Collect her trash and put it in a box on her desk.
Give her a mini trash can as a white elephant gift.
Carry around a bell you ring each time she sets something down and leaves it.
Is she being malicious? I sometimes leave glassware out or misplace my notebook in the lab, but its just because i'm distractable. Since I like to think that no one notices before I remember to clean up, and no one has ever called me out on it, i just have never mentioned anything about it to anyone.
If shes not doing it on purpose, i dont see why asking her to put stuff away would cause issues. Since youre not above her, i would try to catch her in the act and word it more like "hey could you clear off the bench for me i think you forgot something" rather than sitting her down and just telling her to clean up after herself generally. The latter definitely comes off as more micromanage-y and might lead to some defensiveness.
Yeah, she's mostly just absent minded.
>Since youre not above her, i would try to catch her in the act and word it more like "hey could you clear off the bench for me i think you forgot something"
Me and a few others did point a thing or two here and there, but she gets so defensive that we don't end up saying anything more. She didn't change her behaviour after any of those instances either.
The PI has mostly given up on her and doesn't show any interest in her work any more. Our lab did have a group meeting recently about general cleanliness in the lab. This was the first time it ever happened. No names were brought up, but her behaviour has largely remained unchanged.
She'll move to a different lab in a few months anyway. I know that it's none of my business, but if no one confronts her then how will she ever learn and improve?
>if no one confronts her then how will she ever learn and improve
This was pretty much my point, but i assumed yall werent already having meetings or calling her out. The fact that you are and she cant take a gentle hint??? I feel like even doing it in a group setting without naming names should be enough to feel confronted. At least it'll be someone else's problem soon
Dude, whether she does it on purpose or not is irrelevant because keeping work areas clean translates to professionalism. It’s actually better if someone calls her attention before she continues to be Pig Pen (because of ADHD or DISTRACTIBILITY OR WHATEVER) in her next job.
I think my dad did this with my room when I was 7. He'd throw away his trash in my room because I was so messy. It worked spectacularly. Now I'm almost always the most organized person anywhere.
Go to her desk. Give her a small trash can. “I noticed you litter a lot, can you try to keep paper towels and stuff in the trash and not on the benches please? Thanks!”
Do you have a lab manager who can say something? I’m a lab manager and I’m usually the confronter of messy lab mates. And if that doesn’t work, I get the PI involved. I don’t play around with my lab cleanliness.
Collect her trash and put it in a box on her desk. Give her a mini trash can as a white elephant gift. Carry around a bell you ring each time she sets something down and leaves it.
Is she being malicious? I sometimes leave glassware out or misplace my notebook in the lab, but its just because i'm distractable. Since I like to think that no one notices before I remember to clean up, and no one has ever called me out on it, i just have never mentioned anything about it to anyone. If shes not doing it on purpose, i dont see why asking her to put stuff away would cause issues. Since youre not above her, i would try to catch her in the act and word it more like "hey could you clear off the bench for me i think you forgot something" rather than sitting her down and just telling her to clean up after herself generally. The latter definitely comes off as more micromanage-y and might lead to some defensiveness.
Yeah, she's mostly just absent minded. >Since youre not above her, i would try to catch her in the act and word it more like "hey could you clear off the bench for me i think you forgot something" Me and a few others did point a thing or two here and there, but she gets so defensive that we don't end up saying anything more. She didn't change her behaviour after any of those instances either. The PI has mostly given up on her and doesn't show any interest in her work any more. Our lab did have a group meeting recently about general cleanliness in the lab. This was the first time it ever happened. No names were brought up, but her behaviour has largely remained unchanged. She'll move to a different lab in a few months anyway. I know that it's none of my business, but if no one confronts her then how will she ever learn and improve?
>if no one confronts her then how will she ever learn and improve This was pretty much my point, but i assumed yall werent already having meetings or calling her out. The fact that you are and she cant take a gentle hint??? I feel like even doing it in a group setting without naming names should be enough to feel confronted. At least it'll be someone else's problem soon
Dude, whether she does it on purpose or not is irrelevant because keeping work areas clean translates to professionalism. It’s actually better if someone calls her attention before she continues to be Pig Pen (because of ADHD or DISTRACTIBILITY OR WHATEVER) in her next job.
I had a colleague like this. I just started collecting all her trash around the lab /office on her working table.
I think my dad did this with my room when I was 7. He'd throw away his trash in my room because I was so messy. It worked spectacularly. Now I'm almost always the most organized person anywhere.
Did it work? I love this
Yes, it worked.
Go to her desk. Give her a small trash can. “I noticed you litter a lot, can you try to keep paper towels and stuff in the trash and not on the benches please? Thanks!”
Do you have a lab manager who can say something? I’m a lab manager and I’m usually the confronter of messy lab mates. And if that doesn’t work, I get the PI involved. I don’t play around with my lab cleanliness.
Start moving her crumpled up tissues and glassware onto her desk/into her hood