Bulletin Articles
Books and plenty more besides…
When I took up my duties I was delighted to find that there were also vast bookshelves containing all the books that my predecessors had bought to support their initial training in the Ombud’s role and to continue developing the knowledge they needed to help them tackle interpersonal relationship
I hope I won’t need to come and see you
Of all the reactions that I met with when I announced I was taking the role of Ombud, the one that struck me the most was the last one: “I hope I won’t need to come and see you!”...
The harm that misunderstandings can cause
The origin of the word “misunderstanding” is clear: it combines the prefix “mis-”, meaning badly or wrongly, with the noun “understanding”. So a misunderstanding is when something has been understood wrongly.
Open Space meeting of UNARIO ombuds – a unique opportunity for experience sharing and professional network support
Thursday, 13 October 2022 is International Ombuds Day, dedicated to the global promotion of the ombud role in organisations. Let me share with you a recent experience in Ombudsland ...
Need to step in to defuse a conflict?
Conflicts need to be caught in their very early stages and can sometimes flare up so quickly that planning mediation by the Ombud is not the most effective way to address them.
I’m feeling harassed …
“Harassed”. This is a word I often hear in the Ombud’s Office. Actively listening to my visitors, I explore their definition of the term and seek concrete examples of situations where they felt “harassed”.
Quiet quitting
Although I am very much aware of inter-generational differences, I had not realised how the millennial and Gen Z attitude to work could be, in general, so different from the mindset of Baby Boomers (my generation).
Coping with pervasive anxiety
Thursday, 28 July was Earth Overshoot Day – the date when humanity has consumed all the resources that the earth can sustainably produce for the entire year. When we are faced with this anxiety-inducing reality day after day, it’s easy to let ourselves be influenced and
A duty of care to junior colleagues
In 2021, 20% of the visitors to the Ombud’s office were under 30. I would like to share with you the main issues and concerns that affected them.
The 4W repair kit for work relationships
How can we support members of our Laboratory in addressing conflict early on, before it reaches the Ombud’s Office?