What do you need for good working conditions?

[Caracal]

I haven't experienced a situation where good shared office space exists and yet the expectation is to bring one's own laptop and phone.  Part of the problem with the expectation of bringing one's own laptop is often the expectation extends to the idea that one can find somewhere to sit in the library or the student union building.  Having a shared bull pen with space for storage (papers and coat/lunch) along with desk space, computers, and office phones was a much better experience in teaching, even only being on campus one day per week for about 4 hours.

Well the basic issue is that if full time faculty have laptops they are likely to be ones provided by the school and can therefore hook up to the network and printer. The system just isn't designed for people bringing their own computers. (For what its worth most of the annoying things I've encountered as an adjunct are in this category. It is just that nobody has really bothered to think through how something might work for people who aren't full time)

This particular problem isn't one I have though. I really just use the desktop in the office as a printing station since I prefer to have everything for class on my laptop, but I still need the computer to print anything.

I'd also point out that shared office space can mean a lot of things from a shared office with someone who teaches on opposite days to you, to a crowded room with 6 other people in it.

[downer]

The place I work at has a number rooms for adjunct faculty. It's not clear that they are discipline-specific. I haven't checked out the rooms for a lot of other disciplines, but I have used 2. No one asks questions.

There are supposedly rules against food in there, and also against meeting with undergraduates there. It's not a bad rule actually since I don't want to hear other people going over work with their students. But then you need to make special arrangements to meet with the students, which is annoying.

[spork]

I am going to interpret "good working conditions" as "what I need to do my job as effectively as is reasonably possible."

As a department chair, I need accurate and timely data on enrollment patterns and cost accounting. If you want me to generate reports on how well my department is performing, then I need that information. But no, you don't provide it, because you don't have anyone working the back end of our information systems who knows how to properly collect and collate this data.

As a department chair and an instructor, I need a user interface for course rosters that allows me to find out what students' majors are, who their advisors are, etc. But I don't get that either.

[mahagonny]

I am going to interpret "good working conditions" as "what I need to do my job as effectively as is reasonably possible."

As a department chair, I need accurate and timely data on enrollment patterns and cost accounting. If you want me to generate reports on how well my department is performing, then I need that information. But no, you don't provide it, because you don't have anyone working the back end of our information systems who knows how to properly collect and collate this data.

As a department chair and an instructor, I need a user interface for course rosters that allows me to find out what students' majors are, who their advisors are, etc. But I don't get that either.

Come to think of it, I've never been asked what I need for good working conditions. And being not entirely stupid, I've never told anyone.

[revert79]

I also hate the computer with no monitor and just a projector..."To Stop Further Collection Efforts, Call Pacific Northwest Student Loans Immediately" is a lame email for all my students to see as I try to access Google Drive for my slide lecture.  No laptop on loan from school and can't afford my own.  Having no storage is uncool.  No prayer area for Muslims (maybe that's asking a bit much).  No benefits.  Etc.

But seriously I used to work in a factory, the perks were we got free pretzels, 15-minute breaks (unpaid) when the whistle blew, and could go home early when the temperature hit 110 degrees inside.  For like $9/hr.  Adjuncting is sort of hard and undignified in some ways but it's also heaven.  I get to talk about my intellectual interests, demonstrate artmaking techniques, and hang around in museums. And get paid for it.  No whistles or enforced pretzel-eating.   Anybody else know what I mean?

[Parasaurolophus]

I'm about to need functional white board markers.

[polly_mer]

I am going to interpret "good working conditions" as "what I need to do my job as effectively as is reasonably possible."

As a department chair, I need accurate and timely data on enrollment patterns and cost accounting. If you want me to generate reports on how well my department is performing, then I need that information. But no, you don't provide it, because you don't have anyone working the back end of our information systems who knows how to properly collect and collate this data.

As a department chair and an instructor, I need a user interface for course rosters that allows me to find out what students' majors are, who their advisors are, etc. But I don't get that either.

Come to think of it, I've never been asked what I need for good working conditions. And being not entirely stupid, I've never told anyone.

Huh.  One recurring question I answer at job interviews is what I need for good working conditions and so I have told lots of people.  At my current job, when I discovered I didn't have good enough working conditions, I kept going up the line until the people who could make the changes made the changes.  I have gotten praise from my management chain for fixing problems for everyone.

