The purpose of this document is to serve as a guideline to those who wish to understand the cultural dynamics of the HIFMB as an institution in its desire to provide a healthy and supportive work environment for the members of its community. It aims to offer gentle reminders to current and future members of the HIFMB regarding our priorities.
Suggestions in this document are not to replace or compete with those that are in the legal code of conduct implemented by the parent institutions of the HIFMB (Alfred Wegener Institute and the University of Oldenburg), which all employees must follow. We believe science demands a creative and passionate environment, and expects its participants to engage in and tolerate debates and disagreements that broaden their perspectives to recognize and promote new ideas and solutions. Thus, suggestions in this document are not meant to discourage debate or to suppress passionate discussions. In explicit terms, suggestions in this document are meant to
(1) clarify more subtle aspects of the HIFMB culture as clearly as possible,
(2) declare our wishes and expectations from ourselves as a community, and
(3) protect our ability to disagree with one another by defining the nature of a healthy environment that can support debates and discussions without inadvertently excluding or harming anyone.
The initial version of this document was developed by the HIFMB Persons of Trust team, and was finalized with input from all members of the HIFMB in 2023. We recognize it as an incomplete and evolving document: if you have any concerns or suggestions, or if you would like to contribute to it by adding new sections, please reach out to us via ed.bmfih@tsurtfosnosrep.
Our wishes and suggestions
The HIFMB is home to an international community of researchers and staff from diverse origins of geography, culture, and gender. In addition to our mission of excellence in research and education, the HIFMB strives to be a healthy work environment for all.
As a community we are mindful that concerns, which may be crucial for one person’s wellbeing may seem unimportant for another. Thus, an inclusive environment requires an additional effort from everyone of its members. We also recognize that it takes time and continuous learning to build inclusive and healthy work environments. To maximize the wellbeing of all our members, the following list includes various suggestions from email etiquette to best practices in verbal communication.
We strive to promote productive as well as respectful and inclusive discussions
Transformative research demands not only ideas that are defiant of the status quo, but also healthy social interactions that are inclusive of diverse ideas and individuals. We strive to conduct passionate and competitive research in a collegial environment that maintains this delicate balance by following a few principles for our daily interactions, whether they take place in group discussions in a seminar room or occur spontaneously during a coffee break.
Inclusive Discussions
- We strive to make sure only one person is talking at any given time. Getting excited is a part of our daily routine and the definition of our job, but starting multiple parallel discussions at a given moment, whether they are on- or off-topic, can be disruptive and even inefficient in some cases, since both parties would be missing out on others’ ideas.
- While participation enriches communication and makes discussions worthwhile, not everyone may be able to contribute to discussions that are too heated and everyone interrupts one another. It is often a good idea to keep an eye on the audience, actively collect input from those who did not have a chance to contribute yet, or take a breath to make room for someone else to jump in.
- We are aware that the members of our community have various cultural backgrounds and therefore might have different values and priorities. We embrace and cherish our diversity, and strive to listen to and learn from each other with an open-minded attitude.
Productive criticism
- We recognize that it is in everyone’s best interest to be tough on ideas during group discussions, but we also understand that it is not easy to criticize an idea while making sure that the owner of the idea does not feel as if they are not appreciated as a member of the group. Thus, we strive to find a delicate balance between criticism and professional compassion. As the deliverers of constructive criticism, we strive to be mindful of the recipients, regardless of differences in relative seniority, expertise, or professional background.
- We strive to promote a discussion culture where the recipients of the criticism can adjust the mode of delivery if they are uncomfortable with it, or those who happen to observe a tough situation would consider taking action. We believe a respectful nudge before anyone reaches their limits solves the vast majority of issues.
Respectful attitude
- We treat each other respectfully at all times, may it be during a coffee break or a scientific debate.
- We recognize that body language can be as interruptive as spoken words, so we strive to encourage the speaker’s attempt to speak their mind by making sure not only they are not stressed by our verbal intrusions, but also our physical reactions, something humans excel at noticing.
- We are aware that some days can be worse than others for each one of us to be a mindful participant of a discussion. When we feel that it is one of those days, we try to not attend group discussions.
Clean language
- We strive to keep our professional language clean and respectful in formal and informal daily interactions with other members of the HIFMB. We aim to avoid words that would be bleeped out in public broadcasts around the world. We may not be aware which words may be considered offensive by different cultures, thus, not taking any risks is a good practice. We welcome creative attempts to replace unpleasant words with non-offensive alternatives to overcome strong emotions that require strong expressions.
We strive to be mindful of gender pronouns
No professional communication requires the use of genders. But if the use of gender pronouns is necessary, one can do it in a mindful way to avoid misgendering individuals.
