Be Nice Campaign

Mar 28, 2022

A Reminder to Be Nice – hard on problems and soft on people

Dear NC State Faculty and Staff: I’m Roy Baroff, the NC State Faculty and Staff Ombuds. This is my 8th year of service in this role and it’s been an honor and privilege to be your ombuds. Over the last two years, I’ve heard from faculty and staff across the university with a range of concerns. I’ve done my best to provide support and help… 

Feb 2, 2021

Positivity Language

I came across a recent post by Alena Scuk Bego about using positive “feeling” words. Alena is a health and wellness writer and her idea is to use these words to both celebrate and support positivity. Have a great week! Enthusiasm Interest Hope Kindness Gratitude Confidence Admiration Pride Euphoria Compassion Pride Contentment Satisfaction Amusement Awe… 

Jul 14, 2016

Negotiating in the Workplace – Part I

Call them differences, issues, conflicts, or concerns. Whatever the name, these come up almost every day in the workplace. And, its not necessarily a negative. We often want and need diverse ideas, differing opinions, or even direct disagreements to help fuel creativity and drive an organization forward.  This is certainly true at NC State where robust critical… 

Jun 29, 2016

Microaggressions – can we shift the landscape to microaffirmations?

This spring I’ve attended several programs on “Microagressions” in academia and wanted to share a couple aspects for your consideration. I suggest this topic is important as we seek to build a more collegial environment and based on the concerns that faculty members bring to the NC State Faculty Ombuds Office. First, what is a microagression?… 

May 31, 2016

Apology Research – How to do it Well !

  Have you ever offered an apology that fell flat?  That made someone madder?  Well, it turns out there are specific components to an effective apology.  These are the findings of a recently published article on an “apology” research project in the journal Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, Vol. 9, No. 2 (May 2016). The result – there… 

Oct 8, 2015

NC State Faculty Ombuds Office Announces New Initiative

  The “Be Nice Campaign:  Be Hard on Problems and Soft on People”   On June 19, 2015, in a New York Times opinion, Christine Porath wrote “No Time to Be Nice at Work” opening with “MEAN Bosses could have killed my father.” I wrote about this article in the summer (see entry of 7/31/15)…