Purpose Code of Conduct
The standard we hold ourselves to
Why have a Code of Conduct?
We are striving towards a Purpose: making great beer to share with others. Achieving this will require the best contributions from a team with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and ways of thinking, working, and communicating. It will require us to engage in honest disagreement on topics we care deeply about, to take social and emotional risks in our work, and to learn and improve as a team when we fall short.
We can only do this if Purpose is a positive, inclusive, and growth-oriented place to work, where each of us feels safe and respected. Our Code of Conduct establishes norms for how we work together. It sets baseline expectations required to make Purpose a positive, inclusive, and growth-oriented environment for all members of Purpose.
Scope
The Code of Conduct applies equally to all of us at Purpose. It applies to all Purpose spaces and events. It applies to interactions with other Purpose employees, as well as interactions with non-Purpose folks (customers, vendors, other brewery employees) in Purpose spaces and events.
Principles
Every Purpose employee has a right to feel safe and respected at work.
Every Purpose employee is expected to contribute to making Purpose a positive, inclusive, growth-oriented environment.
Expected Behavior
The behaviors listed below support making Purpose a positive, inclusive, and growth-oriented environment. It is not an exhaustive list, so please read it for its intent. We will update this list as we learn.
We expect each member of Purpose to:
Be respectful – How each of us chooses to interact directly impacts the productivity and well-being of other Purpose employees, positively or negatively. Take the needs of others into account in your work and how you engage with the team. Share context when you make requests of other Purpose employees. Ask questions and listen for understanding. Give feedback on work output and behavior, and withhold judgment. These are some ways you can take the needs of others into account.
Take responsibility for communication – Communicate in a way that helps others understand and enables them to feel safe and respected. Actively listen to understand what others think and how they feel. If others do not understand your point, adjust your communication to help them understand. If others do not feel safe and respected, it is on you to understand why and adjust how you communicate. If this is an area you are looking to improve, Non-Violent Communication is an excellent framework to start with.
Be curious – When you do not understand another Purpose employee, respond first with curiosity. Try to understand what perspective they have that you do not. Ask genuine questions that help them clarify their message. Especially on difficult topics, others may need help expressing themselves as clearly as possible. You do not have to agree, but you should strive to understand.
Find the right forum – We communicate and interact in many forums. Some forums are better than others depending on the audience, topic of conversation, and difficulty of the topic. Each forum has its strengths and weaknesses. Use your judgment to find a forum where each person can be heard and the conversation is likely to result in greater understanding.
Support each other and the team – We all need help in order to be at our best. When you notice another Purpose employee might be struggling or in need of assistance, check in to see if you can help them out. Speak up if you feel someone isn’t being heard. If a debate shifts from productive disagreement and towards a conversation that threatens a positive, inclusive, growth-oriented workplace, remind others to engage in the expected behaviors in this Code of Conduct.
Unacceptable Behavior
Some behaviors are incompatible with Purpose being a positive, inclusive, and growth-oriented environment and are therefore unacceptable. When these behaviors occur, they make it difficult for other Purpose employees to feel safe and respected. They make it difficult for other Purpose employees to engage in the expected behaviors (listed above) that support the positive, inclusive, and growth-oriented environment we strive to maintain.
The following behaviors are unacceptable:
Harassment or exclusionary behavior – This includes, but is not limited to:
Threats or violent language directed against another person or group of people.
Discriminatory jokes or any form of demeaning language against a person or group of people.
Sharing sexually explicit or violent material.
Personal insults, especially those using racist, sexist, or ableist terms.
Inappropriate physical conduct.
Unwelcome sexual attention.
Intentional or repeated misgendering.
Repeated harassment of others. In general, if someone asks you to stop, then stop.
Hazing or the imposition of humiliating tasks as initiation rights to new teammates.
Advocating for or encouraging any of the above behavior.
Malicious behavior – Whether or not it rises to the level of harassment, deliberately attempting to make others feel bad is unacceptable. This includes but is not limited to:
Name-calling and other insults.
Singling out others for derision or exclusion.
Inappropriate joking about the personal life of another Purpose employee.
Belittling the abilities, perspective, or contributions of another Purpose employee.
Anyone asked to stop or change their behavior in line with the Code of Conduct is expected to do so immediately.
Reporting a Problem
If you witness or are subject to behavior that is in violation of our Code of Conduct, please take one of the following actions:
Address it directly. If you are comfortable doing so, you may discuss the issue directly with the individual(s) involved. In cases where someone made a mistake and a brief conversation can address the issue, this can be an effective way to help them understand the impact of their words or actions. Please only take this route if you feel comfortable doing so and you feel prepared to have a productive conversation. If you are not sure, please take one of the steps below instead.
Report to your Manager or to James. Your manager probably has insight into the dynamics of the team, which makes them a good person to look to for advice. They may be able to talk directly to the Purpose employee in question if you feel uncomfortable or unsafe doing so yourself, or they can work directly with the coach to the Purpose employee in question to address the issue. Finally, your manager will be able to help you figure out how to ensure that any conflict with a colleague doesn’t interfere with your work.
Supporting Each Other
Please use the above reporting methods to report any incident you observe, even if you are not directly involved or it seems inconsequential at the time. It may be difficult for the people impacted by the behavior to report the issue themselves.
Additionally, when you witness behavior that is not in line with our Code of Conduct, err on the side of supporting the impacted Purpose employee(s). Reach out to check in and see how you can help.
Support / Further Reading
The Purpose Code of Conduct is heavily inspired by and draws language from the Zapier, Vox, and Recurse Center Codes of Conduct, as well as Project Include’s guide to writing a code of conduct.