The other day I was sipping on my morning coffee, checking my emails, expecting just another day of work. As I scrolled through my inbox, I found a message that confirmed the submission of a project that I quit in written and verbal form about two months ago. The submission had my name on it.
Let me give you some context. Back in February in The London Notes I wrote about how I worked towards keeping my time intentional. I was saying no to projects and activities I didn’t reasonably have time for. This project that was now submitted with my name fell into the category of amazing possibilities that I was not going to be able to do. Saying no was never easy for me: I fear missing out and I generally want to meet others’ expectations of me.
I first thought that this was just a misunderstanding, so I opened the confirmation of submission. At this point I saw the full list of the project team and the daily fees per member. I was shocked to see that other members were allocated a daily fee that was more than the double of what was allocated to compensate my work. I was not consulted about the submission, nor about the fees.
Outraged, I quickly finished my cup of coffee and walked to work. On the way I kept thinking. I know what I would have thought about this a few years back: How nice that they think of me. That they include me. That they want me to be in their project. That I’m grateful for being seen. And had I felt at unease about not having been consulted, I would have blamed my feeling on poor mental health for the day.
But the past few years have taught me that we all need to earn other people’s gratefulness, and poor mental health is a consequence of harmful actions. Putting my name on something I did not agree to is a breach of trust and consent. Then underpaying my potential contributions means letting someone else put a low value on my worth and experience.
I decided to call the person who was in charge of this project and hit the nail on the head there and then. In this conversation I learnt that while the project was submitted with all the good intentions, the factors such as getting my consent or consulting me about fees were not considered.
When put in a position of leadership, whichever sector we’re in, we can’t afford ignorance. We can’t afford overlooking things like consent or fair payment for all. I’m now also in the position of securing funding for my projects. When doing so, I want to ensure that people working with me are paid well, and fairly. I do not want to see a significant difference between pay rates. While I appreciate seniority, I do not want to promote inequalities in pay rates. I know all too well what it’s like to barely make ends meet. I want to know that colleagues around me won’t have to financially struggle.
I find it essential to do the things that don’t cost us anything and where there’s no agenda behind our points. Things like: talking to the people we bump into on the corridor. Thank people for their efforts. Inviting that younger colleague or student interested in our field for a coffee.
And I also find it essential that we do the things that do need us to make effort and invest energy:
Check in with people how they are doing. Understand how they are. When something looks different, do ask.
Have the tough conversations when needed.
And pay people properly.
Travelling Psychologist 