Hi all,

I just wondered if anyone has any experience of being bullied in academia and what you did to deal with it? Also whether you were supported by the university? Do you know anybody who was bullied and what happened to them?

believe it or not, academic bullying to some extent, is quite commonplace.

i got bullied by a professor because i corrected his error in reasoning after being reprimanded unjustly by him.

this is a very *sensitive* issue that must be tackled with utter diplomacy. try your best to be tactful because it might elevate to vendetta when not handled properly.

i made the mistake of being truly objective without considering the professor's desperation in securing his collapsing ego. as a result, he made it his agenda to make things difficult for me over the next two years. i guess he's just being human.

when bullied, maintain self composure, nod, smile and say.. "i find that very constructive and will look into it.. ". afterwards, try to find a better alternative to the problem. perhaps, by asking for a second opinion from people close to the bully etc.

try your best NOT to respond with "your criticism would only be justifiable if these conditions were true. unfortunately, they are not. allow me to elucidate your *flaw* in thinking. 1... 2... 3... which clearly nullify the foundation of your entire argument." LOL this is suicidal.

delaying retaliation is crucial because in the heat of the moment, the tension between the bully and the bullied can easily increase in intensity. as such, the best social solution may not emerge.

======= Date Modified 01 Nov 2012 13:07:56 =======
PART 3:

I did find out that there were contacts within the Uni. that 'dealt' with personality characters like him, however, it was meant for students and I couldn't really use it.

As for the effect it had on me as a person, it was quite negative. The PhD and first post-doc had given my confidence a big boost, however, I could feel this draining away from me due to the poor working environment. There were times I was in tears and I just wanted to quit and actually twice served notice to quit, however, I had to see out the year for the simple reason if I left I would have had no income. In the UK, you cannot claim unemployment benefit for six months if you leave a job out of your own choice without an alternative.

There were knock-on effects in that as I'd left without a reference (though I later obtained a job description from Uni. human resources), it took me a year to find alternative employment and that further knocked my confidence. One reason I was given was that I was overqualified for jobs I was applying for. Another was the lack of the reference from the second post-doc Uni. My PhD Uni. gave me some unpaid work assisting in writing a book chapter based on my PhD data, which allowed me at least to improve my reference situation. Word had got back to them there'd been problems, though I never fully disclosed what had happened.

I did want to complain and a harrasment action was discussed (as per the bullying case I mentioned at the beginning), however, in a completely independent conversation it was made clear that Universities close ranks and any complainant would either face a wall of silence or a 'version of events' putting the Uni. in a favorable light (though avoiding directly defamitory comments about the complainant). I felt at the time there was nothing I could do, as any witnesses would remain quiet for the sake of their own jobs and careers. It's also possible my name was somehow blacklisted at least with local Universities, but I have no proof of this.

The experience has affected my career longterm in that over five years later, my career is on a different path to that I had imagined. I'm basically back to where I started before I took the PhD and despite a good publication record and good working record apart from that one post-doc year, it would be difficult to redirect to where I was after my PhD.

I don't regret doing the PhD as I've said elsewhere as that and the first post-doc were very positive experiences. However, as I found out during my second post-doc it takes very little and just one or two people being against you to undo years of good work. Whilst the remarks can also apply to the real world, my experiences are one reason I suggest to people they have a good look around the deprartment (both PhD and post-doc) and meet the people you'll be working with before you sign any contracts or agreements. If possible, stick your head round the door a second time as meeting your potential supervisor under a different set of circumstances can tell you alot more about them. That working relationship above all can make or break a PhD or post-doc position.

EDIT: With time I can say the rawness of the feelings over what happened have definitely faded away. However, one thing that still sticks with me is knowing that they have moved on from this with their reputations intact and not so much as a repremand over errors and omissions that were down to them. I still feel justice has not been done.


Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

======= Date Modified 31 Oct 2012 11:27:48 =======
PART 2:

I admit I made mistakes during the year and for one there was no excuse (a verbal error made in front of the actual final customer). However, in most cases there was a root cause I could trace back to information I was not given, notably by the girl I started privately calling the dementor (INCLUDING the big mistake I have just mentioned). I never felt as though I was actually wanted there and throughout, there were instances of bizarre behaviour including me being hauled over the coals for me not assessing a report from another University when I'd already said three weeks prior I felt the report contained data of insufficient quality to help us. I ended up doing a report on this report for him if that makes sense. There were also mood swings with both the Prof and the (de)mentor, which meant I never knew where I stood. Whilst they were both top of their fields, their people handling skills were next to non-existent. In the case of the (de)mentor, it felt as though she never had a downtime period after she completed her own PhD and had remained in hyper mode over the few years since she completed and that didn't help tension levels.

