“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.

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

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.

Tom’s farewell drink had got off to a good start and, after a few glasses, everyone was in high spirits.

It’s not uncommon in communication for a hidden message to take on more importance than what’s actually said.

People often ask me: “But what can you do for us in practical terms? What actions can you take?”

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. 

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.

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. 

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.