Hi Everyone,

I need an advice on a problem I am having. Maybe I am overreacting but it would be nice to know.

I have three papers published and my secondary supervisor thinks I can write up my thesis now and that I have enough material. My primary supervisor also mentioned that whatever I can add now is additional material that will make my thesis great. My three years deadline is very soon. I have just learned that I am pregnant so I would like to write my thesis and be finished with it before the birth.

I visited a lab, some time ago and would like very much to go there for a post-doc, but the guy is my primary supervisor's friend. However, now my primary supervisor blackmails me into starting an additional project to write another paper and another chapter. He thinks it will take me about 4 months, but usually it takes much longer to do projects than we expect. He told me that if I don't do what he wants he won't write me a good references for future funding and that he might talk again to his friend to tell him that I am not that good finally. If I give in I am afraid that it won't stop there and that he will ask me for more work after.

Anyway advices would be great...

I had similar situation before (but not about future work issue). But like you I felt threatened by my supervisor unreasonable demands and it got worse after that. It took me a while to take the courage and reported it to the chair of board of study as well as the head of the department.

Long story short, it really helped! I did regret for not reporting it much earlier so I encourage you to talk to someone. If you are afraid to talk to the department people yourself, you can to go to post-graduate association or other welfare bodies that your university has. Or check out your handbook who you speak to with this type of conflict.

My advice - don't keep quiet and do nothing!

Firstly, congratulations on the pregnancy. Does supervisor know you are pregnant?, has this new revelation of theirs come after your announcement? Pregnancy is to your advantage. Point out that you will be getting tired and that additional stress isn't good for baby and the thesis needs to take priority now or they risk you failing through non completion if you take the extra project, this looks bad on them. I wouldn't worry too much yet about future job, you don't even know how you will feel after having baby. You may find you're not emotinally ready to leave bubs in childcare to take up a post! I cried for whatseemed like an age each time i left mine to go to work but we needed the money! You find you have become a 'protected characteristic' as pregnant, lol. If they want to play hardball I'm afraid the balls in your court in the form of the equaliy act and they'll have to make sure they aren't firstly, discriminating against you, and secondly putting the health of you and baby at risk through stress. They also have a duty to do a risk assessment for you in the workplace but I'm not sure how this follows in your Phd, but they may be expectd to do the same. Be strong and assertive, that comes with being a mummy anyway and you'll soon find hormones and protective instincts make mummies ball breakers, lol. Good luck xxx

Hey Gals,

Thanks for your answers. So, yes they know about the pregnancy part and they were pushing me before the pregnancy to write another paper, but I didn't agree to anything.

Before to receive your answers, I accepted to do the damned (pardon me) project. I thought I made clear to my primary supervisor that I need to be paid, additionally as my fees and that I don't want to work more than a normal week's work. Now they came back to me saying that they don't accept my conditions.

I then decided to follow your advice to talk about it to someone. They did that also to other people in the group so that has to stop. I spoke about it to the head of school and he is looking for a solution. I am a bit afraid now that they will decide to not read my chapters and slow me down in my thesis, but you know when you are pregnant everything doesn't seem that important anymore, at least my secondary supervisor can read my chapters. But at least I don't feel that much alone anymore...