Reflecting on toxicity
When an unpleasant situation arises, it feels so natural to withdraw from it, if possible. Initially, I contemplated doing just that, but then I decided to go against oppression and unfair treatment. Many of these thoughts crystallised in conversations with my fellow humans at work.
Academia is a strange and conflicted space. I went into this field many years ago because I naively thought that it would be different from any other industry. After all, I thought, humans in academia are passionate about care which manifests in teaching, supervision, management, research, and activism. I indeed met many wonderful fellow humans in academia, including in my current university. But throughout my time in academia I also witnessed and experienced much toxicity and unacceptable behaviours. Plagiarism, utilitarianism, exploitation, discrimination, harassment, illegal requests, and so on.
Such behaviours live on, among other things, because of the nature of academic jobs. Some humans are in short-term, precarious positions, while others (their managers) are in permanent positions. It is not only incredibly difficult for an organisation to fire a tenured professor, but oftentimes organisations support those individuals. The organisations' attitude goes hand in hand with an assumption that a PhD student or a postdoctoral researcher will soon leave anyway. Moreover, PhD students and postdoctoral researchers are often dependent on those professors. These professors provide funding, and because academia is so international and mobile, this funding also means a valid residence permit. Because academia is international and mobile, and academic jobs generally demanding, young humans often postpone their personal lives until they finish their PhD or get a permanent job. This results in a situation where they don't have anyone they can rely on, or, their family's income depends on a precarious job.
I'm fortunate in a sense that my British citizenship doesn't make me feel unsafe, I'm not employed in a project, and I have a partner who would support me if I lose my job. I understand why many fellow humans in academia don't speak up.
It is especially shocking when harassment and mismanagement happen within business schools (we study management in business schools, among other things). It is even more puzzling when these things unfold in the field of sustainability. Care is absolutely central to sustainability. It includes care towards nature and also fellow humans.
I had a very interesting conversation about this with a fellow human at work. We decided to discuss this in an article we are working on. Autoethnography is a suitable method for this, since we can rely on our own, raw and lived experiences.
Systems of support in situations of harassment and mismanagement are weak. HR managers often side with those already in positions of power. The usual advice for those subject to harassment and oppression is to talk to their supervisor. There is very little information regarding what a human being can do if the source of oppression is indeed their supervisor.
In my recent experience with structures within academia I was asked to not discuss the situation with my fellow humans at work. Such silencing should in itself be considered harassment, as powerful structures attempt to intimidate a human being in a less powerful position.
It is only when I spoke to some fellow humans did I realise the depth and extent of these issues. These experiences are scattered and suppressed rather than shared openly, since humans fear the consequences or think that they are the only ones suffering.