Code of Conduct - BP4 group

The best science is usually achieved when scientists feel supported and welcome to have crucial conversations in a respectful manner. Thank you for making our shared space at BP4 harassment-free and inclusive for all members of the group as well as outside colleagues. If you have concerns, do not feel safe, or are made to feel unwelcome in this research environment, or feel targeted, please talk to the dedicated team (listed below in Section 4). If you see instances of ill-natured interactions, please speak to the dedicated team of people (listed below in Section 4). Remember that, as well as selected people, no one is perfect, and this is the first step toward including the Code of Conduct in our team. Your comments on how to improve it are very welcome.

Section 1: General Expectations

The following Code of Conduct applies to all interactions of members in the BP4 group, online and offline, including social media, mailing lists, meetings, conferences, and one-to-one interactions.

• All members of the group should be treated with respect regardless of personal attributes, including but not limited to: race, ethnicity, gender or gender identity, physical appearance, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political affiliation or opinions, sexual preference, caregiver status, age, nationality, language.

• Harassment, verbal or physical, is not tolerated. Keep in mind that what is acceptable to one person may not be acceptable to another. If you are not sure whether your behaviour is appropriate, try discussing it with the person first or get in touch with the designated persons listed at the end of this document.

• All members are expected to respect their colleagues' personal boundaries and not make unwelcome jokes or disparaging remarks. Members are expected to refrain from providing unsolicited feedback outside of scientific matters or making ad hominem remarks while providing scientific feedback to colleagues

• ( Link to a resource page on how to give and receive effective feedback).

• Bullying, including physical bullying, exclusion, marginalisation, disparagement, or intimidation, is not tolerated.

• All members of the group are entitled to request that an undesirable behavior that makes them feel uncomfortable is discontinued.

• All members are expected to immediately stop any behaviour inconsistent with the Code of Conduct, regardless of original intent. Members are expected to prioritize impact over intent. Members are also expected to support those who report violations of departmental or institute policy, taking care not to further alienate those who are already feeling under-supported or isolated.

Section 2: Group interactions

We hope to have a supportive, collaborative attitude from all BP4 members to maintain and foster a learning environment. This includes:

• Be mindful of cultural norms. Do not interrupt your teammates while they are speaking; do not speak over them; and be aware and respectful of the natural volume of their voices. Be respectful of individual communication skills and fluency in the common languages we speak.

• Be available, within reason, to share knowledge and do so respectfully. Never make a teammate feel bad for not knowing something you already know. It is not your role to assess your teammates' efforts or knowledge. If you feel like supporting a teammate is getting in the way of your productivity in the group, bring this concern directly to the relevant people.

• Be conscientious and value your teammates' time when asking for help. Make sure you have done your share of weight lifting: you have reviewed the resources available to the group and looked around for answers when applicable. Prepare yourself to receive help: be ready to ask clear questions and to demonstrate the issues you are having. Your teammates should not be struggling to understand what your problem is (this includes having access to the computers where you are running your code if the question is technical/computational, and being able to reproduce errors and behaviours for which you seek help). A helpful way to achieve this is to try documenting your error/issue as if you are seeking help from an online forum or helpdesk, including screenshots and code snippets where relevant.

• During meetings/seminars, we aim to give our full attention to the speaker, so that everyone feels heard and respected. As a general rule, please avoid using phones or laptops for unrelated tasks while others are presenting or discussing, unless you need them for note‑taking, accessibility reasons, or to look up something relevant to the conversation. Additionally, please ensure your phone/laptop notifications are not disruptive when someone is speaking.

• Be on time for meetings/seminars to respect your and others' time.

• Be mindful of the shared spaces and clean up after yourself when you make use of the microwave, coffee machine, kettle, refrigerator etc which are of common use for all colleagues.

• Be mindful of noise levels in shared areas, particularly in centrally located common spaces. While informal interactions (e.g. during lunch hours) are encouraged, excessive noise that may disrupt colleagues working in adjacent offices should be avoided. This includes the use of loud, disruptive, or inappropriate language, including the use of profanity, is discouraged in shared and professional environments. Members engaging in phone, video, or online meetings (professional or personal) should ensure that doors are closed where possible and that their speaking volume does not disturb others. Where extended or potentially disruptive conversations are anticipated, members are encouraged to use designated meeting rooms or private spaces.

• The department values a healthy work-life balance, recommending sufficient downtime over holidays and annual leave as well as during weekends and post-workday hours on a regular basis. However, since research work is “by project” a somewhat irregular schedule might be expected, including but not limited to collaboration telecons outside of work hours and occasional periods of intense workload to meet deadlines. However, these periods of intensity are expected to be rare and should be through mutual agreement. Each individual in the department is encouraged to negotiate their needs of downtime with their appointed mentor/supervisor within the guidelines of their official contract. Members are also strongly encouraged to record their absences (holidays and work-related travel) to the BP4 Google calendar.

• Conversations with co-workers related to work and scheduling are best confined to official channels of work conversation (E-mail or Slack). Personal channels of conversation (phone number or messenger/WhatsApp) must be reserved for emergencies unless there is prior agreement with the specific co-worker.

• In addition to all the above, take initiative and/or intervene when you witness behavior that is inconsistent with the Code of Conduct or constitutes bullying or harassment in any form. Speak up, even if the behavior is directed towards people who are not present.

