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I am a female PhD student in the end of my second year, and my supervisor has been acting weird lately. He asks me to run the experiments from my laptop and not from my PC in the lab (it does not affect the test), and he does that when it's 11 or 12 at night. We usually do a voice call to discuss work, but very recently he asked for a video call and it was late at night… and just today he insisted that I work from my room and not from the lab.

I just want to know what you guys think. I don't know if it's a culture difference thing or that I should really be careful. I think it's really weird considering that I've been working with him for two years and he wasn't even nice to me.

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BDee
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    Seems weird to me, yes. Invasive, for one thing. – paul garrett Apr 01 '16 at 14:19
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    I think it's definitely weird and totally unacceptable without a serious motivation: has he given any for such a request? – Massimo Ortolano Apr 01 '16 at 14:22
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    If it makes you feel uncomfortable then it is not ok. – Maarten Buis Apr 01 '16 at 14:29
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    Does he give any reason? – adipro Apr 01 '16 at 14:32
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    My instinct would be that he's trying to creep on you and that he wants to see what your room looks like, for some insidious reason. I also find it weird that he's expecting you to be working at night after hours, in addition to being in contact with him. – la femme cosmique Apr 01 '16 at 14:40
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    See below: your video is broken or taped over. Colleagues of mine do it by default. Furthermore, people at home want to be comfortable at night; having to open the video is like being forced to await guests in full business/work attire at the dead of night which is not how one can expect to run around after hours at home. Phone must suffice at this time of day. One thing is not clear: what does his request of running experiments from laptop instead of PC change in terms of setup or your location? – Captain Emacs Apr 01 '16 at 14:56
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    At 11 or 12 (every night?) he asks you to now use your laptop, not lab computers (he repeats the request every day?). And he's an experimentalist who insists his student work from home. And this worries you "as he wasn't even nice to" you before (whereas he now is?). This is clearly happening as described, and I'm looking forward to see the question jump to 50+ upvotes for the usual reasons. – gnometorule Apr 01 '16 at 15:20
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    Seems very strange to me. First, is there any reason you (or he) should be working at that time of night, instead of sleeping? (Unless you are both night owls, and you do so by choice.) Second, as far as I can see, there's absolutely zero reason to do a video call, period. (FWIW, I can't recall having ever spoken to my supervisor on the phone. Communications were either in person or email.) – jamesqf Apr 01 '16 at 17:34
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    Oh hell no. In Europe, this would definetely not be acceptable. One would get raised salary for just being contactable after office hours, let alone working. This kind of thing would first go through deparment approval, if it was not one-time exception. In practice, many work at unusual hours, but it is their personal decision then. – mmh Apr 01 '16 at 17:43
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    Devil's advocate: If you are used to work late in the lab, he might be worried about you walking around at night (I know I'm worried about my phd students going home from the lab at 4am). Of course, audio calls would be a bit weird, video calls are the big red flag... – Fábio Dias Apr 01 '16 at 17:53
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    @FábioDias there are much more appropriate ways of expressing concerns about your students. – StrongBad Apr 01 '16 at 18:32
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    I'd put some tape over my webcam – phenxd Apr 01 '16 at 20:03
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    Let me address one general possibility associated with your advisor asking you not to come in late at night. (Note that I agree that your particular situation comes across as very strange, and something seems out of order there.) Most schools have legal liability issues associated with employees getting hurt on site. There may be a change in policy which makes it more onerous on the advisor to have you in the lab alone late at night unsupervised. – aeismail Apr 01 '16 at 20:07
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    One possibility I'd like to add: Maybe your supervisor has to be up at these late hours (syncing time zones with someone he's started to work with now) and thus tries to push other activities into this time window, too (in order to be able to sleep during daytime). If your lab is not in the same building then asking you to work with your laptop (from your room) might be a security consideration (not sending you out in the streets late at night). Though this does in no way explain the video calls. So while the above is a possibility, his behavior still raises some red flags. – Daniel Jour Apr 01 '16 at 22:28
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    Do I understand this correctly - previously you used to do voice calls late at night with you working in the lab and your supervisor elsewhere, but now he wants to change that to you in your room? If the institution's health and safety people have brought in some "working alone directives" (i.e. you can't work alone any more) then you should have some official notification about that. If not, this sounds very odd. Maybe the supervisor's previous partner has just walked out on him... – alephzero Apr 01 '16 at 23:41
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    It's always about sex. – Panos Kalatzantonakis Apr 02 '16 at 04:43
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    @strongbad indeed. I usually say "don't stay on the lab so late, don't walk back alone". I do think this situation is weird, but let's not jump too fast to conclusions, there might be an innocent explanation. That was the point I was trying to convey – Fábio Dias Apr 02 '16 at 13:09
  • Be careful, retaliation for valid sexual harassment claims tends to be the rule rather than the exception. Not that should stop you, but you should be ready for a counter attack. – Mark Rogers Apr 03 '16 at 21:25
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    Maybe you can elaborate on the possible "culture difference"? Is the instructor from another culture are are you? – FRob Apr 04 '16 at 13:08
  • To me it seems less like he wants you in your room and more like he wants you away from the lab. The video call thing is odd though, you should deny video calls or ask for a reason why at least. If he continues to be pushy insist that your webcam is broken. – Pharap Apr 04 '16 at 13:16
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    He is asking you to use your laptop, from your room, and starting a video call. I hate to go to worst case, but have your laptop scanned for software that would allow him to hijack your camera remotely, even when your video phone application is not on. –  Apr 04 '16 at 15:05
  • Your department provides you with the office and computing facilities such that you should not have to work from home on your personal computer, and you are not contractually obliged to work more than your contracted hours (which I assume you do). I would tell supervisor that you see no legitimate reason to from home or beyond normal hours. Stop responding to correspondence (emails, texts, phone calls, or video chats) outside of office hours. I also suggest getting in to the habit of follow-up emails after all non-written communications to make sure what was discussed is in writing. – rg255 Apr 05 '16 at 12:34

