Mediation at work
When asked, 38% of workers said they have to deal with conflict at work either frequently or all the time. Given that many of us spend more daylight hours with our colleagues than our families, that is not an insignificant burden, with implications for our wellbeing and productivity.
A conflict ignored is unlikely to go away. Mediation at work is a quick and effective way to deal with it to everyone’s satisfaction.
What is mediation?
Mediation is an informal, confidential process. It helps people in conflict to learn from what’s happened, rather than apportioning blame, and to find an acceptable way forward.
The process is facilitated by a mediator. Ideally the mediator will be independent so that their neutrality is trusted.
Each participant will have a private session with the mediator to explore their perspective and prepare to meet with the other person/s. In the joint session the mediator’s role is to enable people to be heard and understood, keeping things balanced and constructive.
The process works with the consent of everyone involved. They need to want to sort out the problem and be willing to try working through the issues together. This means that everyone in the room is invested in the process and its outcome.
What are the benefits of mediation?
Mediation enables stressful, distracting conflicts to be resolved quickly. That brings benefits for the wellbeing, morale, productivity and attendance of those directly involved, and probably their managers and colleagues too.
It gives participants a better understanding of each other, allowing them to re-build and strengthen their relationship. It also often results in creative solutions to shared problems, and people motivated to implement them.
Finally, the experience of mediation shows people a better way of handling conflict in future so the benefits continue to be felt.
How to get mediation at work?
If you think that you or someone in your organisation could benefit from mediation at work, then Concord Conflict Solutions can help. We are professional and experienced independent workplace mediators. We provide confidential and neutral support for referrers and participants, right from the start. Because we always work as a pair this means strong and flexible support for our clients.
Why not see if we can help you deal with a problem conflict by talking to us today?
