Rouages: “Working for important causes”
She is head of the Quality of Life at Work department and an internal coach within the Campus Life Division. Her daily routine involves raising awareness among staff and students about all forms of discrimination and listening to staff in order to better support them. This month, as part of the video series " Rouages" produced by the University, Laure Parmentier tells us about her job.
Laure Parmentier's office is located on the Triolet campus, at the end of the long corridor that runs through Building 5. Working slightly apart from her colleagues in the Campus Life Department, due to confidentiality requirements, she coordinates the Quality of Life at Work service. This small team consists of three staff members, including an occupational psychologist who works 20% of the time for the University. "Our missions are focused on three main areas: combating all forms of discrimination and gender-based and sexual violence, providing individual support to staff, particularly through coaching, and promoting the well-being of students and staff."
Combating sexual and gender-based violence is a key focus of the fight against all forms of discrimination at UM. Since December 2020, UM has had a gender equality plan, which is overseen by the Quality of Life at Work department. This plan includes the implementation of numerous indicators, as well as the flagship event "Donner des elles à l'UM" (Empowering Women at UM), organized every year in March to mark Women's History Month.
Reporting sexual and gender-based violence
The University has established special channels to make it easier to report sexual and gender-based violence, whether you are a victim or a witness. "Together with Agnès Fichard-Caroll, Vice President for Social Responsibility, I am one of the points of contact for these reports. The awareness-raising work we do helps to show that UM has a zero-tolerance policy on these issues, and I make sure to remind students and staff of this whenever I have the opportunity to speak to them," explains Laure Parmentier.
For several years now, female teachers, researchers, and BIATS in management positions have also been able to benefit from the Oser! program. The goal is to help these women gain greater self-confidence "and encourage them to break through the famous glass ceiling that limits their access to positions of responsibility,"emphasizes Laure Parmentier. She applies this awareness-raising work to all forms of discrimination, notably through the organization of a week dedicated to combating LGBT+phobia.
Support and coach
At the heart of the QWL department's mission is also individual support, with the option of consulting the occupational psychologist or taking advantage of coaching sessions with Laure Parmentier. "Coaching is about supporting an individual or a team to achieve their professional goals," she explains. Change management, relationship difficulties, exam preparation, time management... all issues can be addressed, provided they fall within the professional sphere. "My role is to help them take a step back by asking the right questions. I'm not there to give advice, but to help them come up with a solution," she explains.
This approach is in line with the department's overall mission to promote the well-being of students and staff by organizing workshops on meditation, sophrology, breathing exercises, and public speaking. "but also during Quality of Life at Work Week, which addresses topics such as work-life balance and the development of collective intelligence," emphasizes Laure Parmentier.
"On equal terms"
Trained in psychology and coaching, the new department head has already supported many different groups of people during her career: young people in difficulty, business leaders, police officers. "My motivation is the desire to support people by building a relationship of trust, on an equal footing. I enjoy analyzing and understanding their issues." The position she has held at the University since last February is a new challenge that the coach is taking on with undisguised satisfaction: "Working at the University means being able to work effectively for important causes with a very diverse audience. Our actions can reach 55,000 students and staff. If we can raise their awareness and each of them can in turn plant a small seed, things could progress very quickly!"