I dont know if anyone of you had ever been in a toxic lab environment but i have been been through this for 1.5 years already and its affecting my mental state

Im in a country where chinese people predominate. While minorities like indians and malays form just a tiny fraction of the population. Racial prejudice do happen on a daily basis and its tolerable. But in this lab, privilege can mean a lot. Theres only two minorities in my lab including me but the other one is leaving soon which only leaves me there.

These people form social enclaves, speaking in their native language, excluding us from lunch. When we make mistakes, it will be blown way out of proportion. While if one of them makes a mistake, nobody bats an eyelid.

There are numerous occasions when the other minority was presenting data, these people would look at each other and laugh. That incident was worst because at one point the other minority pointed this out to the prof at that exact moment. But those girls started tearing up and play victim.

Its horrible. And i have nobody to learn from in my lab apart from the other minority. I have highligjted this to my prof and she tried talking to the group but things still happen. And after numerous complains, my prof came to the conclusion that i should stop complaining and try make matters better. Id probably used my last trumpt card for this one.

So four months passed by and i just did my thing. Until today. The cell incubator was beeping and i didnt know why so i approached one of the members and asked why isit beeping. I need to tell u this.

And you know what happened? They got upset because i shouldnt only tell them about the beeping but ALSO offer my service to go down and bring up a new co2 tank to replace the empty one. Problem is i wasnt even aware beeping is caused by low co2.

My intention is good but they seem to make a meal out of it.

Any suggestions on what to do? I cant change labs because im 1.5 yrs into my phd already and it will be hard for another supervisor to take me. Ive even thoughy about doing a night shift as i can work all alone in the lab.

Personally, I would ghost these fellow workers. I would essentially pretend that to all intents and purposes, they were dead to me. I wouldn't acknowledge their presence in any shape or form.
I have had to do it before but I have not had problems to the extent that you are suffering.
I would work through the night if I had to and I would try to establish contacts outside the immediate lab and use those people for help.
Finally, during my talk, if another student laughed or chatted to a colleague I would stop talking and ask them to shut the fuck up. If a member of staff did this I would ask them what the problem was and deliver a silent icy stare. A second incident and I would stop presenting and either sit down or leave. The key is to do all this without getting emotional or angry. It is all done in a calm but assertive manner. You need to be able to convey an image of supreme confidence even though inside you are all over the place. In fairness it took me years to master this.
They are treating you like this because they sense you are weak and possibly needy. People who portray strength tend to avoid this sort of bullying.

I dont know if any of that is going to be helpful for you but I have not experienced bullying in the workplace since I adopted the above.

Dear iwan,

pm133 has gone into detail of what you should do if you intend to stay in this toxic environment.

My question to you is:do you really want to?

You have only stayed for 1.5 years and it is affecting your mental state. You may have another 3 more years to go. Can you do this? Could things get worse eg. total isolation from group, snatching of ideas, research ripped apart during presentation, being framed for something you did not do? Would you be able to withstand them?

While I know that you have invested 1.5 years, it is not the end of the world to start over in another lab. The worst case scenario would be to work hard till the end and being unable to graduate due to your toxic environment. Do read the posts by many other PhD students on their struggles to see what I mean.

Ultimately, the decision is in your hands.

Iwan, is the professor of the lab the only person you can discuss this with? Does your university provide any other forms of support such as counselling, or a student advisor or perhaps a postgraduate representative or association?

Would there be other postgraduates or staff from Malay or Indian cultures in the faculty who you could talk to (even if they are not in your lab)? And the other person who is leaving-do they or are they able to provide any advice or support while they are present?

It reads like a really difficult situation, and I think PM133and Tru have provided some advice worth considering. Generally unfriendliness, harassment, discrimination and bullying is about the other person/people's issues. And people can be mean, discriminatory and band together just because it is just primary social behaviour in many cases. We think and hope this behaviour ends with school and adolescent years but sadly, often not.

Your particular case sounds very specific and difficult and I hesitate to offer any advice as I am not sure I have any worth passing on.

My personal plan would be to seek to establish some supportive relationships with others (perhaps beyond the lab) where possible and to use cognitive behavioural strategies or professional counselling support to help myself work through the difficult behaviour of those in the lab. I would also rely on processes-following lab processes correctly and just having a plan to get myself through until the end of my time. If there were opportunities to leave, I would but only if they were reasonable opportunities that fitted within my plan.

With your last example, where you asked about the co2 tank and were not aware that you were expected to replace it. It sounds hurtful and also such a little thing for you to feel upset with yourself about. So what! So you didn't know...we all-each and every one of us make mistakes and errors every day. We are human.It is okay. If others get upset about that, well that is really their problem. I hope you don't think badly about yourself for this.

This seem most unfortunate.
My best advice is to look for some other place, and live. I know this is not always easy (relocating, starting new research allover again, and the "whispering" among colleagues as for why things didn't work out for you in your previous place).
You have no better choice. It seems you are surrounded by stupid people, which can be extremely dangerous, particularly in academia.