5 Answers5

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This sets off all kind of red flags. In the absence of an extremely good rationale, this is very strange and entirely unacceptable. I would recommend that you make an appointment with your graduate program director and discuss the situation ASAP. That person will have more background about the situation and more perspective, and can offer you better advice than we can here.

Corvus
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    Additionally, this will (1) track that you have undertaken due diligence if something does go awry, and (2) raise a warning for the department if another student has a similar complaint (maybe there already have been some). – Mikey Apr 01 '16 at 17:13
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    Making an appointment with the graduate student director before talking to the advisor directly about common issues (lab hours, phone meeting conduct) seems to me like an out of proportion response. – user1717828 Apr 01 '16 at 17:35
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    @user1717828 As a graduate program director, I can assure you that it is not at all an unusual response to situations that make a student feel uncomfortable. I am very glad when students come to me about such issues. Talking with the advisor would be fine as well -- but only if the student feels comfortable doing so. – Corvus Apr 01 '16 at 17:47
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    @user1717828 I think your characterization that these are common issues is way off. Talking about being in in the lab between 7 am and 7 pm is common, talking about working at home after 10 pm is uncommon. Similarly phone calls are common while video calls are not. – StrongBad Apr 01 '16 at 18:22
  • @StrongBad I think these things are highly dependent on field and even subfield. In physical chemistry labs, it's not uncommon to do normal 8-10 hour days. In synthetic chemistry labs, my understanding is that very, very late nights and very long hours are the norm. I also had many video calls with my advisor and other professors. – Paul Apr 02 '16 at 00:09
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    In what country/state is this located in? If you think something will happen, consider recording the video sessions as insurance. Obviously, you have to watch out for wire-tapping laws, hence that's why I was asking you in what jurisdiction you're in. Another thing you can do is to invite a study buddy to your room or have your roommate be present and have your Professor get a glimpse of that person so that he knows there is someone else in the room with you at all times. And in the event that he skypes you when no one is around, you could use an audio recording of your friend talking – Stephan Branczyk Apr 02 '16 at 02:05
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    This deserves a double or triple upvote - a director or supervisor at the same institution is in an infinitely better position to know the culture and work habits and the people involved, and if it's "okay" or not. And can really do something about it if it's not. 100 different opinions from all around the globe are interesting, but won't really fix it at the end of the day. PS. recording the skype voice & video calls could only help in case something goes really weird – Xen2050 Apr 02 '16 at 07:37
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    +1. At my university we normally have meetings between the grad students supervisor(s) and the students, just to feel the pulse of the relations --- every PhD director knows that and is ok with it. Safety belts are always good, even for good drivers. – Rmano Apr 02 '16 at 17:30
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I had a similar experience during my MS. My adviser would call me all the time (multiple times a day even after 10-11 pm) to discuss ideas and check on progress. However, at that time he was an assistant professor and only 7 years older than me (he got his PhD at 28 and was my adviser when he was 31). It was awkward at first but then it turned out that this was his personality! He was and still one of my best friends.

