Reflecting on Academic Kindness

At the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, the PostDoc Office reflects on the concept of Academic Kindness. From Dec 22 onwards, a series of postings on our LinkedIn account will draw attention to six dimensions of kindness in everyday interactions in academia. Below is a summary for those not on social media! 

Introduction

Giving one's time and attention to aid someone else’s work: that's an example of kindness in academia. Can kindness go beyond the interpersonal, to the organisational dimension?

As a researcher, you might have experienced academic kindness when:

• a more experienced scholar mentors you
• peers take time to edit your work, gift their phrases and subject matter expertise
• information is shared freely, so all have the same access to opportunities
• colleagues participate in a greater cause that doesn't serve an immediate purpose for them personally
• people you meet encourage you and highlight your strengths, also to others

You might also have had opposite experiences:

•  witnessing game of thrones-like wars between research approaches,
•  inappropriately harsh public criticism,
• carelessness in the duty towards early-career colleagues,
•  glorification of over-work, etc.

These instances can make one question if one should stay in this sector. To make academia a good workplace for all those who have something to contribute to research and education, it's worthwile to focus on the concept of academic kindness. 

There are current examples for kindness as a mode of organisational development, e.g. from Scotland and the Netherlands, heavily centered around teamspirit and collegiality:

• Utrecht University puts a lot of thought into changes in recognition and reward systems, towards an openscience culture in which "colleagues are willing to help one another, pay attention to diversity, and are open to sharing our knowledge". 
• The University of Glasgow, University of Edinburgh and University of St Andrews are just kicking off a 3mio Wellcome Trust funded collaboration to "identify and overcome the barriers to a more equitable, inclusive and kinder research culture".

These exciting initatives are inspired by and will inspire the many ongoing changes in the higher education sector (research assessment, the validity of distinct staff categories, job security, leadership skills, ...). 

Organisations have to have rules in place to encourage good professional conduct and fair, healthy working environments. It can't be on individuals only to negotiate gaps in the system, to be "kind to one another". Therefore, we'll take a lot of note of initiatives like those above for our work at the Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz!

Example No 1: the work of persons who support junior colleagues and act as mentors and supervisors.

Many researchers thrive when they receive mentorship that is empowering, makes visible opportunities, shows an understanding of their specific circumstances, and encourages professional development. To quote the academic kindness tumblr blog:

• "My supervisor believed in me and my ability to learn, gave me heaps of constructive feedback and was always willing to praise the work that I did. A senior colleague offered to pay for a graduate student to do several hours of work for me every week this summer to ensure I make my tenure deadlines."

Providing mentorship can be joyful and fulfilling. It’s satisfying to have a part in someone else’s success. Especially for those who haven’t had the most easy path in academia themselves. In that sense, support for junior colleagues is essential for a more diverse and equal academia.

But it must be stressed: Mentoring and supervision are academic care work. They require time, skills, and emotional stamina. They need to be recognized in tenure, hiring, funding decisions. 

Rayne et al (2023) call for the science system as whole to enhance reciprocal relationships of care. If you are interested in how they describe the care for the community, read this paper:  

• Rayne A., Arahanga-Doyle H., Cox B., Cox MP., Febria CM., Galla SJ., Hendy SC., Locke K., Matheson A. and Pawlik A. (2023) Collective action is needed to build a more just science system. Nature Human Behaviour 7(7): 1034-1037.

Example No 2: Acknowledging workload limits – your own and those of others.

Give each other respite from the „theatrical performance of productivity“ in academia. Sometimes, we can get a sneaky feeling that everyone else is working longer and better than we are. It can feel impossible to communicate that your productivity has limits.

These quotes (real-life examples, but anonymized) evidence the balancing act required:

• "Hearing university leadership say publicly that working through the weekends is normal for a successful researcher made me feel really inadequate."
• "I am so glad to have found a team in which I can freely voice that I will not work more hours than I am paid for in my contract."
• "Due to a previous illness, I have to be careful not to overwork myself. My supervisor let me know at the start of my contract that my contributions are very valuable and are enough, even if I don’t always work full-time."

Professor Megan MacKenzie reminds us that it’s especially hard for early-career researchers. She cautions against toxic career advice:

• „It also creates the impression that individuals that do get jobs have just worked harder than those who didn’t, which – again - ignores both structural privileges and the ways that hiring committees work.“

Since overwork doesn't equal job success, how about this experiment in academic kindness:

We reward each other and ourselves for being conscious of our boundaries and energy limits. What could that look like?

• If you feel you have done enough, be vocal about it. The Better Science Initiative emphasises that when you are satisfied with your own performance, you have a positive effect on your working environment.
• Have open conversations about where your work must be excellent and where "good" is good enough.
• Appreciate the colleague who leaves on time, who always takes a lunch/exercise break, who is really committed to her weekly board-game night, who spends long weekends at cosplay conventions or on hikes with his family.
• Treat sick-leave, early nights, unavailablity because of care responsibilities as matter-of-factly as possible.
• Encourage an atmosphere in the team that allows everyone to say "no" to tasks if they would be overwhelming, and try together to find fair ways to distribute work.

