Mediation helps people in conflict to find a way forward that everyone is settled with
Conflict in the Workplace
Whether the place of work is an office, a garden, a school or a mountain range, conflict can easily start and take many forms, for example two workers who don’t like each other, or simply don’t get on; or an individual that has a grievance against the team leader. It can become competition between teams, lack of trust between employees or gossipping towards colleagues.
Some signs of conflict are obvious such as raised voices in the corridor or avoiding talking to the manager. But many other signs are more invisible – stress is a key cause of depression and illness.
A sick environment produces sick people – conflict at work can affect families as well as colleagues
When there is conflict, motivation diminishes, behaviours change in a negative way, productivity falls and sick-leave increases.
Transforming conflict
Transforming conflict entails 8 paths (Cloke & Goldmith, “Resolving conflicts at work”):
- Understand the culture and context of the conflict
- Listen with your heart
- Embrace and acknowledge emotions
- Search beneath the surface for hidden meaning
- Separate what matters from what’s in the way
- Learn from difficult behaviours
- Solve problems creatively and negotiate collaboratively
- Explore resistance, and mediate before you litigate
Workplace Mediation
Mediation to resolve workplace disputes works at many levels: it can stop a fight, it starts a conversation, it facilitates understanding, it unearths interests and needs that were not clear before. It invites the people in conflict to see each other as human beings instead of enemies – and in this way it can create a healthier environment within the organisation.
Workplace mediation can be done between two or more individuals or between teams.
Costs
Workplace mediation involves calls and individual meetings (1h) with all the people in conflict and one joint meeting (3-7h), with the possibility of having follow-up meetings if necessary. The fee for a Workplace Mediation process starts at £1,550 for a 2-party mediation (1 day in person or the equivalent of 1 day online), with fees for multi-party or team mediations depending on a number of factors, such as the number of people involved and the complexity of the issues, which will impact the time required for the process.
If you think that workplace mediation would really benefit you but you would find it difficult to cover the fees, please call us as we have different price arrangements according to need.
