How Community Agreements Can Improve Workplace Culture in Physics

Abstract

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) committees and Codes of Conduct (CoC) have become common in laboratories and physics departments across the country. However, very often these EDI committees and CoC are not equipped to provide practical consequences for violations, and therefore are mostly performative in nature. A considerable effort has been devoted by various groups within APS units and beyond the APS in developing instead what are now called Community Guidelines. Community Guidelines help implement the core principles in CoC, by setting expectations for participation in in-person events and virtual communication. When further accompanied by accountability and enforcement processes, they develop into Community Agreements. This White Paper discusses the elements necessary to create and implement an effective Community Agreement, reviews examples of Community Agreements in physics, and argues that physics collaborations, physics departments, and ultimately as many physics organizations as possible, however large or small, should have a Community Agreement in place. We advocate that Community Agreements should become part of the bylaws of any entity that has bylaws.