Page 4 | Academics Chat Thread Mark II

SignsofSpring · 2021-02-10T13:22:49+00:00

As the one who didn't look and then managed to close the last thread, I'm going to be the one to start this one! All thoughts, rants, ideas on being an academic especially in Covid-19 times are here...

DrGilbertson · 21/03/2021 20:18

I struggle to read more than an abstract. Or a trashy novel. But I have heard that some academics have concentration that is better than this.

Its 2015 on a Sunday night and I have a revise and resubmit due tomorrow.

murmuration · 22/03/2021 09:58

Ugh. I have no motivation. I just don't want to do anything. I have paper drafts to read, tons of admin to do, reviews due, grants to write... and I just don't want to. Any tips for getting out of a funk?

GCAcademic · 22/03/2021 10:51

I wish I knew, murmuration. It's the first week of the "vacation" and I still have a full week of Teams meetings, and am trying to fit in reading of drafts for various PGRs and postdocs between all those incessant meetings. It's just relentless. I think these slumps are cyclical and a normal part of the job and there will be years when one feels like that, but this year has just been exhausting. We've been given some extra days off over Easter and I'm going to take them, regardless of what is piling up on my desk, and hope I will come out the other side feeling more energised.

Alaimo · 22/03/2021 11:29

Bit of a moan and a question:

I'm employed as a Research Fellow - externally funded through an Early Career-type Fellowship. Within my department (not a UK university, I should add) everyone gets an annual amount of seed funding to help with research costs, conferences, etc. - helpful as my fellowship covers only very limited research expenses.

This year the department has cut seed funding for research fellows by 30% because of budgetary pressures. However, permanent staff still get the same amount as last year.

Am I unreasonable to be mightily pissed off? It's bad enough to be told three months into the year that, actually, there is less money available this year, but to then hear that only fixed term staff will be affected? (I am still trying to find out if other categories of fixed term staff, such as PhD students, are also affected).

Should I just suck it up or would I be within my right to raise it with the HoD (who made the decision) and say that I understand there is less money all around but that it seems rather unfair that only the funding of a small number of, precariously employed, staff has been cut?

Original poster

SignsofSpring · 23/03/2021 20:10

@murmuration I had this really badly from about Dec onwards, total lack of motivation, lots of revise and resubmits to do, no interest in doing them, no interest in writing grants, it was awful. I don't have a magic solution, but at one point I did just start to feel more connected in with it all. I think these slumps, after the year we've had, are natural and normal and whilst ideally we shouldn't have them, being imperfect people, we are- it will pass. One option is to take a few days off and try to refresh that way rather than keep trying to work and get nowhere (the end result is the same, but one is more relaxing!) If you have teaching duties, then the term has been relentless, I can't wait for mine to end this week.

OP posts:

Marasme · 23/03/2021 20:14

depends, @Alaimo - my uni has (had, it s gone now) this for everyone and I had to run a lab of 15 on it, covering maintenance of equipment, all sundries, and travel / training for my tech and my phd students.

i used to get annoyed at colleagues getting the same amount but only for their own sole benefit

MeltsAway · 25/03/2021 09:15

I had this really badly from about Dec onwards, total lack of motivation, lots of revise and resubmits to do, no interest in doing them, no interest in writing grants, it was awful

Yes, I had that too. It was a combination of winter hibernation plus lockdown. I just had to get through - I had a tough deadline on a book, which the publisher was insistent I met. It was hell, but on reflection, I'm quite glad I was pushed and got it done.

I am exhausted and stressed and grumpy now, though , more so than I ever remember being - more so than even when I've been head of department (I've done that so much it is now fairly routine).

PS see my other thread for helping me with grump & stress ...

Etulosba · 25/03/2021 09:29

We've been given some extra days off over Easter and I'm going to take them, regardless of what is piling up on my desk,

So have we and it's a godsend because it has effectively extended a marking deadline by six days.

MeltsAway · 25/03/2021 12:32

Thing is, they give you extra 'rest days" (as they call them at my place), but they don't actually reduce the work to be done. So if you take a rest day, there's just more work piling up ... I think it's just to make the senior management team feel good.

GCAcademic · 25/03/2021 13:55

Yes, I agree, it's workloads that need to be tackled. They know that we are not able to take our annual leave, so it feels a bit like gaslighting to be given these extra days when, for example, the holiday I'd wanted to have in July is now a no goer, because the senior management has just announced that all the exam boards are going to be moved back three weeks.

Etulosba · 26/03/2021 09:19

They know that we are not able to take our annual leave,

Too true. We can only carry over ten days so I lost five. We have to take the carry over before the end of March, so I should be off now. Unfortunately, I was told asked to change some assignment deadlines which means I'm not off, I'm marking and I'll be marking through the extra Easter days too.

I'm not happy.

worstofbothworlds · 26/03/2021 10:29

@GCAcademic

Yes, I agree, it's workloads that need to be tackled. They know that we are not able to take our annual leave, so it feels a bit like gaslighting to be given these extra days when, for example, the holiday I'd wanted to have in July is now a no goer, because the senior management has just announced that all the exam boards are going to be moved back three weeks.

Oh yes - the exam boards are 2 weeks later here, and pre-school-age-DCs we always took those weeks, straight after the end of term before the schools broke up (happens to be DH birthday too). If we'd still been in that position we would have been booked in that week again.

murmuration · 29/03/2021 11:46

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately I'd already taken a day off. I think I need more than a day. Managing, oddly, to do completely-non-urgent coding without trouble. Just all the stuff with words and/or people I am struggling with. But got out comments to a student today. Let's see if I can do the reviews I've just been bugged about again... then maybe I can get onto that paper and grant this week...

