Interview P01 | SYNTHETIC transcript for training | Topic: hybrid working and campus
Participant: PhD student, social sciences (pseudonym P01) | INT = interviewer

INT: Thanks for joining. Could you start by describing a typical week for you?
P01: Sure. I'm in my second year, so it's mostly reading, writing and analysis.
     I come in two days a week, usually Tuesday and Thursday, and I work from
     home the rest of the time.
INT: Why those two days?
P01: Honestly, it's the train. The fare on a Monday or Friday is the same, but
     the trains are packed and they get cancelled more. Tuesday and Thursday
     are when the others in my office are in, too, so it lines up.
INT: How long is the journey?
P01: About fifty minutes door to door if everything works. If I miss the
     connection it's closer to an hour and a half.
INT: And what does the journey cost you?
P01: A return is a big chunk of my stipend. I worked it out once and coming in
     every day would cost more than my food shop. So I ration it.
INT: What makes a campus day worth it, for you?
P01: The people. I don't come in for the desk, I come in for the conversations.
     You bump into someone at the kettle and they mention a paper or a method
     and it saves you a week. That just doesn't happen on Teams.
INT: Can you think of a time that happened?
P01: Last term I was stuck on my sampling frame and a postdoc from another
     group overheard me moaning about it. We sketched it out on a napkin.
INT: And on the days you're at home?
P01: I get more writing done, definitely. It's quiet. But by Wednesday evening
     I can feel a bit flat, a bit cut off. The days kind of merge together.
INT: Do you have a separate space to work at home?
P01: Not really. I share a flat, so it's my bedroom. I finish work and I'm
     still looking at the same desk. There's no walk home to switch off.
INT: What about the space on campus? How well does it work for you?
P01: The PhD room is fine when it's quiet. The problem is calls. If I have a
     supervision online, there's nowhere to take it. The bookable rooms are
     always gone, so I end up whispering in a stairwell.
INT: Is there anything the university could change that would help?
P01: Cheaper travel, obviously, though I know that's not really up to them.
     And agreeing some days when people are actually in. The worst thing is
     paying for the train and then finding the office empty.
INT: Has that happened often?
P01: A few times. You get in, nobody's there, and you think, I could have
     done this at home and saved twenty quid.
INT: Is there anything else you'd like to add?
P01: Just that hybrid suits me, on balance. I wouldn't want to go back to
     being in five days a week. I just want the two days to count.
INT: Thank you, that's really helpful.

[End of interview]
