Hiring spouse as a post-doc

[Ruralguy]

I agree with the folks who say you need to find out if its even legal (or, if technically legal, not allowed by the school anyhow due to COI rules).

However, if that all works out, I think this seems doable to me, and not as "frowned upon" as if she
were at the beginning of her career.  For her sake, you may want to work out someone else to fill out performance evaluations and such (if even necessary). In fact, as others have stated, that might be flatly required anyway. I would definitely ask a Dean about this. This is not a "better to ask for forgiveness" thing. Its the kind of thing that could get a tenured prof in very hot water if not followed properly.

[Aster]

My wife is interested and I am considering having my wife work with me as a post-doc. My wife has PhD in science field from a reputed university and has good post-doc experience. Since we moved new to the current place, my wife gave interviews for the staff scientist/post-doc position  in other research instituion in the city and got a verbal offer. She is also slated to give two other interviews for post doc/staff scientist level of position in a different instituion.

However my wife says she would like to work with me as a post-doc. Though my research interests are not directly in her field (though out of a total of  50 publications, I have 3 publications with her in her areas of interest/expertise).

That part there is kind of odd. Is she the one exploring this option, or are you exploring it and she just agreeing with you? If the former, I have concerns that your wife is aware of the high risk of professional stigma that comes with all of the potential nepotism/conflicts of interest/favoritism concerns that others have already posted.

During her graduate training, she would have received mentoring on the "rules of the road" of the academic job market, especially for research faculty. I cannot imagine any scenario where the graduate advisor (or anyone on the dissertation committee) would think that it would be a good idea to accept a post-doc from one's spouse.

It is much more preferable for your wife to be a co-PI and/or not directly supervised by you in an employment capacity. Or maybe even a consultant, but many will probably not think that that's the hottest idea either.

Or what if she was accepted by your university under adjunct research faculty status? In my field, this is very commonly done for government, NGO, and private scientists who directly collaborate with faculty but require a formal affiliation with a university (e.g. for grants). An adjunct status would give her access to university resources and a professional place to hang her hat.

[kerprof]

My wife is interested and I am considering having my wife work with me as a post-doc. My wife has PhD in science field from a reputed university and has good post-doc experience. Since we moved new to the current place, my wife gave interviews for the staff scientist/post-doc position  in other research instituion in the city and got a verbal offer. She is also slated to give two other interviews for post doc/staff scientist level of position in a different instituion.

However my wife says she would like to work with me as a post-doc. Though my research interests are not directly in her field (though out of a total of  50 publications, I have 3 publications with her in her areas of interest/expertise).

That part there is kind of odd. Is she the one exploring this option, or are you exploring it and she just agreeing with you? If the former, I have concerns that your wife is aware of the high risk of professional stigma that comes with all of the potential nepotism/conflicts of interest/favoritism concerns that others have already posted.

During her graduate training, she would have received mentoring on the "rules of the road" of the academic job market, especially for research faculty. I cannot imagine any scenario where the graduate advisor (or anyone on the dissertation committee) would think that it would be a good idea to accept a post-doc from one's spouse.

It is much more preferable for your wife to be a co-PI and/or not directly supervised by you in an employment capacity. Or maybe even a consultant, but many will probably not think that that's the hottest idea either.

Or what if she was accepted by your university under adjunct research faculty status? In my field, this is very commonly done for government, NGO, and private scientists who directly collaborate with faculty but require a formal affiliation with a university (e.g. for grants). An adjunct status would give her access to university resources and a professional place to hang her hat.

My wife was the one who brought this option. I think the "adjunct research faculty status" or say "visiting research faculty status" would be fine if everyone is OK with it and that way my wife has a professional place to get going and she could be officially reporting to chair but paid with my post-doc start up money and my wife and I can collaborate/submit grants etc.,

[kerprof]

I am also planning to meet (later this week) with a professor in my institution who may be needing  help with the expertise that my wife has.  If this collabortion works out, there is a possibility of steady stream of collaborative work.

Please advise if it would be a good idea to take my wife for the meeting later this week with the professor in my institution that I was referring earlier.

[kerprof]

What does your chair or dean think about this?  Were it me in her/his position, there's no way in hell I would approve this hire.

