Your should not and can not put your life on pause for the X amount of years while you will be hanging out with us at UofSC.

The beauty of science and academia is that it can be flexible. Planned holidays and unplanned emergencies (you know, that whole "life" thing) will happen throughout your time here. I want to ensure you feel supported at these times and you can be away from the lab without guilt.

Before you read on, you should know this. Our job is flexible. We take advantage of that flexibility, but that flexibility is contingent on output. Essentially, I don’t care how and when you work (within reason), as long as your work gets done, as you are making sufficient progress towards your degree.

We work really hard, and sometimes we need time to rest and recharge. Your work as a scientist isn't necessarily defined by time; often times it can be how close you are to the "red zone". You know your limits and know how much time you need to reload and get back to your best. I will support this as much as I can, though it is rooted in the strong understanding that:

• This is not to be taken advantage of (Colorado is cool for a weekend, don't make me fly out and find you living in the mountains!)
• Flexibility goes both ways: data collection is messy and sometimes WE need to show up at all sorts of hours and times.
• You communicate as soon and as clearly as you can about your anticipated time off (duration, dates etc.)

Let's split planned and unplanned time off in terms of how they work:

• How planned time off works at the EOL
• How unplanned time off works at the EOL