The random holidays are good for me as I don't feel obligated to check email - I could really use some days when I could work and NOT deal with email, actually. But if given a holiday I don't work, either. Although we haven't had such a day since, um, maybe last spring I think? There might have been one while I was out sick from the accident, but that's all a bit of blur.

I agree the workload is an issue. Universities just need to hire more people, as there is more work than can be done by those that are here. But instead they're cutting staff. I understand it's a money issue, but I can't help but feeling that there could be other places to economise rather than people. Problem is people just keep stepping up, until they simply can't, and then others step in because we care about the students and our colleagues.

Marasme · 08/04/2021 12:18

i ve had enough - stuff is piling high and there is no way to "achieve" without massively cocking up sthg (or dreading that cock up is imminent)

GCAcademic · 08/04/2021 12:30

I made a huge cock up this term just gone. Won't say what it was as it would be outing, but it was precisely because I had so much work and was working every night until midnight and every weekend all term that said cock up happened.

goingpearshaped · 08/04/2021 14:21

Agree re the rest days. I am on leave with DC and doing the paper writing I can't usually do. It's crap I know.

Good news, I finally made it to Reader after about two years and the uni dragging its heels with promotion.

I really hope they reduce teaching workloads this year, it's so full on for all of us on top of extra pastoral care. Struggling staff don't seem to be noticed at all. I follow the uni of bantshire (or something like that) on twitter and it is pretty spot on sometimes for all the wrong reasons!

goingpearshaped · 08/04/2021 14:22

Sorry to hear about the cock up @GCAcademic, hope you are okay. Totally understandable with crazy workloads.

GCAcademic · 08/04/2021 14:28

I'm fine now, thanks @goingpearshaped, though it was without doubt the most stressful two weeks of my career. I was having horrible physical stress symptoms with chest and stomach pains and everything.

Congratulations on your promotion! What a dragged out process, though . . .

I hope they reduce teaching loads too, but I'm not optimistic. The signs are that we are to be expected to accommodate those students who wish to study online again next year, so it will be the same doubling up of everything for f2f plus online. And still no money for bought-in teaching.

goingpearshaped · 08/04/2021 14:40

I am glad you are okay now @GCAcademic, the pressures have been immense haven't they. Our uni is still deciding re next year's teaching but I truly hope it does not involve teaching in class with social distancing and zooming with international students at the same time (that was the worst as group work was impossible and everyone hated it). Lectures online or in person fine, it's the seminar type activity that is trickier.

Marasme · 08/04/2021 15:59

@GCAcademic - these physical symptoms are hell. So sorry it happened, but never really a surprise when the workloads are bonkers.

we have hired a lot of new v junior people to deal with our massive increase in numbers. Sadly, it means that they ll be teaching protected for 2 to 3 years. I ll break if i don t have some respite before then.

Marasme · 08/04/2021 16:02

congrats on the readership @goingpearshaped!

DrGilbertson · 08/04/2021 17:40

I have had a mostly child free day and could have done productive things for work. Have I ? No ...

Congrats on the promotion!

Alaimo · 09/04/2021 14:00

@Marasme

depends, *@Alaimo* - my uni has (had, it s gone now) this for everyone and I had to run a lab of 15 on it, covering maintenance of equipment, all sundries, and travel / training for my tech and my phd students.

i used to get annoyed at colleagues getting the same amount but only for their own sole benefit

Sorry I missed your response, but that's a useful insight! I fully understand your annoyance at having to cover substantial costs when others can use it for their sole benefit.

In any case, I raised it with my HoD. Apparently it stems from a mix of budget cuts and some senior staff keen to impose more of a hierarchy in the financial support that is offered. There appear to be a small number of people in the department who want the way in which the department is organised to be more hierarchical in general and who are kicking off about various things that they seem as devaluing academic ranks, so it's bigger than the question of finance. It's just been a bit of an (unpleasant) surprise to have come from a department where people were supportive of casual staff (or at least pretended to), to one where the going mentality seems to be that non-permanent staff should know their place.

moimichme · 09/04/2021 19:04

That sounds rubbish, Alaimo. I hope you can find a better dept. next time...

Just need to vent because my line manager has 'reminded' me about a marking deadline that my other colleague and I kicked off about, since it was a ridiculously tight turnaround during this 2 week 'holiday' period, which colleague and I both took off. Even though I've worked pretty much every day, but at least I finally got a paper submitted!

My (male) manager (who has one teenage child) is very much in this situation, so it really annoys me that he basically wanted us both to sacrifice my leave journal article to please him/the students: In other cases it really feels like the authors are managing to expand the amount of time they spend on research.

So tired and really on the brink of handing in my notice this summer. But I did enjoy writing the paper. Research is kind of fun when I have a chance to do it. During my time off. Sigh.

Marasme · 10/04/2021 15:08

the dble standards are doing my head in.

Was off friday and coming monday. Colleague calls a meeting for friday - i remind them i m off and say say "just for 15 minutes, it s critical". Fair enough, i think, it s not as if i m going anywhere. Meeting turns into a 2hr planfest, with a special prize of a shared doc to populate for monday morning. WTAF.

In parallel, had a big grant due just after Easter - which i wrote 100% because my colleague decided that no, she was not going to contribute to as on hols / on other commitments. Was informed that i could just write and submit and that they "trusted me". They are a same-share contributor on paper and have been bragging to our HoS about "our" great proposal. I m a mug.