Regarding your case, you said that you are in your 2nd year (I assume that you are with the same adviser?), so if he did not act like this before, chances are that that not it his personality (I'm comparing my case to your case). So, this might rise a flag or two. One can assume the worst (to be safe), but let's consider these couple of scenarios first;

  1. Did/Does he do that with other students (current of former)?
  2. Does he treat you differently?
  3. Is there a deadline to your research that you do not know about? (although you said doing the tests late at night won't change anything).
  4. Are results from your research needed for a second round of a proposal (from an ongoing funding) that need to be reported soon.
  5. What about your adviser, is he an assistant/associate professor who in trying to apply for tenure (maybe need your results asap to write a paper or include it in his portfolio)?

Now, if any of the above (or others) do not apply. I would go with your gut feeling. Try to tell him that you can not work at night or you usually sleep early. Try to avoid video calls when he calls, then call him back with a phone call. Come up with excuses i.e., camera broke, lighting is bad, lag in signal, weak network etc. If he keeps on insisting, then discuss it with him. Hopefully you won't have to, as if he is smart enough, he should know that you are avoiding this type of communication. Remember that you can always discuss this manner with an academic adviser or dept. faculty.

I understand that this is a very delicate situation for you as a student, and hope things work out fine for you.

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The Guy
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    Actually, running things on a laptop is very likely slower than on the PC at work, so it can't be that. – Davidmh Apr 01 '16 at 15:18
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    I agree (for the most part i.e., especially for multi scale FE). If you are running a small macro on excel, then it should not be that much of a difference. To be honest, I was thinking in the lines of using the laptop to access the PC at office and work remotely. – The Guy Apr 01 '16 at 16:00
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    The answer is good, but I would disagree with the part about making excuses, i.e., not telling the truth. Lying and hoping he is smart enough to figure out the truth could work, but does not reflect strength and integrity. – donjuedo Apr 01 '16 at 19:32
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I think there are various possible explanations for his behaviour, from purely innocent (but thoughtless) to really creepy. My advice for you: Do not agonise about it! You cannot look inside his head, but you can take action yourself and gain more control over the situation.

About the PC and working from your room instead of the lab

Ask him why he does not want you to use the lab PC and why you should work from your room. You could introduce that question by telling him you wonder about the changed rule/policy. Does he have a reasonable answer?

  1. Yes > Good, then do so.
  2. No > Then tell him, you see no reason in why not to use this PC in the lab and you will continue using it.

About unwanted video calls

If he wants to video-call you at a time or in a situation you are not comfortable with, just deny it and offer a phone call, a written chat or ask him to delay the video call. There is no need for you to justify! Just say, you prefer another time or a different way of communication now. In contrast to some other posts, I do not recommend making excuses (broken camera or so) and hoping he gets the hint, for several reasons:

  1. Some people are really bad in getting subtle messages. They are not mean or stupid, they just lack this skill. If he belongs to that group, your situation does not change.
  2. You might feel uncomfortable with lying, even if it is a white lie. So, you would exchange one bad feeling with another. (And if he sees you video-chatting with someone else, you will need to explain things - another unwanted situation.)
  3. If he really is creepy, he might realise that his actions affect you and he might enjoy having power over you. That is the opposite of what you would want!

