Were You Hazed?
 

Have you ever had an experience ON YOUR JOB (past or present) where you have felt like you were being hazed? (Ya'll thought I was going elsewhere with the topic, huh? :p )

Yesterday, I chatted with a colleague. At the end of the year, our department has to go through various steps including the department head must "check us out". So, this colleague decides she's going to do it HER way. So, her records had not been completed by our last day of school. So, at this time, she is at the mercy of the department head. Mind you, if you don't have the chair's signature, you cannot complete your process. So, it's 2 weeks after we are out. This colleague is STILL trying to get her signature from the department chair. There were several days where my colleague came to the school for a set appointment, but it was hours later that the chair would return. LOL (but it's not funny) So, this is an account of someone (IMO) was 'hazed on the job.'

Sidenote: This same colleague "checked out" with the same department chair yesterday. :D

I had a job where going to happy hour wasn't mandatory to keep your job, but it was crucial if you wanted to get the good assignments. When they lost their biggest client those who had been to happy hours got lined up with new jobs at good firms, those who hadn't gone to happy hour had to hunt through the classifieds.

I think most people are probably 'hazed' on the job in some way. Especially if a raise is dependent on esoteric performance, which it should not be, like going to happy hour with your co-workers. It is not mandatory, but it made a difference. I think hazing on the job occurs most often when you start working for a company. 'They' will try to give you difficult clients / assignments or put you through the 'ropes' just to see if you can handle it.

In graduate school--OH do they haze for Ph.D.'s...

I felt like I was on line for 8 years before I got my Ph.D. Then I wondered what all the HAYLE was for afterward. Then I got a sorry printed diploma without it being engraved nor embossed with the scripted fonts or anything... Total BS...

Then for my first post-doctoral experience in Dallas, Texas, if you failed to participate in the "journal club" in our field, you were ostracized by both the faculty and the other post-docs... Needless to say, I fully participated in "journal club".

I saw this post and I had to respond. I had to echo what AKA_Monet said about grad school. I am in the first year of getting my PhD and although I do not pay monetarily for it, the form of currency is with my blood, sweat and tears...literally. Faculty members believe that your nose should be to the grindstone. You should not be sleeping or eating...you should be living your research project. And if you're not, you get no attention. I'll be doing this for the next 5 years or so, so this craziness will be my life.

YES!!! YES!!! YES!!! I would have to agree. When I was working towrds my Masters and PhD I would say I was academically hazed. So. True. Some in grad school were hazed, some were not...go figure. For example, the 'big' presentation in my department when working towrds my PhD was to present your research during summer seminar. It was mandatory for some students, but not all. It was so obvious what was going on.

I think grad school hazing has more to do with trying to weed some people out. Here again, it sometimes has to do with esoteric issues.

Ahhh, I know your struggle. What you are saying is true. Faculty members do feel that way. My best advice is to keep a life outside grad school. As time goes on as you are getting more involved in your project, it will become very important to maintain balance in your life. Do what makes your happy.

Here are a few things I did:

1. I always tried to make sure to not work more that 10 hours a day in the lab. I learned this the hard way....

2. Also, if you can do it, try not to work 7 - 8 days straight without a break.

3. Stay involved in your community through church, your sorority or volunteer efforts. Maintaining contact with people outside grad school will help keep you grounded.

4. Take time to exercise. It sounds simple and obvious, but it needs to be done. I started yoga in grad school and I'm glad I did. Yoga helped to relieve so much stress.

5. Keep your hobbies, or start one. I started needlepointing and knitting. The repetative motion of stiching was calming.

6. Enjoy your project. It is yours. No one else will know more than you will about your project. You will become the expert on your topic and people will come to you.

I am hazed *daily*. I am an associate at a lawfirm so basically, the partners haze the associates. You're d*mned if you do x one way b/c partner y will think that it is all wrong, even though partner z loves it...and it's all your fault all the time. You can not be right basically. LOL, yes, it's a haze. If you want to become a partner one day, you accept the hazing (or try to avoid the more premiere hazers). It is a very hierarchical system. I have been saying that this is basically one very long haze and that associates are basically on line.

When I was getting my M.S., doing my thesis research, etc., I didn't feel like I was being hazed. Maybe it was my supernice research advisor. Now lawschool...well, that was another story. It wasn't terribly hard (unlike my M.S. program) it was just basically who would stay up all night long to get everything done. First year of lawschool was a loooooong haze.

