Health & Wellbeing

PhD study is a very difficult, stressful and often lonely endeavour in many ways by necessity, because if successful, at the end of your work you will be the world expert on your particular research topic. Because of these characteristics our work may sometimes cause us to be stressed, anxious, depressed or generally unhappy. The first thing you should realise is that you are not alone, these feelings are not just experienced by you, many people have these feelings and experience these situations (at some point in our careers - probably all of us). As a Department (and wider University) we realise that many people are confronting loneliness, pressure and are questioning their ability to complete their PhD. Join up to the PGR Discord Server 6 to hang-out with others who are doing a PhD.

You can also get more advice from the mental health and wellbeing Code of Practice. This section signposts to resources and support for both PGRs and supervisors from the 24 hour helpline to six ways to wellbeing. Any changes/additions/new resources are added here so this is really the one reliable link to use.

You should realise that I (Simon) confronted stress when completing my PhD - I was working at a full time job and was also trying to complete the PhD at the same time - I was ‘idea rich’ but ‘time poor’ and because I was outside the Department I had no peer support (or at least I felt weird about attending social and peer support events). It took me some time to realise that my PhD thesis was not the end point of the work, and that in some ways it was just an artificially imposed milestone. I was placing a lot of emphasis on writing a perfect Thesis and ‘finishing’ the work on time. I realised that the thesis would never be perfect and that the work in total could not be completed in 3-4 years. I decided to be pragmatic and do just enough work to get me an OK thesis. So you see, my PhD is not stellar, it is good enough to get me the PhD. I just continued the work after the thesis submission date by doing all the things I wanted to do in the four years after I’d submitted (in my own time). I published zero papers in my PhD but published 14 over those four years after I’d finished it. In my opinion you have to be pragmatic about these things - sometimes you are able to publish papers and write a really good thesis - sometimes you can’t (personal circumstances, caring responsibilities, and the topic can all affect that). And I don’t know of any Post Doctoral Researchers who are happy with their thesis five years after submitting it, not one. There will always be more to do and more work to undertake, that is what the rest of your life is for.

So please, do realise that you are not alone and we are here to help and support you. The first thing to do is to talk to someone you can trust - this may be your supervisor, advisor, or any of the PGR Academic Team.

Whoever you decide to talk to you should also contact the University Support Services and you might find the (we have a subscription) Big White Wall (free online mental health and wellbeing support 24/7) helpful. There is also useful advice on the PGR Life wellbeing page. There are also some excellent ideas about how to manage and stay well. The Counselling and Mental Health Service have this on their website: https://www.counsellingservice.manchester.ac.uk/buildyourmentalhealthexpertise/ Which has some interactive “treatment” resources like Moodgym, ECouch etc. We have booklets which have some self-help CBT based tasks, http://www.selfhelpguides.ntw.nhs.uk/manchester/; also there are some additional resources here: https://www.counsellingservice.manchester.ac.uk/interactive-resources/. And a page specific to PGR that includes some Apps that were trialled by PGRs as part of an OfS project https://www.counsellingservice.manchester.ac.uk/pgr/.

The University has a wealth of resources, support and advice on Wellbeing 2 for postgraduate researchers ranging from online resources on reducing stress and tension through to talking to counsellors at times of greater need. These resources and support are there for you to use – if you feel well, you will do well.

In General…

Based on research by the New Economics Foundation, the University has identified the six ways to wellbeing: six actions to build into your day-to-day life in order to feel good and function well.

Being well doesn’t need to be hard work, it could be taking a walk, meeting a friend for a coffee or simply smiling at someone. Have a look at these pages to see how you can implement these was into your daily life, you may even be doing some of them already.

We need PGRs to be closely involved and inform the work and outcomes of the project so over the next few months we will be asking you to join group discussions and provide us with your ideas and opinions on wellbeing and mental health.

Discrimination and Harassment

Discrimination and harassment come in many guises, all of which are unacceptable to the University and which have no place in a civilised working and learning environment.

Any cases of harassment and discrimination will be taken very seriously by the University and, where necessary, the appropriate procedure will be used to investigate complaints. The documents below outline the roles and responsibilities of the University, staff and PGRs in constructing a non-discriminatory learning environment.

Bullying

Although there is no legal definition, bullying is a repetitive behaviour which is intended to hurt someone either emotionally or physically, through offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour. This is often aimed at certain people because of their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation or any other aspect such as appearance or disability. This can make a person feel vulnerable, upset, humiliated, undermined or threatened.

Bullying can take many forms including:

  • Social and emotional - This can include excluding someone deliberately excluding from meetings or communications without good reason.

  • Cyberbullying - This form of bullying takes place online via social media and can include negative comments intended to cause distress, sharing personal information without permission, stalking, harassment, trolling and spreading fake rumours.

  • Name calling - This can include making derogatory remarks about appearance or performance, taunting someone, making threats and using insults as a way of humiliating the other person.

  • Sexualised bullying – This can form of bullying can be extremely distressing and someone may feel silenced to report this because they feel violated and degraded.

  • Physical – This form of bullying is when someone physically hurts another person for example by pushing, punching and other forms of physical violence.

    Getting help

The University has a Zero Tolerance policy towards bullying and harassment. If you think you or someone you know has been bullied or harassed there are a variety of support options available to you. If you are unsure of what to do or need someone to talk to, please contact:

  • Harassment Support Advisors. An advisor can talk through the University’s procedures, how to make a complaint and what support is available, in confidence.

  • Counselling Service. The University’s team of professional counsellors, psychotherapists and mental health workers offers confidential support.

  • Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Team. The team provides advice, support and guidance on equality, diversity and inclusion related issues to students, academic advisors and other staff in student-supporting roles.