At a place I was adjuncting one day per week, I was trusted with keys including one to the office supply cabinet.  As a grad student at various places, I was trusted with keys to the building.  TT at Super-Dinky College and in charge of the accreditation report?  Not trusted with keys to the building, despite often working during non-standard hours and needing access to my office.

Does any place use card access for any of these spaces? We* have cards here that give access to buildings, but I'm not aware of them being used for specific rooms. That would seem to be a decent solution, since the list could be updated every term, and like hotels, a lost card wouldn't require "re-keying" the place.

*I know full-time faculty and staff get them; I'm not sure about part-time. Since I warrant one from my full-time "day job", I don't know if I'd get one otherwise.

The problem with the key cards at my last experience was some ultra-security-conscious-evening-locker would flip the mechanical thumb lock on the main building door because the door tended to rattle in the wind.  The mechanical thumb lock was not controlled by the key card reader.  Thus, swiping the key card did not unlock the door.  Despite assurances to the contrary, people continued to flip that thumb lock nearly every time so anyone without a mechanical key could not enter the building outside of business hours and had to argue with the assigned unlocker on every phone call as to why the key card system wasn't sufficient.

[marshwiggle]

But seriously I used to work in a factory, the perks were we got free pretzels, 15-minute breaks (unpaid) when the whistle blew, and could go home early when the temperature hit 110 degrees inside.  For like $9/hr.  Adjuncting is sort of hard and undignified in some ways but it's also heaven.  I get to talk about my intellectual interests, demonstrate artmaking techniques, and hang around in museums. And get paid for it.  No whistles or enforced pretzel-eating.   Anybody else know what I mean?

My mother always told me to remember that there were lots of people in the world who were a lot worse off than me, and I should count my blessings. Decades later, the expression is "first world problems".

I totally agree with you. If I remind myself of the much worse things other people have to deal with, then I can much more calmly and rationally talk about my problems without so much offended dignity, which doesn't really help in the long run.

[mahagonny]

But seriously I used to work in a factory, the perks were we got free pretzels, 15-minute breaks (unpaid) when the whistle blew, and could go home early when the temperature hit 110 degrees inside.  For like $9/hr.  Adjuncting is sort of hard and undignified in some ways but it's also heaven.  I get to talk about my intellectual interests, demonstrate artmaking techniques, and hang around in museums. And get paid for it.  No whistles or enforced pretzel-eating.   Anybody else know what I mean?

My mother always told me to remember that there were lots of people in the world who were a lot worse off than me, and I should count my blessings. Decades later, the expression is "first world problems".

I totally agree with you. If I remind myself of the much worse things other people have to deal with, then I can much more calmly and rationally talk about my problems without so much offended dignity, which doesn't really help in the long run.

And I used to wash dishes for $2.65/hour, but that doesn't mean things that are lame about higher education hiring and jobs can't be discussed. Internally, I am grateful and happy. I adjust, I soldier on, and my work ethic is strong enough. Externally it may seem different. If I see a university president needs a million dollars a year for expanding his empire and the neglected problems within it when an adjunct with brain cancer is scuffling to get medical care, I may comment.

[revert79]

But seriously I used to work in a factory, the perks were we got free pretzels, 15-minute breaks (unpaid) when the whistle blew, and could go home early when the temperature hit 110 degrees inside.  For like $9/hr.  Adjuncting is sort of hard and undignified in some ways but it's also heaven.  I get to talk about my intellectual interests, demonstrate artmaking techniques, and hang around in museums. And get paid for it.  No whistles or enforced pretzel-eating.   Anybody else know what I mean?

My mother always told me to remember that there were lots of people in the world who were a lot worse off than me, and I should count my blessings. Decades later, the expression is "first world problems".

I totally agree with you. If I remind myself of the much worse things other people have to deal with, then I can much more calmly and rationally talk about my problems without so much offended dignity, which doesn't really help in the long run.