I agree with Sigmadiva that it is important to keep a balanced life. It really helps to put things into perspective. Spend time with friends, family, exercise helps to reduce stress also. I even took a yoga class while in lawschool. That really helped.

At the end of the day, we just have to remember to keep in mind what our limits are and not let others impose their limits on us to the point that we are terribly unhappy b/c we are doing waaay more and going waaaaay past our own personal limits. I have learned that at the end of the day, if we fall out in the lab, classroom or office dead, they will basically push us out of our seats and fill it with another body before we even get cold so try not to stress so much and keep it all in perspective. I know personally that it's easier said than done when you're going through it.

SC

I was working in a homeless shelter a few years ago where the middle management people were hazed constantly (esp. Christians). One instance was when we HAD to donate a percentage of our salary back to the organization. I was paying back student loans, credit card debt, my car note, rent , etc. (and not making much to begin with) so I donated a small percentage. I got harassed by upper mgmnt with veiled threats of reducing my salary if I didn't donate more.

Also, quite a few members of the upper management (and others) would send forwards, chain mail, and all other forms of spam to everyone in the company about everything including controversial topics and gay pride topics. I decided to forward an email about Jesus to everyone. There was nothing in the mail that chastised anyone or was "preachy". It simply mentioned how he has been influential for so many years. After that, one of the gay managers emailed my supervisor about me sending offensive mail because 'not everyone wants to read that'. I went to his office and told him that if he had a complaint, to tell me personally instead of involving others. He said he didn't know me well enough. I said that this wasn't the best way to get to know me. Additionally, I told him that if he didn't want to read it, he could have simply deleted it after reading the subject line-- just like I do to all of the spam they send. I told my supervisor everything I told him just in case she got any ideas (she called herself a priestess and was into witchcraft).

At that point, I really didn't care anymore. I was ready to go.

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've been working with this corporation for almost 3 months now and I've already had to let a few folks now.

There have been small instances that have occured that let me know that if I was an old head, I wouldn't have had to deal with it.

One day me and the girl who used to be the "new girl before me"were talking. I was telling her about where I wanted to sit and she told me "Oh nooooo, I want that area and I've been here longer than you so you can take my desk". Heffa Please!! You are not an O.S.!!!! This is the same heffa who asked me "Oh you are going home already *peek at the clock*, what time did you come in?" Ohhhhhhhh my goodness get out of my business, you are on my level. You are notttttt the manager and because of that, that was my response. "You are not P. so why you worried about it?"

"Down with _ _ _ _ _y!!!!!!!!"

Now I am the youngest and the only African-American woman on my team. There is only one other AA and it seems he is feeling that he must "show me the way". Little does he know that I know he has recently been demoted, so all his advice ain't good advice. His attitude is just not right, whatsoever, but I digress. He is always coming around and trying to get me to go meet with our clients. What I didn't know was he was doing this because he doesn't want to go by himself and noone else will go. I got hip to his game because I didn't know that I didn't have to go, so now I tell him I'm busy. Knowing I ain't because I be on GC too doggone much. He recently came over here and told me he was going to pass some of his accounts to me for help, if he ever needed it. Mind you he told me, not asked me. So once again I had to tell him I don't have a problem with that as long as you let me know and I am not busy with my own.

I swear I'm a neo in every since of the word. From Spring 2004 and beyond...............................

I feel hazed everyday when I deal with both my students and the administrators at my school!

i get hazed up all the time.

boss has some wood in his office.

lol, just playing.

but being the youngest engineer...i get hemmed up on my abilities all the time. don't even let me tell you about being 25 and going to a construction site. but i have a backbone, so i actually enjoy conflict with the contractors.

Thanks for the tips soror! I'm first year PhD, and my department must have invented academic hazing! I think most of the students have a drinking problem as a coping mechanism.

wuss...leave the bottle alone, you lush.

Can I please vent?
 

If there is anyone out there that is the legal field, law student, lawyer, I think that may be able to relate to this topic. As a law student, you have to do research on the firms that you are interested before you interview. If you are lucky to be selected for an interview, you then have to be concerned about getting a "call back" interview. At "call back" interview, you are there anywhere between 4-6 hours at a law firm meeting with different attorneys in firm (BTW, these are just for big law firms). This is all for the sole purpose of attys seeing if they can deal with working with someone, letting them handle cases, etc.

Now, if a law student is lucky to be hired for a clerkship, then the clerkship is truly the "pledging" and/or "hazing" period. Some clerks work seven days a week and 12-15 hour days.

And then at the end of the day, after all of this over, you may still not even get the job.