With the growing number of harassment and bullying claims being lodged each year, Workplace mediation has become a preferred, low-cost option in resolving workplace conflict. If litigation appears imminent, the Barrington team of Psychologists can aid in the resolution of these conflicts by clarifying concerns and enabling employees to resolve the situation.
Up to 40%
The Washington Business Journal reported that supervisors spend between 25 – 40% of their week addressing workplace conflicts.
That’s almost $30,000 of each supervisor’s salary spent on conflict resolution.
Up to 80%
Organisations that adopted a mediation process reported a 50 – 80% reduction in litigation costs (Stipanovvich, 2004).
Typically, mediation is used for situations such as:
- Interpersonal disputes
- Grievance and disciplinary procedures
- Harassment and abuse issues
- Unfair dismissals.
The goal of mediation is to:
- Resolve differences between the parties
- Avoid costly and time-consuming legal undertakings
- Provide individual coaching and support through the resolution process
- Establish workplace agreements that will provide guidelines for interpersonal relating and for ensuring productivity
- Provide feedback to management at the conclusion of the process
Workplace Mediation is an effective solution to those issues which undermine workplace morale. By dealing with the conflict effectively, it can:
- Increase in confidence by both staff and management in the organisation’s capacity to deal appropriately with such issues
- Maintain assurance as issues are handled swiftly, professionally and confidentially, resulting in enhanced performance and productivity
- Provide a clear demonstration to staff that the organisation is committed to working toward solutions in a way that provides the least trauma or long-term suffering