The article discusses the alarming trend of corporations seeking unpaid labor from academics under the guise of opportunities for visibility or collaboration. The author's personal experience illustrates how such requests can lead to silence when compensation is proposed, emphasizing a lack of respect for the time and expertise of scholars. It underscores that while unpaid contributions to the academic community can be justified, the expectation for academics to offer their insights freely to external entities is exploitative and diminishes the value of their work.
The silence was the clearest message possible: my time was valuable to the agency only if it was free.
Corporations and public-sector organizations routinely reach out to academics across disciplines, asking for expertise, insights or participation - often framed as an 'opportunity'.
This is unpaid labour. The offer is structured that way deliberately, minimizing the recognition of academics' time and contributions.
Researchers often conduct unpaid work that serves our academic community; however, this should not extend to exploitation by outside organizations.
Collection
[
|
...
]