Workplace mediation

In 2007 Michael Gibbons wrote a review of M Gibbons review and in April 2009 a new Employment Act came into force, encouraging the use of mediation in the workplace, highlighting the benefits of mediation rather than expending the time, cost and stress of going through an Employment Tribunal.

Equally a new ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures also encourages the use of workplace mediation.

For the majority of us an enormous amount of our time will be spent at work it would be desirable to have it as hassle free as possible. Despite the best of intentions we are all different, we all have different strengths, weaknesses, personalities, ambitions, belief systems and values and deal with issues better or worse than others, with so many conflicting issues in the mix it is inevitable that the majority of us will at some point during our working life experience a situation leading to conflict with another employee, employer. Workplace conflict can have disastrous affects if left unresolved, the conflict will fester the longer it takes to resolve, lingering getting worse and can lead to;

• Bullying, harassment, feeling isolated and alone.
• Reduced productivity.
• Low morale.
• Alliances formed, sides taken, which side do you take, how do you keep out of it, perhaps you can’t?
• Bonds, friendships, relationships ruined in a split second which took years to form.
• The victim leaves, goes on long term sick due to stress.
• Careers ruined.
• Rigid grievance and disciplinary processes forced on people as the only escape, which do not really address the key issues.
• Wasted manpower, resources, a domino effect on external departments, those not involved are brought in with a view to assist in resolving the dispute, HR, management, unions, legal.
• If left for too long,there becomes a point of no return where pre existing relationships cannot be fixed.

Mediation in the workplace can prevent and indeed stop all of the above from occurring, being a quick, flexible, voluntary process removing the barriers that have led to people becoming entangled in a dispute to be broken down quickly, paving the way for broken relationships to be easily fixed, making them responsible for the solution on how they can once again work alongside / with one another without the need to use more formal or legal procedures and the hassle of instigating / defending a tribunal claim.