Pax Scientia: How to Keep the Peace in the Lab and Field

Workplace conflict is a factor in most people’s jobs, including scientific researchers.

In a research lab or at a field site, however, mild conflicts can be intensified by demanding working conditions—whether they be small physical spaces, short deadlines, or shoestring budgets—in addition to a great deal of shared space and equipment. Not to mention shared reagents, a perpetual source of contention amongst lab mates. At a field site, there’s the added challenge of being with the same small group of people around the clock for weeks or even months at a time.

Though conflict is bound to arise under these circumstances, how we deal with it, and whether there are protocols in place for doing so, can make the difference between having minor, occasional flare-ups or major confrontations that create a toxic workplace.

We ran a poll on Twitter last year asking people about their top sources of lab and field site conflict. The three facets of research life that people cited as being the biggest issues were keeping common areas tidy (38%), sharing equipment and reagents (35%), and following lab rules (21%). Music and other noise levels came in a distant fourth at 6%.

Hello #ScienceTwitter: When conflict arises among your co-workers in the lab/field, what is the most common source? PLS RT and tweet us your thoughts—thank you! #STEM #ActualLivingScientist

— CanadianSciencePub (@cdnsciencepub) December 11, 2017

The thing these issues all have in common is that they tend to be passive; people get into a hurry and don’t think about how what they’re doing (or not doing) may affect others.

Their co-workers, in turn, may take it personally when their workflow gets interrupted and they have to complete extra tasks that slow their progress. It’s a lack of consideration, not intentional rudeness or hostility… which fortunately makes passive conflicts easier to effectively deal with using routines and protocols.

With that in mind, here are some strategies for dealing with passive problems causing strife in your research group, whether you’re a PI looking to create a conflict avoidance and resolution framework, or a student helping to create a positive workspace.

Have Policies Already in Place

The fact that the same issues tend to come up in every research group makes it practical to deal with the obvious ones ahead of time. Brainstorming as a group to come up with protocols and codes of conduct that avoid or minimize recurring problems, as well as what happens when rules do get broken or ignored, helps to remove emotion from heated situations.

Do dishes need to be cleaned as they’re used, or can they be left to accumulate until the end of the day? Does the laminar flow hood or lab vehicle run by sign-up sheet, or on a first-come-first-served basis? And if you don’t show up for your time slot, how soon can another user assume the equipment is available?

All these are good types of questions to think about and answer before they happen, or at least to codify once they come up the first time.

Get Everyone on the Same Page

In order to make sure everyone, including new additions to the group, understand what’s expected, some labs have all members read and formally agree to a list of rules and protocols. This ensures everyone knows what’s expected, and is especially valuable as time goes on and new members come to the group.

It can be hard to keep track of whether all new students are aware of the rules if they’re being conveyed informally. This strategy leaves no doubt that everyone is aware of how things are supposed to work.

Check in Regularly

It’s important to create time to meet regularly as a lab and allow people to discuss what is and isn’t working in a non-confrontational way. This can help research groups to get out in front of any arising issues.

If some members feel that work is being compromised by a lack of tidiness on the benches, or that people aren’t taking proper steps to ensure equipment is used and stored properly while in the field, a group discussion of how everyone’s behaviour might need to change can provide solutions before someone gets really upset or has their hard work ruined.

Introduce Rotations

For ongoing, repetitive lab chores, such as routine cleaning, making stock solutions of reagents, or washing dishes, it can be helpful to introduce a schedule.

Rather than trying to track down who owns that one mouldy flask that’s been in the sink for weeks, create a rotation whereby everyone takes turns doing lab dishes for a week (or a given day of the week – how this works will depend a lot on how many dishes your lab produces). Similarly, have each lab member take a turn keeping common working areas neat for a week. For those with messier inclinations, knowing they’ll have to do this task for others later should help them to not leave an unreasonable mess now.

In the field, this can look like a cooking schedule, an after-dinner dish-washing rota, or a schedule for taking turns cleaning and organizing equipment.

Have a Complaint Hierarchy

Small problems can escalate in terms of hurt feelings if issues that could have been dealt with quietly get taken straight to the top of the ladder. Have a protocol in place that dictates the steps to be taken when conflict arises.

For example, disputes can first be discussed between the two aggrieved parties. If this doesn’t work, or isn’t possible, the dispute can then be taken to a senior technician or other senior member of the lab to work through. If this also doesn’t resolve the problem, then the lab manager or PI may need to be called in.

Sometimes, taking the time to talk to the ‘wrongdoer’ first can reveal that they’re just having a tough or unusually busy week and this was a one-time problem. Always give your co-workers the benefit of the doubt when you can and keep lines of communication open.

Spend Some Downtime Together

It’s amazing how much resentment and interpersonal conflict can be avoided just by remembering that your colleagues are whole people with their own lives and interests outside of research, rather than merely figures in your workplace landscape. The best way to get this perspective is to spend some time together outside of work activities.

The most collegial lab I ever worked in was one that took planned coffee breaks together twice a day. It may have cut a half hour or so out of the workday, but this was more than made up for by our having a group that really liked and respected each other, and genuinely wanted to help advance each other’s work. Periodic after-hours activities can work, too: the important thing is to see each other in a different context and get to know one another.

Disagreements between co-workers are inevitable, but with planning, regular check-ins, and a bit of extracurricular bonding amongst group members, escalation and grudges can be avoided. Scientific research is full of busy, motivated people who are often under a fair bit of stress and pressure to get results, which can make it easy to overlook the little things, like remembering to remake that buffer everyone uses.

Acrimony and hurt feelings can dampen people’s enthusiasm, slow down work, and even result in good people leaving a research group. It’s worth the extra time and planning to make sure there is as little strife as possible in the lab and field.