English and German are not gender-neutral languages by design, and pronouns play a significant role in written and verbal communication. When assumptions of gender based on name or physical appearance are combined with a habit of addressing people with gender pronouns without a second thought, a risk of misgendering individuals emerges. Luckily, avoiding such risk and conducting mindful communication that is inclusive of LGBTQ+ members of our community is easy:
- Do not assume someone’s gender or sexual orientation,
- Do not assume that conventional names are enough to precisely determine someone’s gender.
If a person lists their gender pronouns in their email signature, it is easy to avoid unintended mistakes. We encourage the members of our community to follow this practice when they see fit and feel comfortable to do so, and be explicit about their gender pronouns wherever they feel it is appropriate, such as in their email signatures, and lead by example to help others to do it comfortably.
Healthy communication in a workplace that can support a diverse community goes beyond institutional rules and regulations and the simple considerations mentioned above. We also strive to be mindful of sexist, racist, ableist, homophobic, transphobic jokes or innuendos, however negligible they seem, and step in when we recognize remarks that may be harmful and/or do not belong in the workplace. Stepping in is especially important for those of us who do not identify as a member of a minority group and show solidarity with those who do.
Comments that have the potential to harm others may be difficult to identify, in which case asking for clarification can help dissipate misunderstandings and create an opportunity to retract or modify them. Reacting in real-time can be difficult, but taking action retrospectively is also an option to address questionable comments that left behind a mark. If one does not feel comfortable raising these concerns directly, they can always reach out to the Persons of Trust for guidance.
We strive to use gender-neutral language and titles in our verbal and written communication
Languages that are not gender-neutral tend to favor masculine nouns and pronouns when the subject gender in a sentence is unclear or plural (i.e., a hypothetical example or group of people that include all genders). That’s why Ernst Haeckel’s tree of life has ‘man’ at the top rather than ‘human’, and the United States Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal” and not “all people are created equal”. But we believe it is our responsibility to do better and be mindful of our language when giving hypothetical examples, or referring to a group of individuals. The guidelines by the European Parliament for gender-neutral language contain many suggestions for best practices in English to promote gender equity and diversity. If you intend to give a hypothetical example to make a point, you can make it gender-neutral through minimal changes while maintaining good form and grammar. For instance, the following sentence that intends to make a point using a hypothetical person:
The promotion of a professor should consider the well-being of his trainees.
The same sentence can be phrased more appropriately as:
The promotion of a professor should consider the well-being of his or her trainees.
But the best practice would also avoid this form, and instead favor the following:
The promotion of a professor should consider the well-being of their trainees.
Mindful use of titles in the context of inclusivity is also an important consideration. Even when one addresses someone with knowledge of their gender pronouns, we believe it is the best practice to avoid using titles that are not gender-neutral, such as Mr or Ms, and instead prioritize the use of gender-neutral titles that are earned, such as Dr. or Prof.
One can always take a moment to search for someone’s name online to learn about their preferred title(s) as people tend to list them on their public profiles. Both in verbal and written communication, instead of addressing someone as,
Dear Ms. Curie
One can address them, if they hold a PhD, as,
Dear Dr. Curie
or, if they hold a professorship at an academic institution, as,
Dear Prof. Dr. Curie
If they don’t seem to have any online presence, or you know for a fact that they don’t have any distinctive titles, you can always address them as,
Dear Marie Curie
rather than using Ms or Mr.
While we are aware that it is difficult to influence the social traditions outside our institution, we strive to lead by example and routinely implement and follow such practices in communication with colleagues inside and outside of the HIFMB.
We strive to protect the privacy of all
We strive to conduct our daily conversations with our colleagues with professionalism and respect to protect the privacy of those who are third parties to our discussions. We believe maintaining such boundaries in our daily interactions, regardless of whether those we mention are present or not, is crucial to creating a healthy and tolerant working atmosphere. Disregarding such boundaries damages a collegial atmosphere over time by creating and deepening gaps between individuals, and by fostering the formation of clusters and cliques.
We strive to flatten the hierarchy
The administrative burden of managing an institution demands a hierarchical structure. While this is an unavoidable need of our organizational structure, we as an institution strive to ensure that our social or scientific interactions are free from any kind of hierarchical thought and attitude.
We recognize that our cultural framework and scientific impact are defined and implemented by early-career researchers of our institution, and wish every member of the HIFMB to search for ways to actively empower those who are less senior than them in discussions and decisions.
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If you have any concerns or suggestions, or if you would like to contribute to this document by adding new sections, please reach out to us via ed.bmfih@tsurtfosnosrep.