What happens in your lab when your PI goes to a conference or vacation for a week or longer? (Or if you're a PI, what do you imagine happens in your absence?)
For the most part, of course, people just keep working. We're not there to please a boss, we're there to get our science done, and the boss's presence or absence makes little difference.
But on the basis of very little evidence, let me offer this hypothesis: in labs with involved, ever-looming PIs, lab members are more likely to skeeve off work when the PI is gone for significant periods; whereas in labs with fly-by PIs, lab members keep up their pace when said PI is gone.
(There could be two explanations for this hypothesis, if true: first, that the trainees with omnipresent PIs work harder when the PI is in town, necessitating a break when s/he's gone; second, that the trainees with absentee PIs sometimes don't even notice that their PI has vanished for a week or two, because it makes so little difference in lab life.)
I hasten to add that I, of course, work virtuously and steadily, unaffected by my PI's absence, much less by absurdly warm and sunny days that occur during said absence.
15 years ago
23 comments:
In my lab, the second explanation is true. I can go an entire week without seeing my PI even when he's in-town!
In our lab, I think people maybe even work more, or at least more productively, when the PI is away. It's just a more relaxed atmosphere and people are less stressed about hir walking in and wanting to chat about something so they cut the crap and just work. They might also have a tendency to take prolonged coffee breaks in the sunshine, but I think that has more to do with the sunshine than with the PI's absence :)
I'd guess the second situation is a fairly common one. About 6 months into my phd, my supervisor found a student as unboundaried as he is (who apparently doesn't mind that he has a long history of the casting couch mentality to mentorship). A couple years on and they've just had a baby - we're not sure whether he took parental leave, since he could hardly be around less than he had been previously!
I think I actually get *more* done when my advisor is away. Fewer distractions and no meetings to prepare for!
If I stopped working when my PI was out-of-town, I'd have off for 2/3rds of the year. :) He is very hands-off, so explanation #2 applies to us.
This was the first thing that came to mind when I read your post!
In the offices that house grad students near me, it's more based on the age/level of student than the involvement of the PI.
Younger grad students tend to think of it as "school", and piss off whenever they can. Older grad students tend to think of it as "work" and are usually there for longer hours and don't take off during reading break, or the whole month around Christmas (!!), or when their PI is away.
It's probably a case of, for students starting off, they have all the time in the world, and still are in the mindset of an undergrad. Whereas, later in a grad student's life, time becomes more of a concern!
In the two labs that I have worked in I have seen both things happening. With an ever absent PI, you are already aware that you (and only you) are responsible for the project's progress.
I think my lab is a combination. My advisor is always here and we meet both as a lab and individually fairly frequently, but she doesn't hover while I'm working.
I actually took yesterday off and worked from home, but that is mainly because I haven't had a three day weekend in two years (minus the 6 days we get in December, which I still had to work during). It has somehow always fell so I have an experiment and not only do I not get the long weekend, but I have to work everyday. This being said, I made some progress on my thesis and caught up some notes and now it's back to work as normal.
In my lab it varies by individuals what happens while Dr Boss is away. Most of us continue as normal, minus the 8AM meetings we normally have. There are a few however that I KNOW will not be seen again until Dr Boss is back (especially if said trip is during the summer).
Funny, it is a bit of a difference... most o my lab will stay until my PI has left for the day and then they scurry off in a hurry.
When he isn't in town, maybe half of the lab is taking long mornings and shorter afternoons... but I would agree with the person who said it is a bit of an age thing. That said, the person who leaves fastest apart from the grad student would be the tech.
It might be also that the post docs need this gig for our futures, whereas the tech doesn't need to impress anymore?
Yes, there's definitely an age component to the work habits with or without the PI--and, say, an "upcoming conference" component and so forth. Jenn's right too--I notice that people are more relaxed when the PI is gone and sometimes that translates into more work happening, due to general ability to focus!
