Category: Article
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Stress: a contagious phenomenon
Stress: a contagious phenomenon “My supervisor is getting angry more and more often: he loses his temper with us, shouts at us and throws things across the room,” Dimitri*, a CERN fellow, tells me. CERN is a demanding place to work, particularly during critical periods such as technical stops: all hands are on deck, the
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Mediation: finding common ground
Mediation: finding common ground Vanja and Marek are no longer on speaking terms. Vanja took over the group six months ago and has been working to make the service more customer-oriented. But Marek thinks the most important thing is technical excellence. He thinks Vanja’s making compromises and following the latest fad, giving customers too much
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Don’t forget experience!
Don’t forget experience! Frans started his career at CERN as an engineer in 1992, after having worked for about 10 years in industry in his home country. He’s an ordinary chap who has progressed regularly in his career and has survived several reorganisations. He’s always been loyal to his job, shouldering his responsibilities with diligence
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Microaggressions: respond or let it go?
Microaggressions: respond or let it go? Tom’s farewell drink had got off to a good start and, after a few glasses, everyone was in high spirits. Carried away by the party atmosphere, Fulvio said to one of his colleagues: “So, Birgit, when are you finally going to update your wardrobe?” Birgit hesitated for a moment,
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Communication: nurture your relationships!
Communication: nurture your relationships! It’s not uncommon in communication for a hidden message to take on more importance than what’s actually said. Example: you’re a workshop technician and you’re waiting for your colleague, Tibor, to finish some welding so you can assemble a cryostat that needs to be delivered to an experiment next week. Tibor’s
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What can I, in my role as Ombud, do to help you in practical terms?
What can I, in my role as Ombud, do to help you in practical terms? People often ask me: “But what can you do for us in practical terms? What actions can you take?” The first thing I can do is quite simply listen to you, without taking sides. Discussing something that’s going on with
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Personal conflicts: opportunities for progress
Personal conflicts: opportunities for progress In prehistoric times, there were only two ways to resolve a conflict: fight or flight. And there was always a winner and a loser. Then, one day, someone discovered a revolutionary new approach: negotiation, or aiming to find a solution that satisfies the interests of both parties. No more fight
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Happy New Year from the Ombud
Happy New Year from the Ombud Just this once, my article is not going to be about a specific subject. I simply wanted to take the opportunity to wish you all the very best for the New Year. I wish you: Above all, I wish you a year filled with respect, for yourselves and for
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Highly sensitive people: an asset to your team
Highly sensitive people: an asset to your team We’re working to increasingly busy schedules, under escalating pressure and with almost constant connectivity due to the increasing number of communication tools and applications available to us. We feel obliged to garner as many “like”s as possible and collect as many “friends” as we can. Most of
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How does a discussion with the Ombud work?
How does a discussion with the Ombud work? In a previous article, I explained the framework in which the Ombud operates. I will now talk about how a discussion is conducted and what we can do together. When someone comes to see me for the first time, I always begin by reminding them of the