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Our University is known for its communal, appreciative, and inspiring atmosphere, where staff and students in the work community can achieve their goals and develop themselves as top experts in their fields. Good management is based on openness, trust, non-discrimination, collaboration, recognition of individual’s potential, and caring.

JYU Code of Conduct includes the University’s ethical principles that are our guidelines in responsible, ethical and legal conduct. The Code of Conduct combines legislation, regulations, other agreements, and our strategy and focuses on the competence and wellbeing of the individual. Our university is a socially and culturally safe environment in which harassment, inappropriate treatment, discrimination or other inappropriate conduct is not tolerated in any encounter. 

JYU at WORK – Appropriate behaviour in the work community

An essential aspect of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥â€™s strategy focuses on constructing a community of capability, creativity, and wellbeing. In this kind of attractive community, everyone can feel respected and treated equitably – and have an appreciative and equal attitude toward other JYU members. To take full advantage of the potential of all members of our university community, accepting and embracing diversity becomes particularly important.

In principle, each member of the JYU community is entitled and obligated to implement the University’s shared policy of appropriate behaviour. By complying with these shared value-based principles, we enhance psychological safety and predictability in our work community, thus enabling the best possible success for each and all JYU members in their own work.

Through a process involving the university community during the year 2020, we defined shared guidelines for appropriate behaviour for the university community, which have been documented in the attached house rules. The house rules are intended to serve as a practical tool to help each of us plan and evaluate our own and other people’s actions. It translates our fundamental values – openness, trust, quality, and integrity – into practical guidelines.

Promoting appropriate behaviour

Our university community is multi-voiced and inclusive. All cooperation is based on our individual appreciation of and respect toward other members of the university community. Their thinking and actions may differ from our own, and that is a strength. Therefore, we seek to encounter each other with respect and a willingness to understand each other; we can respect each other even if we do not necessarily agree on everything. In practice, appropriate behaviour according to our shared principles means that each of us.

• seeks to act appropriately,
• corrects one’s own behaviour if finding it inappropriate in some respects, and
• intervenes in situations where he/she notices that somebody else is behaving inappropriately.

Intervening in inappropriate behaviour 

Although we seek to act according to the shared principles of appropriate behaviour, sometimes we fail to do so. This is human. At times, we are too busy, tired, or stressed. Sometimes we are just inconsiderate and do not think how our deeds or words may impact others. On other occasions, different views become personalised and lead to larger conflicts.

When unresolved conflicts surface, it is important to seek help for the underlying factors and address these issues in a constructive way. If they are ignored or not reacted to promptly enough, a negative fallout may spread more widely across the unit or organisation and thereby severely disrupt the functioning of the work community. Prompt action is therefore necessary in these kinds of circumstances.

Each member of the university community is above all responsible for his/her own action as part of the work community. The essential advice to each of us is this: If you suspect that your action in some situation has been, or it could have been, interpreted to be inappropriate within the work community, take up the issue. Ask the others how they experienced it and apologise when necessary. Every member of the university community is entitled and obligated to intervene when noticing any inappropriate action by another.

Supervisors and the management have a legal obligation to intervene in any irresponsible and other inappropriate conduct within the work community. We aim to make such cases as rare as possible and that we all, as a work community, take responsibility for appropriate behaviour in our daily work lives.

Regarding misconduct and harassment, we have zero tolerance; no such behaviour is accepted. Misconduct is defined as repeated, deliberate and often prolonged disruptive behaviour. In all cases, action should be taken as quickly as possible. If you cannot resolve the situation yourself, it is the responsibility of your own supervisor to intervene. There are clear guidelines for dealing with situations, with the aim of treating everyone involved objectively and fairly. In line with appropriate behaviour, work community issues should be sorted out by following the University’s processes, not on social media, for instance.