There's a chap by the name of Ming Tang on the same mastodon server as I am at the moment. He posts enough for me to be aware of him as an individual. Usually little things about working hard and getting results. Things that seem like would fit better on LinkedIn rather than mastodon. It gives the impression that this is someone who is trying to build themselves into a brand.
The latest post is in response I think, to the massive cuts to science funding in the states at the moment. I don't think it's deliberate, but I can't help but read it as toxic.
"If you still have a job, be proactive. Don’t coast through your work. Put in your 100% effort every day. People notice when you give your best."
"Don’t slack off. It’s easy to take your job for granted when things are stable, but biotech is a small world. Your reputation follows you"
There is one that specifically says that layoffs aren't at fault. i.e. it's not their own fault that they are being laid off. Which is something. The overall tone though, feels rather like exhorting people to work harder when faced with overwhelming obstacles and unheard of levels of mismanagement (in this case at the funding level).
It assumes that people aren't already giving their job their all. It assumes that people have anything more left in the tank to give. Which given the abusive nature of the academic, science and start up culture, in the states in particular, is already unlikely. There's no telling people to take care of themselves. Just work harder.
Just ... no.
Science is awesome. The system we have built for doing it, does not take care of the people doing it though. Build a better system. Find a way to do science that doesn't cost your soul. Don't grind yourself into the dust to make yourself look better to taskmasters that only care about the output and not the process.