Examples include:

1) The (de)mentor supervising my technique on a test rig, where I momentarily had to stop myself to ensure correct procedure was followed and turned round to find her ranting and raving behind me. I had followed the procedure I was given but she still went off on one.

2) The Prof. having a go at a technician after I reported an equipment fault. The Prof. claimed he should have had it fixed a week ago, which was impossible as I'd only just reported a fault that had just appeared. I was then witness to a blazing row between the two of them, ending in front of the technician's boss and workmates. I realised it wasn't just me he was likely to have a go at from that experience. The technician's boss and workmates all agreed that the altercation should have happened privately, however, it was clear that when the bust-up happened others would stay out of the firing line and not get involved. In otherwords, everyone would look after themselves.

I heard from others that his mood swings were well known about and two members of secretarial staff that worked in adjacent office said they could tell on the looks on people's faces who was due to go into see him.

I've told this tale quite a lot now, but here goes again, split into three parts as there's alot to tell. But I tell it again as a warning.

PART 1:

I'd avoided almost all the politics and posturing during my PhD and first post-doc period (at PhD Uni.) and in the end (bar the stress of write-up) had a quite pleasent experience during this time. I knew of issues but did not make them my concern.

My second post-doc at a different Uni. had what you would call a 'personality' professor in charge. He also put a post-doc in direct charge of me where there was a clear personality clash. Everything at interview went okay and I was offered the job on the spot. However, the day following I got wind of a story in the press where he'd been up in front of a tribunal for bullying and it was sufficient to make me consider turning the job down. However, well meaning relatives persuaded me not to be so hasty as it was a prestigious Uni. I was moving to and I thought I needed a new start anyway.

He actually phoned me out of the blue to pay no heed to the story and I responded it was none of my business and not to worry. So I took the job.

I should have listened to the voice in my head screaming "No!!!". His phone call in itself should have set the alarmbells ringing.

I didn't get to meet the Prof. again until the second day of my contract. It sums it up when in the kick-off meeting on day two of the contract, he mutters to my mentor-to-be that I was "very much a second choice, a stop gap measure, we'll just have to make do". From other pieces of information I picked up, he'd already lined up a first choice with a skills set he wanted and this first choice had turned the job down. I believe I was then drafted in to cover as my mentor's workload was too much to for her to cope with.

The correct course of action would have been to interview further people and leave me out if I was not suitable, however, I was hired in a move I now believe was an error on his part and one that cost me dearly. I could have stayed at my PhD Uni. a little longer whilst I sorted out other employment and kept my reference record intact.

Hi Ian,

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, it sounds like it was terrible and I do feel for you. I hope you are all sorted now though! I just wondered how common it is that people get bullied in academia as it seems to be a recurring theme on the forum and it shouldn't be that way. Thank you to Pikirkool for your response too (up)

======= Date Modified 01 Nov 2012 11:55:23 =======

I'm sorted in so much at least I have a job. However, the below was a career path changer. That said, it was a while ago so yes I've moved on but such happenings do have a long term affecton people. Cases I've read on here in the past are far worse than mine and when someone needs counselling years later, that tells you all you need to know about the affect on the victim's self worth. If the bullying or harrasment could be dealt with at the time and the bully 'moved on' (yes, this behaviour should result in dismissal), then the victim should at least be able to move forward and put it behind them.

There are procedures set down at all Universities to deal with such situations, however, they seem to be a paper exercise only as the University will almost always protect it's own reputation with the perceived troublemaker (normally the victim) 'moved on' instead. It's not just individual cases either as I know for sure of two cases of 'institutional' bullying, where rather than make a surplus member of staff redundant they freeze them out until the member of staff moves on under their own steam. There is no paperwork and no awkward questions as a result.

One was a maths lecturer at my PhD University. The other had to go abroad due to family reasons and other members of staff made a decision to close the research institute he ran whilst he was away. 10 people ended up looking for other jobs.

I know of a more amusing story with respect to the above (and Uni. wanting to protect reputation) at another Uni. I was told six years ago, however, for various reasons I'll not post on open forum. Suffice to say a failing PhD student happened to be at the right place and right time and was awared his PhD plus post-doc position, no questions asked. :-)

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

I have received plenty of bullying and even humiliation through the years. Once it was during a conference, in front of 300 delegates... But who cares? I have learnt to live with it. I do what I do, I develop my own opinions about certain academic topics. If they like them, that's fine. If not, I couldn't care less.