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Bullying technician
H

Hi guys,

I'm just trying to get opinions here. I'm coming to the last year of my PhD and want to share something. There is a technician in my university who has engaged in bullying several people over the entire time I was here. He has now taken to blocking young girls leaving a room and kicking people behind the legs. He's friends with the line manager (technical manager) so has got away with this for years. Before Christmas there were two new complaints against this man but I'll be surprised if anything is done. He has been previously kicked off from two PhDs and a masters program yet the university continue to employ him. I'm also the student rep for PGs. What advice can you guys give me?

Thanks again

How blunt should you be with your supervisor?
H

Quote From MaxS:
Quote From pm133:
I will back out from giving further advice on this


... and then proceeds to give more advice ;)


Indeed. Advice/abuse. Either way there has been progress on this issue. The other PhD in the lab told our boss everything that has been going on. The post doc has been told to take on a project student and told us not to take up his slack. Apparently he wasn't kept on in another group at the uni for the same reason (why hire him then?). The post doc will be kept on but we're getting a new post doc which is great.

How blunt should you be with your supervisor?
H

Quote From pm133:
Blimey. I think that after being accused of being psychotic, angry, vitriolic and threatening I will back out from giving further advice on this. hollis, you have been given a range of advice. Personally I think your poor attitude is the root of your problems and until you sort that out nothing is likely to improve. I dont think you came on here for advice, you came on to gain validation for your rage. Good luck with moving forwards in any case.


Hi pm. I don't think it is good advice to suggest my attitude is responsible for the post doc's behavior. The post doc is a) lying to our supervisor, telling him he has been teaching us and his project students and b) telling us to cover for him. Now this covering up is interfering with my PhD and general stress levels. I was seeking a solution to think but I have principles and I don't believe letting someone use me to cover for their lies and laziness fit my principles. If you think this is a poor attitude then I suggest you examine your other attitudes. Attitudes which suggest you would "crucify" someone and "make their life not worth living" if they had the audacity to refuse to cover up for a post doc.

How blunt should you be with your supervisor?
H

What on earth? You sound psychotic. Have you read Hollis' posts above? The postdoc is clearly at fault and the supervisor needs to be made aware of the situation.[/quote]

In fairness to the poster I failed to inform the thread that it was the post doc in question telling me to take up the slack for his lack of action. I just said I had to take up the slack. Saying that I do think the poster is being a bit dramatic about his crucifixion threat,[/quote]

Oh I know, I read through the whole thread trying to understand why that poster is so angry and vitriolic, but it's no excuse for that language. That is a really bizarre post - "your life simply would not be worth living", etc.

Plot twist: he's the postdoc.[/quote]

Ha ha maybe. I don't buy into the never question attitude. I think it belongs in the past and I'm certainly not putting my PhD in danger to cover for a lazy postdoc.

How blunt should you be with your supervisor?
H

Quote From MaxS:
Quote From pm133:
I can perhaps offer one last bit of advice. If I was your supervisor and you made any sort of dig at that postdoc you would be in serious trouble. You would be left in no doubt to mind your own business. You would be told that deliberately sabotaging a fellow worker was unacceptable and downright childish. More specifically I would crucify you for attempting to tell me how to do my job as regards supervising that postdoc. In every way this would be bad for you if yo need me as a reference for future jobs. If I was the postdoc and I found out you had deliberately attemtped to sabotage me by gong to the supervisor your life simply would not be worth living. I genuinely hope that for your sake you back down over this.


What on earth? You sound psychotic. Have you read Hollis' posts above? The postdoc is clearly at fault and the supervisor needs to be made aware of the situation.


In fairness to the poster I failed to inform the thread that it was the post doc in question telling me to take up the slack for his lack of action. I just said I had to take up the slack. Saying that I do think the poster is being a bit dramatic about his crucifixion threat,

How blunt should you be with your supervisor?
H

However, I don't see why it wouldn't be okay to let your supervisor know that the post doc wasn't providing any instruction in specific lab techniques (for yourself), if that is actually what your supervisor is expecting that is and your supervisor has directly said this to you.

Rather than having a blunt (and perhaps angry) conversation, can you have a clarifying and polite conversation with your supervisor that just confirms what you are responsible for in your role and the lab, and what your supervisor expects of others. Don't make it about the post doc, make it about your own need to have clarity around your own responsibilities and role and then, as others have suggested, keep focusing on your own work and data-as really that is your main priority. You could do this just as a way of getting feedback regarding your own progress and role in the lab.

Understand completely the need to have an anonymous or private vent about it. If the post doc is shirking their responsibilities, this would be a frustrating experience to have to live and work with.[/quote]

Thanks for taking the time to read through my emotive posts! Yes there's several issues at play.

1. The post doc telling us to take on the masters and undergrad students he has been assigned when we have our own.
2. The post doc was specifically hired to teach us an aspect of our project that was providing some trouble. He tells our supervisor he will teach us but tells us he won't. As a result we're not making as much progress in this area as we should. I paid out of my own pocket to go to a workshop on the lacking area.
3. My supervisor's under the illusion that the postdoc is teaching us the technique and we're not listening.

Sorry for the rant it's all very frustrating.

