“I have a problem. It's making a noise. It's giving an error message. I can't find it."
These are some of the most common phrases we, the engineers, hear when people come to us for help. And then, we magically fix the problem. Our work might not always be visible, but it is crucial for the work of others to be carried out. Without us, who would people turn to with their issues?
On June 14th, 2024, all NCMM’s engineers spent several hours discussing the results of the ARK survey in their 1st, newly created, working team meeting. The purpose of the meeting was two-fold, to reinforce cohesion across the research groups, and to explore ways of improving their work environment. Rasma Gutsmite, newly appointed lab manager, and Sissel Eikvar, HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) coordinator, led the meeting and tasked the participants to write down their dream work scenario on sticky notes – what would make their workplace a dream work environment. Some of the proposed ideas might be challenging to implement, while others require time and effort. Personal and professional development came high on the list of priority: feeling appreciated goes beyond performing routine tasks and solving problems; it is also about learning new skills and gaining new knowledge, for example, by peer-teaching or by going on training courses.
Following the ARK workshop, a fruitful group discussion took place. Improvements to be made, such as better lab organization and improving routine workflow, were explored. It highlighted that, individually, each engineer is committed to their role, however they realized that by working together, much more could be achieved to benefit, not only the engineers’ group, but the entire Centre too. Not one person alone can make our dream-working environment a reality: it requires the participation of everyone, from students to leadership. The engineers left their first group meeting with this final message: “Let’s work together to make it happen!”.