In our lab its very individualistic. Our PI tended to be around most of the time (including weekends and public holidays), and we had fixed group/individual meeting times. This meant pressure to give results on a certain day rather than when it appeared. Some individuals worked with the principle that if our PI was there they would be there too and hence completely disappear when he goes away. I personally tend to work according to my own schedule, hence he also doesn't expect to see me there all the time but my working hours also go unaffected whether he is around or not. Except that pressure to give results on a certain day is removed and somehow this makes stuff work more smoother!
I notice that none of the PIs who read this blog have said what they think goes on their lab when they're away. FEAR!
The music gets louder, unnecessary lights get turned out more often. TechnoGrad disappears sporadically.
Once when I was away, a graduate student punched out a post-doc. The entire staff decided it was best to keep the incident under wraps.
An undergraduate student eventually spilled the beans to me...
Dr D, that's hysterical. So did you vow to never leave the lab again?
I think you've just given voice to all the fears that PIs must harbor about their absences...
No, I just resolved to periodically have chats with undergraduate students and newer staff.
Also, I often take members of the administrative staff (secretaries, etc.) out to lunch--they are a wealth of info on what's going on around the lab (and in the upper administration).
Just yesterday, I took our dept's secretary out to lunch (this is "Administrative Professionals Week"). I try to do this every year. While we were out to lunch, she told me about the following interaction:
Her boss (and mine) came into her office to ask if she would be able to finish something by a certain time. She told him that she would finish shortly, but then was going out to lunch with me. He looked very startled (apparently surprised that a scientist would mingle with the non-science staff).
She told him (pointedly) that I was treating her to lunch because it was Secretary's Week. He became extremely flustered and stammered that he was planning to take her out, but was so busy, etc., etc. She just laughed at him ("Too late, too late").
Another time and place, I befriended the contract officer in my institution (she had to approve all grant proposals before they were submitted). I always stopped to chat and did small favors for her. Once, she told me that the other professors always treated her with disdain and many were outright rude. She said that when the rudest ones came into her office with a proposal, their document would immediately go to the bottom of the stack. Mine, by contrast, was always on top.
Since admin. staff are usually women, female scientists can more readily form friendships--an advantage that is often overlooked. These women can be your allies--definitely don't piss them off!
I try not to think about this, as I do a ton of travel. So fuck you for bringing it up.
Hmmm...I am kind of a hybrid...I travel 2-3 times per month for about 2 days at a time. I am usually in my office adjacent to my lab every day. I come into the lab in the morning to check in with everyone just to see how things are going. I am the only HPLC person so I am in the lab when conducting r&d for new assays...
I am generally around to offer advice or answer questions, but I long ago learned to NEVER hover during experiments. Its kind of like letting your parents watch you pee....Its just plain creepy.
When I am gone they are still there...or at least thats what the spycam tells me. :0
Ha ha! Yeah, for the PI it's gotta be a bit like leaving your teenagers alone over the weekend. You know they're sensible and all, but...the possibility that your apartment will be burned down is never far from your mind.
Dr D, that's a fascinating point about the admins. I try to be nice to admins of all sorts, except when they're screwups, but it hadn't ever occurred to me to go further.
I like PiT's reference.
I've worked in labs of all kinds. The seagull PI is pretty typical in my field. They show up, shit all over everything, and then fly away again.
Fun post! I definitely saw the contrast in workers' behavior in my grad lab (well-meaning helicopter PI whose departures were cause for student-organized parties and field trips) vs my postdoc lab (where we were so independent that we often didn't notice that the PI had left town).
I myself just left my undergrad-only lab alone for the first time. For two weeks! I was pretty nervous, but the lab didn't burn down. Plus my students actually seemed more productive than usual, perhaps because of the end-of-semester presentations due right after I returned. Heh.
Option 3- your PI is a micromanager and crazy, so when they leave, you continue working, but because you are'nt under constant stress you productivity actually goes up. Happy lab rats are productive lab rats :)
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