How blunt should you be with your supervisor?
H

.[/quote]
Why are you worrying about the other PhD students? Let the other PhD students worry about themselves.
This thread started off with you complaining about your lack of training. We dealt with that and then it became about you having to look after undergraduates. When I told you to look at the positives of that you started talking about other PhD students.
You are changing the goalposts. My advice is still the same. Stop obsessing over what this one crappy postdoc is doing or not doing and get on with your job. If the undergraduates are taking up too much of your time tell your boss it is impacting on your work. Under no circumstances should you even consider bringing the postdoc into this unless you have a desire for career suicide.[/quote]

I mentioned other PhD students to communicate the fact I'm not alone in my thinking. Our supervisor insisted the postdoc here train us in certain techniques. He doesn't inform the supervisor that he doesn't want to teach but tells us he won't teach us. More recently we have been assigned project students, one of which is to be under his supervision. Like before he didn't tell our supervisor he won't be taking this student on and we have to take up the slack. I don't see why this should be kept secret?

How blunt should you be with your supervisor?
H

Quote From pm133:
Quote From Hollis1234:
Quote From pm133:
Quote From Hollis1234:
The post doc in my group hasn't dedicated a single hour to teaching me. I am a relatively new PhD in the lab and I have had no lab supervision what so ever. My supervisor is great but he's an extremely busy man and has only managed to show me a few things. The post doc seems a bit of a creep to be honest and offers lab advice to girls outside of the group. I've even shown the post doc how to do some techniques that he isn't familiar with.

In short I'm not happy with the level of lab supervision I'm getting. I've completed masters ect where it was only me and the supervisor but I don't think it's fair to have a post doc in the lab who actually does nothing.
Without sounding like a d1ck what's the best way to phrase this to my supervisor?


Why would you possibly think the postdoc was there to train you? Were you told that by your supervisor?
My advice would be that you forget the postdoc, mind your own business and get on with worrying about learning how to do your own job instead of waiting for others to show you. You have a really bad attitude my friend.



Yes I was told that my supervisor would help me with a specific area in my research but he hasn't.


OK but on reading your first post again and now reading that you have a second problem regarding being left to teach the masters students, I would have to say that my advice is the same as I gave earlier. You are being presented with an enormous opportunity to put some seriously powerful experience on your CV and it seems to have completely escaped your attention.



Which is true but I'm in my second year and have already supervised several project students and master students. It's now impacting on my work and the work of the other PhD students here.

How blunt should you be with your supervisor?
H

Quote From pm133:
Quote From Hollis1234:
The post doc in my group hasn't dedicated a single hour to teaching me. I am a relatively new PhD in the lab and I have had no lab supervision what so ever. My supervisor is great but he's an extremely busy man and has only managed to show me a few things. The post doc seems a bit of a creep to be honest and offers lab advice to girls outside of the group. I've even shown the post doc how to do some techniques that he isn't familiar with.

In short I'm not happy with the level of lab supervision I'm getting. I've completed masters ect where it was only me and the supervisor but I don't think it's fair to have a post doc in the lab who actually does nothing.
Without sounding like a d1ck what's the best way to phrase this to my supervisor?


Why would you possibly think the postdoc was there to train you? Were you told that by your supervisor?
My advice would be that you forget the postdoc, mind your own business and get on with worrying about learning how to do your own job instead of waiting for others to show you. You have a really bad attitude my friend.



Yes I was told that my supervisor would help me with a specific area in my research but he hasn't.

How blunt should you be with your supervisor?
H

Hey guys some more details are needed. I completed my summer project, research project in undergrad and masters without a post doc. The most I had in the masters was a PhD. I am quite capable of operating on my own.

The thing is I am now also looking after masters students and undergrads. The post doc was told by our supervisor that he should be helping in a specific area as I'm in new territory and to put it bluntly he's not. He was told to help out with the masters students and project students but he's not.

How blunt should you be with your supervisor?
H

The post doc in my group hasn't dedicated a single hour to teaching me. I am a relatively new PhD in the lab and I have had no lab supervision what so ever. My supervisor is great but he's an extremely busy man and has only managed to show me a few things. The post doc seems a bit of a creep to be honest and offers lab advice to girls outside of the group. I've even shown the post doc how to do some techniques that he isn't familiar with.

In short I'm not happy with the level of lab supervision I'm getting. I've completed masters ect where it was only me and the supervisor but I don't think it's fair to have a post doc in the lab who actually does nothing.
Without sounding like a d1ck what's the best way to phrase this to my supervisor?

EU member not getting UK funding
H

I don't think it's racism but it's certainly unfair and damaging to science. Also the fact that you can't effectively search for PhDs that offer full funding to EU citizens non resident in the UK makes it very difficult indeed.

It's certainly not fair because at this moment the UK is having its cake and eating it. Students from UK can obtain full scholarships in most other EU countries but the same doesn't apply in reverse. The people supplying the funding can apply criteria but I don't think they should claim to "support" EU students at the same time. Some of the advertisements are very misleading and it's being used as a loophole by the UK to not do it's fair share. I wouldn't mind this but the fact is UK students are availing of PhDs with full funding in my home country of Germany.