Absurdity is what I like most in life, and there's humor in struggling in ignorance. If you saw a man repeatedly running into a wall until he was a bloody pulp, after a while it would make you laugh because it becomes absurd. -David Lynch
Yesterday I learned something new.
As a postdoc, it turns out that when you're fired from a lab, told to shut down two long term experiments, accused of stealing data and then in the same sentence screamed at for not writing up that same data (with no replication), YOU are the one that needs to apologize.
I'm at at loss for words. So I'll let others speak for me.
I think Prof-like-Substance's quote is appropriate here, but I've taken some liberties with it,
"Sometimes I forget that mentioning the words 'postdoc' and 'fun' in academia can be like wearing meat pants at the pound."
Addendum to original post:
Thankfully this is not me. But this is what happened to a postdoc in our department. He was told in no uncertain terms that this is what would have to happen in order for him to continue working. HR cannot do anything when The Godfather has spoken.
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7 comments:
WTF?
Wow. [How exactly can one steal data while still being in the lab, anyway?]
Um, sorry. You have presumably spoken to your institution's HR folks, and documented the accusations and screaming, one hopes.
Whaaa....? Please don't tell me this just happened to you. And yes, documenting this with your HR folks, department chair, postdoc association or union if you have one, etc, is important.
David Lynch is a bit too dark for me.
Meat pants at the pound, indeed.
I'm sorry to say I've heard stories like this before and experienced similarly (though maybe not quite as bad) absurd scenarios where I was somehow blamed for doing the ethically and scientifically correct thing. Mostly I have very high tolerance for being screamed at, actually, because I know it means the problem is not me. When they are screaming, it means they are out of control and not thinking rationally.
Btw - how can you steal data if you never published it?
Feel free to email me if you want to chat offline. I don't know if I can be of any help, but sometimes it's nice just to know you're not the one who's crazy.
I just had a long chat yesterday with a friend whose advisor has an untreated but textbook case of OCPD. My thesis advisor was bipolar but nobody knew that except me. Your story also sounds like mental illness - there is a lot of it in the Academy.
To whoever this happened to: I'm so sorry.
@Ewan
I agree WTF?
At faculty meetings this supervisor has been known to throw temper tantrums. I haven't heard about any reprimands from anyone.
@ Kate
No it wasn't. HR is powerless to do anything for this postdoc. This man has some very powerful and high up people on his side. If he wants to this faculty member could make sure that this postdoc's career has a black mark. Is it worth it? I think its best just to walk away.
@MsPhD
I think academia houses a fair number of people with mental disorders.
Wow. For what it's worth, something similar happened to a colleague of mine many years ago (she was not a scientist but it was still a similar situation). She managed to go around the crazy advisor and get a few wimps to write references under the radar, and did land a job elsewhere, on the tenure track. She went on to write two books and is very well known in her field.
That doesn't mean that one example of one outlier means your friend is ok. But I thought it might be useful to know it anyway. And if HR can't do anything, maybe a labor board can do something.
@Kate Thanks I'll pass that along. Luckily, this postdoc has collaborated with other faculty so presumably they could write a letter of reference if necessary?
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