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Team spirit and rumours

Jeff* is the leader of a team in charge of the support, operation and maintenance of many CERN equipment. The task is complex as the equipment is scattered across the CERN site, and needs regular maintenance and constant operational monitoring. His team is formed of CERN staff and technicians working under external service contracts.

For a long time everything ran smoothly, up to the point when a sudden and unexpected fault brought normal operations to a halt. Two colleagues, Ron* and Mike*, both CERN staff, were jointly responsible for the equipment concerned. Although the repairs were completed promptly, unpleasant rumours started to spread that the fault was due to previous maintenance work. Mike found out, by accident, that these false rumours had arisen from private conversations Ron had had with some technicians. Taking it as a personal attack, he started to spread gossip about Ron, making veiled accusations that he alone was responsible for the incident. Both rumours eventually reached everyone in the team, including Jeff, who started to doubt his confidence in the two senior technicians. People started to complain to Jeff about the awkward situation in the team, which could also pose a threat to the good relationship that had been established with technicians working under external service contracts.

Something had to be done, but what?

The case was not up to the level of harassment, although there was clearly a breach of the CERN Code of Conduct [CoC]. It seemed to fall into an area where only informal action could be considered. After some discussion with the Ombuds, Jeff decided to talk to the two technicians to remind them of CoC standards and the respectful behaviour required within a team. In addition, he decided to devote part of a meeting to brainstorming about the case.

Conclusion:
There are no specifically planned actions take in cases where behaviour is not in agreement with the CoC, unless it falls into the category of harassment or contravenes Staff Rules and Regulations. The CoC is encourages good behaviour, so that we be treated and treat others with courtesy, according to the rules of an Organization that champions a “respectful workplace”. It is then the responsibility of and a matter of honour for everyone to follow it and act accordingly. The Ombuds is available for guidance in the application and interpretation of the CERN CoC.

* Names and story are purely fictitious.