ORS Annual Report 2020 English

Nina Trippl
Team leader for support work
in Styria & Carinthia
Joined ORS AT in 2015
‘Talking to one another and
learning from each other enriches
our experience. It has taught
me not to be the kind of manager
who doesn’t want to delegate
tasks and demands perfection.’
In 2020, Nina Trippl saw the number
of her colleagues reduced from over
300 to less than 20. The withdrawal
from responsibility for support at
national level left many unanswered
questions. The realignment of ORS
Austria, with Nina as new team leader
for support work in the states of
Styria and Carinthia, marks a new beginning.
‘Onwards and upwards’ is Nina Trippl’s
motto for the year. On the one
hand, it sums up our perseverance
in our commitment to refugees, despite
the coronavirus restrictions.
On the other hand, the phrase also
reflects her optimism for the future
of ORS, which had to regroup once
the support work for the Austrian
Ministry of the Interior expired.
Saying goodbye to long-term colleagues
was not easy.
The social support workers in her
team are often alone, travelling to
assist the refugees and also tend not
to be fazed when the unforeseen happens.
As team leader, she regularly
sets aside time to catch up. The demands
and expectations that both
partners and asylum seekers place on
support are many and varied. Day-today
circumstances require a professional
understanding of how to deal
with on-site and remote issues.
‘Talking to one another and learning
from each other enriches our experience.
It has taught me not to be the
kind of manager who doesn’t want
to delegate tasks and demands perfection,’
explains the team leader,
who has been employed by ORS for
just under six years. Even if women
are now represented in many areas
previously dominated by men, she
feels that there is still room for improvement
where equal opportunity
is concerned. With reference to her
role at ORS, however, she does not
believe that gender is a pivotal factor
when it comes to management
positions, or that she faces greater
or different challenges as a result.
And so it’s ‘onwards and upwards’.
She is setting about her new responsibilities
as team leader and
has a positive view of what the future
will bring.
‘The best recipe for
overcoming stressful
situations in support
is continuity, your own
experience and talking
to other members
of the team.’
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