This period of lockdown is turning the way we live and work on its head and many initiatives are springing up to help us cope with social distancing. The communication team will keep you informed about those being offered by the CERN community.
The HR department has published an FAQ page to answer your questions about your contract situation or anything else relating to human resources. If you can’t find the answer to your question in the FAQ, please e-mail HR-Covid19@cern.ch. The HR teams will do their best to reply to you as quickly as possible. Finally, you can find and share suggestions and ideas about how to cope with lockdown on the Work Well Feel Well project’s Mattermost channel.
Many of us are discovering (or rediscovering) the joys of long video calls with our colleagues, for meetings, working groups and more. They might be sitting in front of a blank wall or in a living room full of squabbling kids, surrounded by photos of their latest holiday or piles of dirty laundry... the backgrounds of these video calls inevitably throw up some unexpected glimpses of the lives of others, sparking admiration, perplexity or hilarity among those watching.
Next week, we will be inviting you to take part in our “Background Challenge” photo competition. On a dedicated CERN site, you will be able to post a photo of yourself in front of the background that your colleagues regularly see, whether you’re at home or at CERN (creativity and inventiveness will of course be appreciated). You will then be able to vote for a winner who will be rewarded with the chance to see their photo on the CERN website. It’s an opportunity for the community to come together and share moments from our lives of confinement. If you’re not participating in videoconferences but are instead on site at CERN, you’re welcome to take part in the competition by posting a selfie from your workplace.
The Learning and Development service and the Library are pulling out all the stops to offer content for remote training and self-improvement. A new catalogue is available with resources to help you cope with teleworking. Don’t hesitate to check the learning centre website.
For more learning ideas during lockdown, see also CERN’s social media accounts, where many videos of the Laboratory are being published, as well as activities developed by S’Cool Lab that you can try out with your families. Check CERN accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The CERN clubs are also starting to offer online activities and we’ll provide more details soon.
While you’re waiting for other news from your colleagues at home and on site, take care of yourselves and keep up to date with the measures taken by CERN and the latest practical information by checking the dedicated page on the HSE website.