Dare to speak up!

Imagine that you notice a colleague paying excessive attention to someone in your team. This obviously bothers her but it seems that she doesn’t dare to say anything. The remarks keep getting more and more disrespectful and explicit until one day she finally pours out her heart to you. She feels upset and unsure about what to do. For months, she’s been worrying about how to deal with the situation.

Integrity Advice and Reporting Office

This is a situation that could happen to any of us. People who experience inappropriate behaviour often feel powerless. It is important not to wait too long to discuss situations like this. You can ask your manager for help in this regard. If you prefer to ask for advice confidentially you can talk to a confidential adviser (in The Hague and at the larger missions). You can also consider making a report to VCI’s Integrity Advice and Reporting Office. The office is staffed by four integrity investigation specialists who have expertise in advice, prevention and awareness-raising in the areas of integrity, inappropriate behaviour and social and emotional safety. When reports of inappropriate behaviour come in, they take action. The options range from an open conversation to an investigation or official complaint procedure. If necessary, disciplinary measures will follow.

Reporting takes courage

Berber and her colleagues at the Integrity Advice and Reporting Office are specialised in handling reports related to integrity and behaviour. ‘Don’t keep it to yourself for too long, because things can escalate,’ she says. ‘When a colleague comes to us, we listen to their story and work with them to decide what to do next. If people report incidents to us, we can help resolve them.’ VCI director Claire Zalm also encourages staff to make reports: ‘Don’t be afraid or reluctant to get in touch with us. It isn’t always easy to speak out about something they feel isn’t right. It takes courage. So dare to speak up about integrity incidents!

Clear rules

Integrity violations, including inappropriate behaviour, directly impact social safety in the workplace. But sometimes it isn’t immediately obvious what is acceptable and what isn’t and what the exact rules are. The Central Government Code of Conduct on Integrity for BZ explains these rules in clear terms. The Integrity Portal provides more information about BZ rules, appropriate and inappropriate behaviour, and tools for focusing attention on integrity and a safe and supportive working environment. If you feel that a colleague is behaving unethically or inappropriately, start a conversation. Identify the inappropriate behaviour as factually as possible: describe their remarks or actions as precisely as you can. For example, you could say: ‘I felt uncomfortable when I heard you make a remark about ... or when you did ...’. If it is about you, tell them how you do want to be treated and talked to. By talking to a colleague about their behaviour at an early stage, you can prevent further escalation in the workplace.

Investigation

In the case of some problems or reports, an investigation necessarily follows. For example when there is an indication of a very serious problem or if it is unclear what exactly happened. Berber observes: ‘When we’ve conducted investigations, I’ve noticed that people often find it rather stressful to talk to us. While that’s understandable, there’s no need. After all, we are colleagues. It’s just that in those circumstances our role as advice and reporting office staff is a bit different. But that makes it all the more important for us to talk openly and empathetically with people. I firmly believe that. People need to feel safe to be able to share their story with us. It starts by trying to establish a connection with the person you’re talking to. Being able to conduct a conversation with respect and empathy while at the same time getting to the bottom of the situation is a challenging balancing act that makes carrying out integrity investigations so interesting.

Curious colleagues

‘My immediate colleagues are often curious about our work. When they see in my diary that I’m going to be out of the office on official business, they sometimes ask me where I’m going. But of course as investigators we can’t say anything about that. We treat everything that happens within the organisation with the strictest confidence. I understand why people are curious about what we do. I enjoy my job so much because I’m interested in people and what motivates them. Especially at BZ, whose staff are so diverse and work all over the world. What motivates them? Why do people do what they do? And what role does the context of a team, section, organisation or organisational culture play in people’s behaviour? There is an overview of anonymised cases on the Integrity Portal.

Social and emotional safety

Berber recommends engaging in regular dialogue as a team. ‘Social and emotional safety and integrity is about having an open discussion in the team or department about what you consider normal behaviour and what you don’t. People often have no idea that they’ve crossed a line. What someone might intend as an innocent joke could feel hurtful or intimidating to someone else. Talking about social and emotional safety openly and transparently gives you the space you need to explain how you’ve been affected.’ If it’s difficult for you to speak to the person who has behaved inappropriately, or if you do speak to them and the conversation doesn’t go well, you can talk to your manager about the situation. Managers play a key role in identifying and tackling inappropriate behaviour. You need to feel socially safe in order to enjoy your work. But incidents can occur in any organisation. Berber says that’s unavoidable. ‘Wherever people work together, something improper is bound to happen once in a while. You can’t prevent everything. The point is that BZ staff need to know that if something does happen, the organisation will take action.