This has the potential to make academia a more accessible workplace.

Example No 3: Thanking authors of publications you use in research or teaching; letting them know how their work has made a positive impact.

Philipp Schulz, researcher at University of Bremen writes:

• "… we too seldom just articulate positive, affirmative, encouraging and generous feedback about something we truly enjoyed reading, and from which we benefited intellectually, politically or even personally."

Giving and receiving feedback is a practice academics are very used to. Through peer reviews, after conference presentations, or in funding or hiring decisions, assessments are made.

Often, there is constructive criticsm meant to inspire improvements. Sometimes, feedback is less constructive and more hostile; an act of gate-keeping, targetting women and other underrepresented groups much more frequently.

To counteract this on an individual level, we can be generous with our praise, if we find a work of research useful or inspiring. It can make someone's day or even week to learn that their work gets noticed!

Schulz shares from his teaching practice, that he and his students:

• "… let the authors know how we engaged with their work, to recognize and thank them for their work, and to share with them how this has been beneficial for us."

Why not try this out - yourself, with your students, or encourage it among your team, and see what you get back!

• Read on: Philipp Schulz (2020): Practicing Academic Kindness in the Classroom: Toolbox Blog: Gender- und Diversitykompetenz für die Lehre

Example No 4: Using your power and voice for others‘ benefit.

Are individual acts of kindness futile in an unjust system? Personal experiences and research show academia is not a level playing field. To name but a few examples:

• those who take time out to care for elders or children can be negatively assessed because of “gaps” in their CVs
• faculty of color can be targets of biased teaching evaluations
• graduates who do not have financially secure backgrounds cannot even afford to pursue a career that starts with a long series of short-term contracts

So what does it matter if you write someone a random email of praise or take a training to use less ableist or sexist language? Are you in fact masking discrimination if you engage in everyday "wellbeing" efforts?

 Sociologist Kris De Welde writes:

• „…organizational transformation can (and does) happen through people and their actions if those individuals have as their end goal a broader purpose for justice and equity.“

What could that look like in practice?

• Collective efforts, aimed at changing institutional processes and policies
• Using the power you might hold for those with less power, with no need for personal gain or expectation of reciprocity
• Persons in leadership roles who recognize injustices and take opportunities to advocate on behalf of others

So a wider understanding of kindness can be: Recognizing unjust systems and processes as the backdrop to our everyday interactions, and embracing our responsibility to actively support change.

What instances of „academic solidarity“ have you witnessed or been part of?

• Read on: Kris De Welde (2022). Minding and Mending the Gap between Academic Kindness and Academic Justice. Queer STS Forum, 7, 54-65

Example No 5: Talk well about each other & amplify others' accomplishments.

Is someone you know doing a good job? Tell others about it & be specific!

• What's their name and current location / position?
• In what context have you witnessed their good work?
• What specifically impressed you about them?
• How might this be relevant to the person you are talking to currently?
• How has your own research, daily practice, overall work been impacted by this person?
• Where can one find examples of the good work of this person?

This can be done without a specific goal in mind. But it can also serve the purpose of bringing attention to the accomplishments of persons who are part of a minority in academia. In that case, keep in mind to do it when:

• a job opening is coming up at your department
• someone seeks a co-organizer for a panel
• collaborators in a funding proposal are needed
• keynote speakers are wanted

Suddenly, it might seem that there are so many talented people who could be approached!

The practice of talking well about others has been developed into a leadership tool by Zita Küng from Switzerland. The goal is to aid organisations in recruiting the best women for leadership positions. It is called Die Gute Nachrede ® . The PostDoc Office can fund coaching sessions with Zita Küng.

Example No 6: Sustainable research practices.

How can researchers reduce negative impact on the environment?

Among the critical areas are travel by you or your research participants, computing, lab equipment, waste generated, impact on field sites - and many more. Here are some suggestions you could try:

• Assess energy use of research-related travel and modify where possible (consortium meetings, conference presentations, field work...); use the Carbon Tracer: CarbonTracer (uni-graz.at)
• Open access publishing is a way to avoid wasted resources from duplicating research
• When designing your research, map out how to make openly accessibly any materials, data, software that could be of value to others in academia or industry
• Be alert in your working area and report it if equipment isn't working efficiently; turn off equipment if not in use; do your part for recycling
• Estimate the carbon footprint of your computation with Green Algorithms:Green Algorithms | Green Algorithms (green-algorithms.org)

Educating yourself, sharing useful tools, advocating with leadership, accessing specific sustainability funding schemes are also ways to be kind to the environment as a researcher. 

Text: Johanna Stadlbauer, PostDoc Office, December 2023