Author: Petr Keil
I offer each MOBI member 1 hour per week for a 1:1 meeting. These are not obligatory, and if all is clear and progress is being made, then we don’t have to meet. However, if I don’t hear from you for several weeks in a row, I will appreciate and update.
I expect you to actively seek me and schedule these meetings with me, the best is if you directly ask me in person, or if you call.
Best days for these meetings are Monday afternoon and the whole Tuesday.
Monday
Tuesday is a good day for 1:1 meetings with Petr.
Wednesday is just a regular workday.
Thursday is when all seminars and group meetings happen, it’s our busy social day. The idea is that we concentrate all the social things to a single day, so other days can be dedicated to uninterrupted work.
Friday is just a regular workday.
Over the years, we’ve established a routine of going together to have lunch in MENZA at around 12:00. Not all of us go every day, some of us stay around the offices, or have lunch elsewhere (or earlier, or later). However, there is a certain rhythm, and it gives a social dimension to our otherwise solitary work in front of a computer.
Importantly, I consider these lunches to be an opportunity for you to approach me. So if you have a small issue (administrative, scientific, other) that can be sorted by a simple conversation during lunchtime, let’s do it, so that we don’t have to schedule a meeting later.
My position is that coming to work in person is good for academic performance, for proper functioning of the team, and for mental health. Moreover, we have good office space and meeting rooms at CZU, we have several coffee places in the campus, canteen, sports facilities, and plenty of green spaces around. All of this is meant to encourage people to be present in person.
Sometimes, however, home office is necessary because either life gets in the way, or one needs to think or work in solitude. Thus, an occasional home officing is completely ok, but I would advise against making it a rule.
Foreign members of MOBI lab usually need time spent in their home countries. This usually happens for several weeks around the New Year and in summer. I encourage these trips, as they are necessary for maintaining connection with family, friends, and are thus good for mental health.
These travels can be organized either as a regular vacation (CZU gives generous number of paid vacation days), as remote work, or as a combination of both. To arrange these, approach Petr with no fear, he knows that living in a foreign country can be challenging, and one sometimes needs a break.
Petr takes a 10-15 min power nap after lunch in his office every day. If the door is closed and it’s the after lunch time, do not disturb ;-)