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May 06, 2009, 12:48 PM ET
Emotional Blackmail
A colleague in another state, “Jane,” told me this story a while ago: She received an offer and a contract for a new position at another university during exam week at her current institution. Her “old” job had not yet extended her contract (that typically happened at the start of the fall semester), so she would not break an agreement by leaving. As she notified her dean that she would be moving in the next few weeks, he was clearly upset.
Staring at his desktop, he said, “I hope you know what this will do to your colleagues. Because of the current budget and hiring freezes the board has instituted, we will not be able to replace you next year. This means that your colleagues will have to teach overloads to cover your courses. This is very unfair of you. I hope you have thought this through very carefully. It’s going to be hard not to think of you as a traitor, to some extent. If I were you, I’d rethink the other position and be loyal to your colleagues. Think about staying for their sakes.”
She ignored the dean’s pleas, viewing them as emotional blackmail. Since then, however, I’ve heard about this same situation happening at other institutions. I know one person who decided to stick it out and postpone leaving (“since it was so late in the year”) and another who simply decided to stay (“they like me enough to beg, and it would be a hardship on my colleagues”).
Given how late in the year Jane made her announcement, was she right to leave? What circumstances might influence her decision?
Categories: Faculty-hiring
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