grows.


ISMTE Office Hours are virtual, one-hour informal events where a single topic is discussed by the attendees.

This session hosted by:

Juanita Goossens-Roach
Peer Review Group Manager, Cambridge University Press

Office Hours with ISMTE are free events open to all editorial professionals. 
Seating is limited and registration is required.


Check out all Peer Review Week activities here:
https://peerreviewweek.wordpress.com/