Furqan Asif at his “new” workplace (at home). Own picture Text: Roelof Kleis, Tessa Louwerens en Luuk Zegers
As many as 1000 new employees started their new jobs during the pandemic. What is that like?
Starting a new job is always a bit nerve-racking. How do you find your way around? What are your colleagues like? Well, they are not there. At least, not physically. Many of the new WUR staff have got to know their jobs, the campus and their colleagues mainly on-screen. So what is that like? It’s doable, say the new colleagues Resource spoke to. But it would be very nice to meet each other in the flesh. To see a student for once, to eat in the canteens, and to walk around the campus. Read on to hear about our new colleagues’ experiences.
‘You miss having someone to look over your shoulder’
Dirk de Baat, controller at the Centre for Development Innovation
‘I started on 1 July last year. The application procedures of the foregoing months were all online, which was a new experience. On my first day at work, I had an extensive talk with my line manager and the coordinator, and I collected the things I need for my work. After that, I haven’t been back on campus much, except just once in September, when a bit more was allowed. But then you are still sitting on your own in a room, so I might as well work at home. I like working independently, so working at home doesn’t cramp my style much. I saved up my questions and rang a colleague once a day. But you do miss having someone to have a look over your shoulder, to look at things with you. By now I have seen most of my colleagues face-to-face at least once. We have a meeting every Monday morning, but that is mainly about work. I think it would be nice to get to know my colleagues personally. Online contact is not the same as really meeting someone.’’
‘Whenever I don’t know everyone, there is a round of introductions first’
Romy Lansbergen, seaweed researcher at Wageningen Marine Research
‘I started in October 2020. In the first few weeks I could still go into the office, but after that, less and less. I haven’t heard of “onboarding”. I did go through an induction process with one-on-one online meetings scheduled with various people from the organization. We have a small team in Yerseke that meets weekly for coffee breaks. I find everyone very understanding, so whenever I’m in a meeting where there’s anyone I don’t know , there’s a round of introductions first. It’s a pity that I can’t talk to my colleagues face-to-face and get to know them outside work. Apart from that, I notice it’s nice to get to know people in smaller groups. In a big group it’s harder to speak up and make your presence felt, particularly when you’re new.’
‘I have been made welcome by my colleagues’
Yannick Vermeiren, assistant professor of Human Nutrition and Health
‘In my previous job in Antwerp, the practical research continued on location. So there, I went into work three days a week. Since I started in Wageningen last December, I’ve been working from home nearly every day. I have two young children. It is a kind of constant source of stress that I need to finish my work by the time the children get home. I took part in the online onboarding. That was nice, but it would have been nicer on campus. Once a week, I drive to Wageningen from Oud-Turnhout in Belgium to work in Helix, where I am made welcome by the few colleagues who are in the office. You meet the rest of your colleagues on Skype, Teams and Zoom. When there’s something I don’t know, I can often find good guides on the intranet. And I also have supervisors with plenty of experience in Wageningen, who know the ins and outs of the university. I’m happy about that. I hope that after the summer I will be able to sample the university’s true atmosphere, with the students, staff and cafeterias. I may not be a student anymore, but I do like to have people around me.’
‘The timing of the onboarding is important’
Furqan Asif, researcher in the Environmental Policy group
I started my postdoc not long after the Covid-19 outbreak began. Luckily I had already met some of my colleagues in March when it was still possible. I did join the online onboarding, which was nice and helped me to feel welcome and connected. In the period that it was allowed again, I worked from the office as much as possible so I could meet some of my colleagues.
I think the normal challenges of making friends and finding your way in a new country are exacerbated by the Covid situation. Practical things like moving furniture are difficult if you don’t know anyone who can help you. I was fortunate that one of my colleagues was kind enough to lend me their car so I was able to pick up some furniture.
While the onboarding was a good initiative, the timing is also important: when you’ve just started it might not be a priority, since you are busy with other things and it seems like a formality. WUR could do more to communicate why it is valuable to attend. And perhaps there could be a liaison officer for expats, to help them find their way in Wageningen.’
‘I already knew most of my colleagues well’
Mark de Rover, teacher of Food Microbiology and Food Quality and Design
‘When I started my job on 1 November 2020, I already knew most of my colleagues well. I had done my Bachelor’s thesis and two Master’s theses at Food Microbiology, one of the two departments where I work now. In that period, I was also often a student assistant, and I helped with education both before and during the coronavirus crisis. Some colleagues who are starting in the department don’t know anyone at all, and it might be hard for them to connect with their colleagues. The induction process was not very clear to start with, but after a week I got a lot of help from a colleague in the same job as me. If I don’t know where to find something, I just approach my colleagues. There is also an induction process in which we discuss what I come up against and what I’m planning to do each week, and so on. I miss the direct contact with students, and the sociable coffee breaks. We do have them online, but that is not quite the same.’
‘I’ve still seen far too little of the campus’
Nikolien van Gelderen, Events team leader at Communication Services
‘I started on 17 February last year, a few weeks before the first lockdown. Founders’ Day was just around the corner, and that kept us very busy so there was no chance of a quiet introduction. I’ve still seen far too little of the campus. The onboarding that was planned for April was cancelled. I still really only know Atlas. That’s a nuisance because when my colleagues talk about a location, I can’t picture it. I’ve got to know my colleagues themselves a little as we go along. That’s a bit difficult at the start, too: I don’t know them and they don’t know me. Now I’m not afraid of approaching people; I find my own way around. But WUR is a very large organization, and it’s not easy to get a sense of how an organization works when you are working remotely. Who does what? To add to that, my job – organizing events – has changed utterly. Since the lockdown, everything had to be online or in a kind of hybrid form. I had to learn a lot of new things. Online events have their pros and cons. The big advantage is their sustainability: no one has to travel for an online event. And it also makes it accessible to more people. Online events are here to stay as an additional option, but nothing beats face-to-face contact. We are social beings and we long to meet each other for real again.’