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When to keep your mouth shut
We have a situation at work where non-tenured faculty were given an opportunity to annonymously write a letter to be read at the all campus faculty meeting concerning how we think the work load for us is unfair and to describe our situations. I really didn't want to, but I have been very upset lately about how I work my full load plus some and there are 2 other professors in my department who don't teach full load, yet still get full time paid.
So, I wrote a letter describing the situation and it was read aloud to everyone. We are a small university with about 70 full time faculty, so I became pretty clear who wrote each letter.
Afterwards, my department chair (who I normally get along with really well) wouldn't even speak to me and there is HUGE amount of tension in the office. The worst part is that nothing will probably change due to the letters and meeting. It just made everyone very uncomfortable. I should have just kept my mouth shut.
Sorry to rant, but I am feeling really uncomfortable about it all. Thanks for listening.
Re: When to keep your mouth shut
Wow, whose idea was that? Sounds like a bad idea to me.
I don't think you were wrong to write a letter, if that was the point of the meeting. It just sucks that now there is tension and nothing is really going to be done about it. Sorry hun :-(
Wow, I can't imagine the awkwardness. Do you think the letters will eventually have to be brought up again or will everything blow over in a bit?
Whoever thought this was a good idea is nuts. Non-tenured don't have the job security and it seems silly to single those people out to be given the chance to say something that could ruin their relationships with coworkers or possibly hinder their career. And as you alluded, the anonymous letters weren't so anonymous.
I've unfortunately learned from experience that when it comes to other people's jobs or work ethic, never criticize. Only speak up if coworkers are doing something illegal or something that HR would need to know about.
I made a comment about a coworker to some other coworkers concerning her lack of work ethic. I was hired to take over almost 1/2 her workload because she was falling farther and farther behind, though she lied and said she actually had too much work to do. And no wonder, because every time I would go to see her about something, she'd be on the computer searching Orlando Bloom fan sites (no joke). I made a comment to some other women about it and how lazy she was. Big time mistake. Though my boss never got involved, I could tell from the way people acted around me that I should never have said anything and instead let the company deal with this woman.
Do the creep.
There were two of us that wrote letters. I think they thought that if we were given the chance to write them annonymously, then we would be OK. When we are at all faculty meetings, the non-tenured folks NEVER talk. This is because we know our jobs are on the line. I think this is what they saw as their way to hear our voice. I should have known better.
I am hoping that it all blows over. I think my solution is to teach my classes and work in my office with the door shut for a while until it all clears.
Hm... that seems strange. I get the intention of allowing you to write letters, but if there aren't very many non-tenured teachers, wouldn't they be able to figure out who wrote them?
Good luck. Hopefully things to back to normal for you soon.
This really makes me upset!
Why ask a question if you don't really want an answer? I'm sorry you're getting the cold shoulder when you were only doing exactly what was asked of you.
IMO, if they asked for it, they needed to be prepared for the kind of responses they were going to get, and they needed to caution the tenured teachers to not be a$$hats about it, apparently.
Sad that you're working with a bunch of babies, Miss. They need an adult time-out til they remember the days before they were tenured and lazy...then maybe they'll behave again.
Thanks for being upset! I really hate the tenure process. I know I might feel differently when I am on the other side of the table, but right now I hate it. No other profession has it, so how does it make sense that we do?
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