  • The Mediation Service. The University’s Mediation Service offers an alternative dispute resolution approach; it is confidential and can help resolve a disagreement or conflict, with a colleague in the work place or a fellow student.

  • The Disability Advisory Support Service.  The University’s dedicated disability advisors can provided advice, guidance, and support to staff and students about a range of practical adjustments to your work or studies.

  • Your School. If you are a student you can talk to your academic adviser, or a support adviser in your school

  • Student Support and Advice. This University service offers support and advice on issues affecting your student life, with signposting and referral to more specialist services. If you’re not sure where to go, this is a good place to start. Find them in the Atrium on the first floor of University Place.

  • UMSU Advice Service. This is a free confidential, impartial service where students can get advice and information on academic and personal issues, including advice on procedures and representation at hearings.  The Advice Service is also a hate crime reporting centre

  • Residential Life Advisors. If you are a student in Halls, all of the residences have a team of ResLife Advisors (RLA’s) living in-house, which is made up of either postgraduate students or members of staff at the University. The team can be an important source of guidance and support for students.

  • Mitigating Circumstances. If you feel your studies have been affected by what has happened you can consider applying for mitigating circumstances. An advisor in your school will be able to provide more information.

Reporting bullying

  • Report and Support. Students and staff can report an incident using the University’s Report and Support system. You can choose to do this anonymously or you can request support from an advisor. If you choose to talk to an advisor they will be able to talk through the options and support available to you, in confidence.

  • University Procedure. If you choose to make a formal complaint to the University about a student or member of staff there are procedures which set out the steps you’ll need to follow.

Support for trans students

The student support team are the point of contact within the Department for confidential support and advice to all trans students - we realise that for some students, it may be the first time they contact anyone. We can help you communicate a new name and your pronouns (he/she/they/other) to teaching staff, support staff and your tutorial group. We can also advise on how to update your university records and final degree certificate to reflect your gender identity, and arrange for a new student card, pictures and email address. If you’d prefer to speak to somebody outside of the Department, you can contact:

Imposter Syndrome

Across the world, millions of successful people are pursued by fears of inadequacy, despite achieving great things. The psychological thread that runs between all these people is called the impostor syndrome and it makes it hard -often impossible- for people to internalize their accomplishments. And although some people battle through, others are not so lucky. https://blog.dropbox.com/topics/work-culture/imposter-syndrome.

Extensions and Interruptions

Danger

COVID 19 - You can get an Extenion or Interuption for non specific COVID related reasons with very minimal (read none) evidence. If you are a University or UKRI (EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC, etc) sponsored PGR then some of this may be funded, if not then you will need to contact you sponsor about funding but the extension or interuption can still be granted unfunded by the University. In this case, please contact the relevant person for an update after you have read this Handbook, the COVID 19 Update, and looked at the PGR COVID 19 FAQ https://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/coronavirus/faqs/pgr/.

If you become unable to function as a PGR for any reason, the first thing you should do is to make sure your main supervisor knows. Alternatively, you may choose to talk with your advisor, the PGR tutor or PGR director, someone from the counselling service, or your GP, as appropriate. If you need to interrupt your studies for a period of time, you can request an interruption. The relevant policy is also in Circumstances Leading to Changes to Postgraduate Research Study Policy.

Danger

In many cases we still expect you to complete within the Progression Limit.

You need to apply to FSE Faculty Graduate Panel and some documentary evidence may be required. This may be due to your own ill health, illness or death of someone close to you, or similar types of issues which prevent you from carry on with your research for a time. It cannot be for reasons associated with your research not going well and cannot be used just to extend the time to get the degree.

It is best to apply for an interruption as soon as you recognise the problem and are able. Retrospective applications are less likely to succeed, unless the nature of the mitigating circumstance made it very difficult for you to apply at the time. Once you pass through an End of Year progress point, you cannot apply for a mitigating circumstance which took place before the progression.

Currently the Department can approve:

  1. Interruptions for internships and field work

  2. Interruptions for maternity/paternity leave (or Extension of submission pending due to maternity leave, if the PGR is in the SP period)

  3. ATAS-related interruptions

  4. Interruptions due to hospitalisation

  5. Failure of research equipment

(Retrospective requests for maternity leave must be considered by the Associate Dean)

Danger

Interruptions or Extensions are not granted mearly to give you more time to write-up and they must be supported with evidenciary documentation.

Extensions Close to the Submission deadline

The process for students who have not received a decision on their extension request by their submission deadline date, or who are in the process of submitting an extension request at the time of their deadline is as follows:

In order to ensure that the PGR Services Team does not acknowledge/process any “unfinished” thesis for examination, PGR Panel agreed that students should not deposit any version to the eThesis repository (via electronic submission window on My Manchester) – instead, a copy of the thesis (as it stands) should be sent to the Faculty PGR Services Team along with the extension request form. The thesis copy does not have to be sent at the same time as the request form, but must be received by the PGR Services Team no later than the student’s current deadline date.

Please email your thesis copy to Student Support 1, making clear that the draft is being submitted while you wait for the outcome of your extension request. We will then pass the copy on to the PGR Services Team.

The PGR Services Team will keep a copy of the thesis on file. If the extension request is later rejected, the student will be given the opportunity to upload the same version to the eThesis repository. Before processing, the PGR Services Team will cross-check the uploaded thesis with the copy on file, to ensure that both versions are exactly the same.

1

mailto:compsci-sso-pgr@manchester.ac.uk

2

http://www.studentsupport.manchester.ac.uk/taking-care/wellbeing/

3

https://manchesterstudentsunion.com/groups/lgbtq-society–2

4

https://www.reportandsupport.manchester.ac.uk/

5

https://manchesterstudentsunion.com/top-navigation/student-voice/diversity-liberation/liberation-officers/

6

https://discord.gg/ArVYxfWGpY