Thus, no excuses, but a polite refusal.

About working and calling late at night

Well, working at night is common within academia. However, make sure you are the one to decide if a night shift is necessary. Furthermore, make sure you get the corresponding rest periods as well.

One final remark

Since you mentioned possible cultural differences, I assume you have a different cultural background than your adviser. If this is the case, you could try to talk to someone from his culture and ask how to bring up the above mentioned issues to him in a way that is both clear and polite in his culture.

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    The advisors behavior is so far from normal that engaging him directly is not needed. The behavior should be brought to the attention of someone higher (e.g., department chair). – StrongBad Apr 01 '16 at 18:56
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    @StrongBad Yes, it not normal or acceptable behaviour, but not necessarily a harassment - there are a hand of weirdos in academia and some of them simply don't realise their inappropriate behaviour. – Arsak Apr 01 '16 at 19:06
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    which is why the department chair, and not the student, needs to tell the advisor that the behavior is inappropriate. – StrongBad Apr 01 '16 at 19:08
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    @StrongBad Why not let first the student tell him, and if he does not change, call higher instances? – Arsak Apr 01 '16 at 19:12
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    @Marzipanherz Why not? Because of the massive power asymmetries that exist between student and advisor. – Corvus Apr 02 '16 at 03:04
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    @Corvus Maybe this differs between countries/cultures. Where i am, there is also a power asymmetry between phd-Student and advisor. However, it would be fully acceptable to ask the advisor about his rationale behind changing lab rules or deny his video-calls. – Arsak Apr 02 '16 at 07:15
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    The dep. Chair has more information and more authority. It is part of his job. I wouldn't say full official action, but an informal chat could be revealing, and, most likely, very efficient. – Fábio Dias Apr 02 '16 at 13:14
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The not wanting you to do stuff in the lab makes me think that he wants there to be no witnesses to your work. I get less of a sexual harassment vibe off of this than I do something else hinkey that he wants to keep secret.

Bill Barth
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    I totally get a sexual harassment type vibe from the question, but if it is not sexual harassment, it is definitely something hinkey. – StrongBad Apr 01 '16 at 18:26
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    And the video calls? – cfr Apr 02 '16 at 00:46
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    @cfr, a video call, even late, is probably not sexual harassment. Asking her to work odd hours isn't either. Asking her to keep out of the lab isn't either unless he's trying to hide the video calls themselves because he finds some gratification in seeing her. This really isn't the forum to psychoanalyze the advisor based on the limited information we have. OP should discuss with someone in administration if she feels uncomfortable in this way. If the odd hours are the real bother, then I'd advise talking to university human resources about the employment conditions and best use of resources. – Bill Barth Apr 04 '16 at 14:09
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Relevant Facts:

  • You've worked for your advisor for around two years.

  • He recently asked you telecommute/Skype instead of use a lab PC for a task.

  • You have phone meetings late at night.

I just want to know what you guys think.

My thoughts are if any of these working conditions make you uncomfortable, you simply bring them up to him in person.

The information you've provided gives no basis for the insinuation that he is trying to see after-hours video of you for unscrupulous purposes. If he is a good advisor, after a brief conversation he will modify group conduct to suit you.

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user1717828
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    This whole thread seems better placed in Workplace than Academia. – user1717828 Apr 01 '16 at 17:36
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    Not really, because academics are weirder :) I wouldn't bat an eye at an mail from a phd student at 3am, nor would he/she at my answer at 3:05am... – Fábio Dias Apr 01 '16 at 17:55
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    @FábioDias as an undergrad, I was once told off by a professor for sending him an email at 3am... – Davidmh Apr 04 '16 at 13:46
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    @Davidmh Then that professor is the outlier. Mostly because e-mail is asynchronous.... Just because you sent it at 3am, doesn't mean he needs to see at 3am... – Fábio Dias Apr 04 '16 at 13:55