Lab Etiquette

A lab is a shared space and maintaining good etiquette is essential to creating a positive, efficient, and safe working environment. So, what is lab etiquette? Lab etiquette, code of conduct, or ground rules, all refer to the need for basic respect and consideration for your lab members, their space, and their research. 

Basically, treat your lab members as you would like them to treat you (and your research). 

Keeping good manners in mind in your day-to-day work will help ensure everyone’s experiments run smoothly with minimal frustrations due to avoidable situations. 

Examples of avoidable situations that we ALL know too well that can/have negatively impacted the work of lab members are: 

• someone not placing an order after they depleted the last container of Tris-HCl, 
• not returning that antibody tube to its original location, leaving the next user scrambling to find the  antibody for a time-sensitive experiment, or, 
• placing a small conical flask of bacterial culture in a holder meant for larger flasks inside a shaking incubator, which inadvertently, causes the flask to swing violently and break. The resulting spill of the bacterial culture contaminates the incubator and affects its electrical components, rendering it unusable (yes, you are not alone, this has happened in many labs!).

So, what are these golden lab rules?

1.  Prioritize safety in all activities. 

Safety is often not emphasized enough, and complacency is commonplace especially when individuals are unaware of the hazards around them. This is why, safety is always first on our list of everything! Something as simple or assumingly non-hazardous as a buffer can land someone in a doctor’s office if care is not taken when handling materials and one is unfamiliar with the constituents. 

Let’s take, for example, a researcher accidentally tipped over a 100ml bottle of buffer on a bench. The small amount of buffer spilled over the bench but because the bottle was at the edge of the table, the buffer ran off the table and soaked into the individual’s shoes and socks. Assuming it was nothing major, the individual rinsed the area with water. However, within a few minutes, the area started to burn, and they consulted a senior member in the lab! Upon checking the Safety Data Sheet, it was determined that this was no ordinary buffer. It was a lysis buffer that contained guanidinium thiocyanate! The individual had to be rushed to the doctor’s office and required urgent medical attention. 

In the above situation, having ready access to the Safety Data Sheet proved paramount in expediting the emergency response, and reiterated the importance of safety and taking precautions in seemingly mundane or routine tasks.

Other safety practices include keeping workspaces clean and organized, storing hazardous materials appropriately, ensuring proper training and competence of researchers before performing any work, and fostering a culture of safety through open communication. 

If your experiment poses a safety risk to individuals in the area, communicate to lab members the work that will be done, potential hazards, and hazard mitigation strategies that will be adopted. 

For instance, your experiment requires a sonicator and there are no options to perform this activity in an isolated space to minimize the hazards to other individuals. The sonication must be performed in an open lab area, the only place available to you. So, as a good team player, you communicate the hazards (loud, high-frequency sound), the length of time the hazard will be present (e.g. at 2 pm for 15 min), and hazard mitigation measures (e.g. use of ear plugs) to your lab mates well in advance. This way, they can take the necessary precautions or plan their work around this activity. Additional communication might include signage on the door to the lab and surrounding areas during the course of the experiment. 

Your lab mates would appreciate that you considered their safety while performing your research, and this safety mentality can be a good example for others to follow suit.

Likewise, if you come across something spilled on the floor, even if it is just water, don’t just walk away and wait for the next person to report it. Place a “Wet floor” sign at the appropriate location and notify the relevant person so that it can be cleaned up. Openly communicating potential risks and being aware of others' activities is an unspoken rule in the lab. 

So, lab safety must always be your top priority! Familiarize yourself with safety procedures and adhere strictly to them. Report any accidents, spills, incidents, or safety concerns to the supervisor immediately so that they can be addressed swiftly. 

For a full list of lab safety reminders, refer to our post on Safety First!

2.  Clean up after yourself and return things to their original state and location.

A clean and tidy lab minimizes the risk of accidents. This applies especially to shared spaces such as weighing balances, microscopes, sinks, gel running stations, incubators, etc. Just as you would not want to clean up someone else’s mess, don’t expect the next person to clean up your mess especially when they don’t know the hazards associated with the material nor how to clean it up.

If you used an area, clean it up and ensure it is in the same or better state (cleaner/more organized) than when you found it. This will ensure the next user can commence their work promptly, increasing efficiency. 

