Codes of conduct is a set of guidelines for behaviour that specify how people want things to be in the workplace. We recommend making arrangements for employees to create codes of conduct as a mapping activity. This can take place in connection with workshops or surveys conducted to map problems, but it can also be an independent exercise. 

Codes of conduct can address the group’s goals and ambitions (this is what we stand for and what we want to achieve), as well as language use and social norms (this is how we want things to be here), and unwanted behaviour (this is what we want to avoid).

During this activity, you should be specific.

General guidelines like ‘we want to have a good working environment’ are not very helpful. The person facilitating this exercise should suggest specific sub-topics, such as rules for collaboration in project groups, how the meeting culture should be, the relationship between junior and senior researchers, or how people interact with each other during fieldwork. 

We suggest that part of this exercise involves having participants reflect on how the working environment currently functions as they create the guidelines. Relevant questions they can ask in the discussion are: what is our working environment like at the moment, and what are the consequences of this? What do we want to continue doing, and what do we want to improve? And what do we lose, and what opportunities do we miss if these guidelines are not followed? 

An advantage of having established codes of conduct is that employees in the academic community have these guidelines at hand when an adverse situation arises, providing a point of reference. 

Developing codes of conduct is also a tool for identifying where the challenges lie within the academic community. All the ideas we have about solutions also implicitly reflect particular understandings of what the ‘problem’ is (Bacchi, 2009). When people focus on correct or desired behaviour, measures and guidelines, this will also reveal what is perceived as problematic, or which parts of the academic community have potential for improvement. 

For example: If many people emphasise that it is important to focus on language use during meetings, the alcohol culture in the workplace, or that supervisors should include junior researchers in writing applications and project work, this will indicate that these are areas that are not currently functioning optimally. 

The information can then be used to implement measures or be incorporated into local action plans.