OCCares

In the end, Safeguarding also simply means taking care of ourselves and the other people active in OCC. In other words, in our daily work, we need to combine the Safeguarding Policies with the rules from the Code of Conduct, while also thinking about our own well-being. To do so, we have set-up some basic guidelines - OCCares - to make sure that we do not burn-out, not get overworked and feel good during our working time at OCC.

Take breaks!

As already mentioned in our Code of Conduct, breaks are a required part of your daily work. But it's always important to keep in mind that depending on your workload and tasks, some may one day need a longer break than others, and we always try to be flexible with this. If you need a longer break or lunch, ask your supervisor and talk about your needs.

Take holidays!

We tend to overwork, and even skip our holidays in the nonprofit sector. However, at OCC, we do our best to prevent this and encourage everyone to take their (legally required) holidays every year. This is why we also have regular meetings with the teams, to check holiday usage and this is also why we now have specific holiday guidelines in this handbook. In other words: plan your holidays well! In good consultation, we are always quite flexible when you want to take your holidays.

Give feedback!

Without getting also constructive feedback, we won't improve. So never hesitate to provide feedback to colleagues, but also to OCC management. We are not perfect, and we constantly want to improve. If you are afraid to give someone that is managing you feedback, team-up with a colleague and give the feedback together. Read this page to get some insights how you can give adequate and effective feedback.

Take care of yourself!

Make sure to take good care of yourself. Of course, we won't interfere with your personal life, but in order to feel also good at work, we give some recommendations:

• Eat healthy (some tips here)

• Talk about your feelings (why here)

• Do some sports now and then (the effect of sports here)

• Sleep well (at least 7 hours a night, why here)

You can always ask advice from your team about any tips and support for taking care of yourself. We are of course not psychologists or coaches, but we are happy to help where we can and give you some personal advice.

Go offline!

And maybe most importantly: when you are NOT working, make sure to disconnect properly from your work. That means:

• Mute Slack

• Mute any OCC WhatsApp groups

• Mute your email notifications

• Inform colleagues you're off so they won't contact you for work topics