Additionally, return materials (e.g. buffers, reagents, primers, etc.), tools (e.g. spatula, tweezers, etc.), and equipment to their original location so that the next user can avail them without wasting time looking for them. 

Lastly, you will learn in our post on the smart lab bench that an organized lab bench is also critical to success in your research!

3.  Be mindful of shared equipment and resources. 

Sharing resources is commonplace in most labs as it is the most efficient and cost-effective means of maximizing precious resources. This can mean sharing resources within a lab e.g. reagents or workbenches, sharing equipment between different labs such as biological safety cabinets and fume hoods, or even using a shared facility such as imaging and animal care facilities.

Within labs, always ensure shared materials and reagents are replenished from inventory stock or re-ordered if you might have depleted them or noticed they are running low. In addition, communicating that something is low or out would be beneficial to anyone who might need it in the near term so that they can plan their work accordingly (think about how you would feel if you reached for a reagent for your experiment and found none left.). This also includes not holding onto quality reagents for yourself and depleting the common supply as what goes around comes around. Such behavior would quickly be noticed by other lab members, leading to a hostile work environment. 

For shared resources such as equipment, ensure you are trained and competent before using any system to ensure it is used appropriately and there is no inadvertent damage caused to it. Also, ensure you adhere strictly to equipment schedules and do not monopolize equipment if others need it. This includes deleting bookings if you no longer require the system so others can use it and, of course, always cleaning up after yourself. 

All actions boil down to being considerate of other researchers to create an efficient work environment for the success of everyone’s research!

4.  If you break something or come across something faulty or broken, report it immediately to the supervisor or person in charge. 

You wouldn’t want to be the person who starts up a piece of equipment and finds it inoperable. It could be that you were the first one to stumble upon the problem, or, the previous user failed to report the issue, or maybe the issue had been reported but you were not informed. This could have dire consequences on your research especially if there are no alternatives available. 

So, ensuring prompt action and good communication with your supervisor, the person in charge, and other team members will ensure the system can be repaired promptly and alternative options can be determined to minimize disruption to ongoing experiments.

5. Respect your lab mates’ workspaces and property; refrain from touching their items or using their space without permission. 

Respect for personal space and equipment is paramount in a shared lab space. Do not use someone’s belongings without permission, take special care when using items you have borrowed from them, and return them as soon as possible. By ensuring respect for each other, scientists can create an environment where everyone feels valued and can work efficiently. 

6.  Keep an open mind and be willing to adapt to new procedures, equipment, or protocols. Flexibility contributes to an innovative research environment. 

Research is an inherently dynamic field and someone unwilling to embrace change is setting themselves up for failure. Adopting new experimental techniques, and learning new equipment, software, and advanced tools for your work is commonplace, signifying the necessity of change and being open to it, irrespective of the context.

7.  Share information, experiences, and knowledge with colleagues. Collaboration and open communication contribute to the success of the research team. 

To succeed in research, you can’t work in silos. Constant inflow and outflow of information, knowledge, and experiences provide new ideas and can even solve problems that result in better research outcomes. Also, collaboration takes center stage in many research projects whereby you can utilize the expertise of different groups or individuals to get better, more impactful results, faster (it is hard to come by a research article with one author). 

Clear communication is also critical for successful collaboration in shared lab spaces where resources are shared. This increases efficiency and minimizes conflict. So, take the opportunity to exchange ideas, knowledge, and information for the benefit of everyone!

8. Be respectful towards others.

This is the golden rule: treat others the same way you would like others to treat you.

• Minimize noise and distractions by not creating unnecessary loud sounds in a shared space to ensure a conducive work environment.
• Always be punctual for meetings, this shows respect for the time of other individuals.
• Respect other’s ideas, questions, and concerns in all forums, be it meetings, or conversations.
• Always take a respectful tone and demeanor with peers, and do not interrupt someone when they are speaking.

These 8 golden rules outline the basic lab etiquette required of all members to ensure a smooth, stress-free day in the lab outside of the usual disappointments of scientific research. Some researchers might not have this information, and some might be new to research. It is best to outline these expectations on day one to prevent frustrations between researchers and ensure a positive, efficient work environment. 

So, get the printable below and paste it in your lab to align expectations on lab etiquette for all!