• Here are some resources on bystander intervention: Link 1, Link 2

• Respect others’ time, space, and communication preferences. Recognize that people differ in how they interact socially. Do not pressure anyone into conversations or interactions they are not comfortable with.

• For more specific group interactions, as supervisor-student/student-supervisor, if you have any issues related to your work conditions and/or communications problems, you can discuss with the head of the BP4 group to try to solve the issue. You can also speak with the people responsible for the doctoral school (we strongly recommend Jakub Wagner as a very empathic person). Also, creating a dedicated supervisor-student contract can help to structure your work. Resources for creating such dedicated contracts/compacts can be found here: Link 1, Link 2, Link 3.

Section 3 : Disability and Mental Health

We really want BP4 to be a place where everyone, whether you live with anxiety, depression, ADHD, autism, chronic illness, or any visible or invisible disability, feels completely safe and supported. Needing quieter days, flexible hours, a break in the middle of a long meeting, time for therapy, noise-cancelling headphones, or just a bit longer to get your thoughts together is totally normal here. It’s never something to feel ashamed of or hide.

If something small would help you feel more at ease (remote days when you’re struggling, written notes instead of speaking, or anything else), just say the word. You can quietly talk to one of us, or you can try to make an appointment at, for example, Dialog (Multilingual Mental Health Care in Warsaw), whoever you feel most comfortable with. We’ve got you, and it stays between us.

You belong here, good days and bad days alike

Section 4: Contact Persons

In Poland, bullying and harassment at the workplace are specifically addressed under the Labour Code (Kodeks pracy), which imposes strict obligations on employers to prevent such behavior. From a legal point of view, the Labour Code is intended for employees, and therefore not for students; however, in our group, we will attempt to implement it if the need arises.
Here is some information about the definition of bullying and workplace harassment in Polish law (document in English): LINK.
Some changes to this legal framework are also described here: LINK (eng)

Non-compliance to the code of conduct can be discussed with the person who has made you uncomfortable (if you feel safe doing so), or with designated contact persons as listed below. Talking to a designated contact person can be especially helpful for repeated instances of violations that make an individual feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Issues can also be anonymously reported via this form (which will be visible to the contact persons in charge of the form in that month, information regarding this is denoted on top of the form as well as on the display in the common area): Anonymous reporting form

The anonymous reporting is managed on a rotational basis by two members from the list of contact persons below, changing every month (roughly). If the reporting person wishes to keep their report private from any specific contact persons or anyone else, this can be specified while they are making the report (either in person or in the online form). Upon receiving a report, the contact persons will act as a mediator between the aggrieved (if they are named) and the person the aggrieved feels aggravated by. Contact persons will not actively police compliance to the CoC or pro-actively search for CoC violations; they have the same rights and responsibilities for CoC reporting and compliance as all members of BP4.

Once a report is made to a contact person, it will be reviewed by a group of people pooled from the list of all contact persons (keeping privacy constraints in mind as specified by the complainant/reporter). An assessment will be made based on previous documentation whether the complaint reflects a pattern of behaviour, and a resolution will be considered through dialogue or escalation to other authorities as needed. Finally, the process will be documented, with follow-up (where possible) provided within 30 business days and final records archived for future reference. Detailed information concerning this chain of action are as follows:

1. The contact person who has received the report will now be the main point of contact and responsible for communication going forwards. Within 10 business days the contact person will discuss the report with all the other contact persons (unless one/some of them have been specifically designated otherwise by the person making the report). A documentation will be made by the point of contact at this juncture if it hasn’t already been made by the complainant (for example, complaints via email or the anonymous form).

2. The contact persons will discuss first whether the report is part of a pattern of behaviour where a certain individual or group has been repeatedly making the same kind of violations over time. The previous documentation of complaints will be considered in this step.

3. For anonymous and bystander complaints, the contact persons may approach the person affected by the behaviour in the complaint. This will be to check whether this is an acceptable dynamic for them that has been previously established through mutual communication, or if they are feeling uncomfortable or affected negatively by the behaviour as described in the report.

4. For direct complaints made by the person affected by the behaviour in the report, this above step will be skipped.

5. The contact persons will then determine whether the issue can be solved through dialogue with the person who has been reported to be in violation– typically an action reserved for one-time or one-off behaviours that do not amount to a pattern. In case of repeated violations or a pattern of behaviour not being resolved through previous dialogue, contact persons may choose to escalate the issue to the Head of BP4 or the Head of the Doctoral School, as applicable. For violations that amount to criminal behaviour, sexual harassment or mobbing (as defined by Polish law) the HR of NCBJ will be informed.

6. Depending on the timeline for resolution, a follow-up report will be shared with the person who has made the complaint within 30 business days (if possible). If the complaint has been made anonymously without providing any contact information it may not be possible to provide a follow-up in that case.

7. At the end of this process the whole timeline of events including the initial complaint, intermediate steps as well as resolution (where possible) will be documented by the person who was the first point of contact. The documentation will happen via e-mail to an NCBJ email account reserved exclusively for this record-keeping, for reasons of continuity and future reference.

You can report all issues to:

• Krzysztof Lisiecki (student representative)
• Pratik Dabhade
• Ambra Nanni
• Anna Durkalec
• Nandini Hazra
• Subhrata Dey