IScientific integrity is one of the fundamentals of science that has just been recognized in France by the 2021 research programming law. Today, falsification of results and plagiarism are in principle in the sights of institutions where the we do research. Moral harassment, this other inappropriate behavior, is sometimes less well detected given its insidious nature. It is nevertheless detrimental to well-being in laboratories, especially young people. Its proper consideration is a necessary condition for the serene and honest progress of research.
Moral harassment can escape the vigilance of managers, especially since it is often latent and unrevealed. Its typology (here we exclude sexual harassment, although it is often associated with moral harassment) is very varied. It can be a project manager who exerts excessive pressure on his collaborators – sometimes going as far as morally brutal behavior – with the objective of obtaining results as quickly as possible. Or a team leader who arbitrarily removes competent personnel from a project, humiliating and denigrating them to others, with the result of robbing them of their self-confidence and sometimes leading them to depression.
In a higher hierarchical position, the thesis director can annihilate the reactions of his young doctoral or post-doctoral students under threats of interrupting the thesis or blackmailing the letter of recommendation, essential for the continuation of the career. An extreme case is that of foreigners who have to renew their residence visa, far from their country, without support from their relatives and without mastering the first language of the laboratory. Such mistreatment, generally discreet, is observed in all scientific fields, both in well-endowed laboratories of excellence and in modest institutions.
Lack of training
The issue of harassment in research is often dismissed with the argument that this offense is a matter for justice. However, it seems difficult for the victim at the origin of the report, most of the time in a vulnerable position, to have the means and the strength to embark on a trial. When she decides to reveal her problem, the most natural way is to appeal to the listening unit of her establishment, if it exists, or to her hierarchy (the human resources departments or the doctoral schools), which can discipline the person responsible for the harassment.
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