And I used to wash dishes for $2.65/hour, but that doesn't mean things that are lame about higher education hiring and jobs can't be discussed. Internally, I am grateful and happy. I adjust, I soldier on, and my work ethic is strong enough. Externally it may seem different. If I see a university president needs a million dollars a year for expanding his empire and the neglected problems within it when an adjunct with brain cancer is scuffling to get medical care, I may comment.

Sure, of course.  It's reasonable to bring up problems and issues, in the hope that this will help change a situation or at least bring some visibility to injustice.  Especially when there's a feasible solution.  I do feel that keeping context in mind is important; the problems of manual labor and proletarian work are not the same as what we face as instructors.  But I also feel like I need to acknowledge and respond to my own privilege and feelings of entitlement when, for example, I start to lose my temper over a classroom with too much clutter in the easels-and-sink area, or only chairs and no stools, or whatever.

[downer]

What successes have people had in getting improvements in working conditions or finding workarounds?

I complained several times about the way that a computer was set up in one classroom which meant it took about 10 minutes each time to make it usable. I got no results. Now I when teach there I just go in at the start of class and use the class time to set it up.

I am pretty active in opening classroom windows since I'm generally too warm in the classroom and students would not like me stripping down to my undies.

For storage space, I often just use my mailbox.

Sometimes if I want a place to rest, I will find a couch somewhere quiet.

[revert79]

I have had good luck going straight to IT with a work order rather than putting it through dept chair/admin.  IT likes to try out tech fixes and they don't seem to care about the rank of the person asking for help

[Caracal]

I will say that most of the things that really annoy me are totally fixable. I'm lucky enough to have a chair and department that are pretty good about courses, transparency, office space and stuff like that. The things that are really annoying are on the school level.

Take parking for example. At the beginning of every year, I always find that despite whatever new parking system is being used, I still have to get 4 forms and go to three different offices so I can prove that I actually teach there and be allowed to pay a couple hundred bucks for a faculty parking permit. Why can't parking just have access to the system that shows I'm teaching classes? Or couldn't they just let me renew it and assume I'm probably not running a scam where I once taught classes there and now want to pay a lot for parking? I'm pretty sure the answer is just that nobody has thought about the 30 percent of faculty who are part time when they set up this system.

[mahagonny]

But seriously I used to work in a factory, the perks were we got free pretzels, 15-minute breaks (unpaid) when the whistle blew, and could go home early when the temperature hit 110 degrees inside.  For like $9/hr.  Adjuncting is sort of hard and undignified in some ways but it's also heaven.  I get to talk about my intellectual interests, demonstrate artmaking techniques, and hang around in museums. And get paid for it.  No whistles or enforced pretzel-eating.   Anybody else know what I mean?

My mother always told me to remember that there were lots of people in the world who were a lot worse off than me, and I should count my blessings. Decades later, the expression is "first world problems".

I totally agree with you. If I remind myself of the much worse things other people have to deal with, then I can much more calmly and rationally talk about my problems without so much offended dignity, which doesn't really help in the long run.

And I used to wash dishes for $2.65/hour, but that doesn't mean things that are lame about higher education hiring and jobs can't be discussed. Internally, I am grateful and happy. I adjust, I soldier on, and my work ethic is strong enough. Externally it may seem different. If I see a university president needs a million dollars a year for expanding his empire and the neglected problems within it when an adjunct with brain cancer is scuffling to get medical care, I may comment.

Sure, of course.  It's reasonable to bring up problems and issues, in the hope that this will help change a situation or at least bring some visibility to injustice.  Especially when there's a feasible solution.  I do feel that keeping context in mind is important; the problems of manual labor and proletarian work are not the same as what we face as instructors.  But I also feel like I need to acknowledge and respond to my own privilege and feelings of entitlement when, for example, I start to lose my temper over a classroom with too much clutter in the easels-and-sink area, or only chairs and no stools, or whatever.

While you're busy keeping your self entitlement in check, who advocates for the students and their educational needs?

[wellfleet]

I adjunct at the school where I also work full-time, which makes my individual deal pretty sweet (I also charge a very high rate to teach, so yay me). However, the biggest working conditions problem here falls on everyone equally: the janitorial service does not clean classrooms. Ever.

So gross. So gross. And I don't just mean having to carve through layers of dried whiteboard marker schmear to write on the boards.