I have not brought this to my chair or dean about this yet.

[dr_codex]

I am also planning to meet (later this week) with a professor in my institution who may be needing  help with the expertise that my wife has.  If this collabortion works out, there is a possibility of steady stream of collaborative work.

Please advise if it would be a good idea to take my wife for the meeting later this week with the professor in my institution that I was referring earlier.

Nobody on an anonymous comment board can do this. No amount of information that you provide will make it so. You need to find out what the rules on the ground are, where you are. These include laws; conditions of grants; institutional policies; disciplinary norms; and, local politics.

As others have said, my place would not allow spousal supervision (by policy), without an alternate chain of reporting. I work in the same department as my spouse, so I've paid particular attention to this policy, as it has rolled out. My state also has anti-nepotism laws, for public institutions.

I hope it works out, for both of you. But it sounds like a really bad idea.

[fizzycist]

Kerprof,

I am counting 9 ppl in this thread saying bad idea and 2 saying maybe ok. And yet you seem to be only listening to the 2 who say maybe ok. And still asking for more advice?

Sounds like you made your mind up and hoping to get confirmation here, but it isn't going to happen.

Just to reiterate: it is a terrible idea for a spouse to do a postdoc with another spouse. Research assistant prof acting as super-postdoc paid by spouse is not any better. Meeting with potential collaborators, chairs, deans, whatever to discuss the possibility is also a very bad idea.

But best of luck and hope, for your sake, the consensus here is wrong.

[mamselle]

Have you checked if it's even legal in your state?

Have you asked your Research Support office if they would ever agree to it?

Because of the potential for collusion and graft, some states won't even let married or blood relatives work in the same department in a department store together.

M.

[Kron3007]

I also think this is a bad idea. Perhaps it would be worth considering if she didn't have other prospects, but I think it would be better for her to explore the other options first.

There are many reasons this would be bad for both of you, but here are some:

1) it will look bad on her CV.  I assume she would like a permenant position eventually.  If I see someone working for their spouse on a CV, it does not look good, it looks like (and is) nepotism.  How much stock would you put in an LOR from someone's spouse?

2) it will setup a weird dynamic in your lab.  If you have a grad student that has an issue with your spouse, what could they do?  You would not be impartial in conflict resolution. 

3) you are new in your position.  Many in your department will view this poorly, as demonstrated on this forum.  I don't think it is a good way to start your position.

4) I love my wife, but don't think I would want to spend every waking hour with them.  It would also result in endless shop talk at home.  This would drive me crazy.

[polly_mer]

I am also planning to meet (later this week) with a professor in my institution who may be needing  help with the expertise that my wife has.  If this collabortion works out, there is a possibility of steady stream of collaborative work.

Please advise if it would be a good idea to take my wife for the meeting later this week with the professor in my institution that I was referring earlier.

This is a bad idea.

[kerprof]

My wife attended another interview yesterday in another institution in the city and says she likes the environment there and most
probably will take that post-doc job.

I hope she gets that job and be happy with it. That way I dont get into a messy situation by trying to have her work in my research group.

Thanks for all your wise suggestions. This fora /old CHE fora  has been of such an immense help throughout my academic career.

[Aster]

I too also hope that your wife accepts the post-doc at another institution!

It should be win-win-win for everybody. You, her, and the institution that she will be working at.

[Ruralguy]

Yes, even if you were to be 100% above board with everything, there would still be colleagues thinking "Is that even legal?" and making dumb "sleeping with the boss" jokes.

[the_geneticist]

Even if it's legal to hire your wife to work for you, it may NOT be legal to hire her as a postdoc.  Lots of agencies are cracking down on the "any position that isn't faculty, but requires a Ph.D is a postdoc" jobs.   A postdoc is meant to be a specific training period immediately following a Ph.D.  It should include mentoring and have a clear end point (e.g. can't be postdoc for more than 3 years in the same lab on the same project).  Check with the funding agency to see what restrictions are in place for hiring a postdoc. 
That being said, I also think it's a very bad idea to hire a spouse to work for you.  The power dynamic at work is very unequal.  And it can make your personal lives tense or complicated. 
I hope that your wife finds and accepts another position.