My first duty as Ombud is to listen actively to the visitors who, in my office, explain the challenging situation they’re facing. Listening actively to them enables me to understand the situation, measure the impact that the problem is having on them and get a sense of what their goals are. Only after summarising my understanding and checking with them that it’s correct do we explore together what can be done. This depends on what their needs are and what positive outcome they hope to see.

My second most important duty is to empower my visitors to tackle their issue. I check with them what they’ve already tried in order to solve the problem and what results they’ve achieved. We discuss possible ways forward; the options that have the highest chance of success are the ones that the visitors come up with themselves. I like using the white board for that, as I’ve seen the power of drawing to clarify thoughts and trigger insights into possible solutions. 

I can help concretely with some of the possible paths to overcome a difficult situation, all of them informal. I can contact the other party in a conflict, to convey messages and try to make dialogue possible again. I can propose mediation. I can contact a supervisor to describe a particular situation seen from the position of the supervisee, who may not feel comfortable approaching the supervisor directly. Where appropriate, I may also refer the visitor to another response channel. I can contact the Medical Service to obtain an appointment rapidly, if necessary. I can also get in touch with the relevant contact person in HR in order to discuss the situation.

These are all possible informal routes where I can act, provided that my visitors clearly give me their authorisation to do so. The Ombud will not do anything without their green light. 

Agreeing to the Ombud’s proposals can be highly beneficial. I can help resolve misunderstandings at an early stage. I can present an issue to a supervisor in the context of systemic trends in the Organization so that the supervisor does not feel criticised personally. I can place a problem in the context of the CERN values and Code of Conduct. Most importantly, I can understand the situation from the other party’s point of view and help dialogue and empathy to flow again. 

However, of the 151 visitors who exchanged with me in 2022, less than 11% allowed me to intervene and take informal action to help solve the issue. This is less than in 2021, when 13% of my visitors gave their authorisation. So, why is it that the Ombud is so rarely given a chance to act beyond listening and exploring solutions? 

My visitors put forward a variety of reasons:

• In some cases, they’ll share a feeling of pointlessness: “It won’t help, nothing will change, I’ve already tried that.” 
• In other cases, they’re simply looking for another perspective on their situation or for advice. 
• Some junior colleagues who recently started at CERN may say, “I just want to check whether what I’ve experienced so far is normal here.” 
• In other cases, their problem could be too intimate and they don’t feel at ease sharing it with anyone else, even via the Ombud. 
• Quite often, my visitors are concerned that they’re not equipped for difficult conversations. They’re afraid they might have an angry outburst or burst into tears, even when I offer to facilitate the conversation.

These are some of the reasons given. However, in the majority of cases, the reason for not authorising the Ombud to intervene informally is the fear of negative consequences.

Indeed, when colleagues are in their probation period, when they’re waiting for a contract extension, when they’re in the process of writing their thesis, when they’ve applied for an LD, or when they hope to get an IC contract or a promotion, in most cases, they won’t speak up freely about problems.

They fear that speaking up about an issue will have consequences on pending decisions regarding their career. 

In these cases, I try to find out what the fear is about, and the answers that I get include:

•  “My issue is with my direct boss, who decides about my contractual situation.” Indeed, the majority of issues raised (36% in 2022) are difficulties with the hierarchy. My visitors feel helpless given the other party’s power. 
•  “I’m afraid this will make my situation worse.”
• “I don’t trust the system.” This is an expression of mistrust in the overall managerial structure and/or processes of the Laboratory. 
• Some supervisors, who share difficulties in managing their team, don’t want to share these difficulties with anyone else. 
• Another reason I hear is that my visitors are afraid that, by asking the Ombud to intervene, they might harm other colleagues whom they want to protect. 

Let’s face it, underlying all the reasons is the fear of speaking up. 

Here, I would like to recall an extract from the Ombud’s mandate:

“The Organization and persons working at or on behalf of CERN shall assist and cooperate with the Ombud in the performance of his/her functions. Attempted or actual retaliation against a person who contacted or cooperated with the Ombud shall not be tolerated and may result in disciplinary action.”

This is also what Vincent Vuillemin, the first CERN Ombud, highlighted in an article published in June 2011, which is still very valid today.

As you see, should my visitors suffer from any kind of negative consequences because they authorised me to take informal action to resolve a dispute, I could expose a possible act of retaliation to the relevant actors.

We are not equal when dealing with problems at work; some people are better equipped to face conflict and they will find the assertiveness to discuss it with their supervisors or any other party. Others will not. They will continue to feel ill at ease at work, and this will ultimately be detrimental to their performance and their health. 

So, what is needed to make our Laboratory a psychologically safe place where all contributors feel safe to speak up about issues and trust their management to help them, without the fear of negative consequences?

A lot could be done, including raising awareness of the huge benefits of increased psychological safety. But maybe the first step is for managers to invite their team members to discuss with them any issue they might face and truly listen to them. I would like to remind managers that the Ombud is also available to help them discuss the issues they face, explore solutions and – with their authorisation – take concrete steps towards informal dispute resolution.  

Laure Esteveny

I want to hear from you – feel free to email ombud@cern.ch with any feedback or suggestions for topics you’d like me to address. 

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