The Office: PDAs, paperclips, and conflict

With the economy in a place where most don't want it to be, jobs are scarce and some employees may feel that they have to put up with more a the workplace than in the halcyon days of old.

Not so, according to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle.

The article quotes an EEOC mediator as "people who bring up issues may actually be more protected during layoffs."  I suppose the thinking goes that if you, as an employee, have lodged a complaint about something in your workplace, than when it comes time for the RIF, you might not be on the short list because of the possibility that your complaint was protected under law.

Of course, a great way of handling these types of disputes is through workplace mediation programs.  I've posted about the efficiencies of these programs before.

Workplace mediation is great because it improves the lines of communications, cuts down costs, and frees up resources.  Even if the mediation is post-termination (I handled one of those last month as a mediator), I found that the lines of communication were opened, information was shared, and what could have been a costly dispute (money and resources for the company, emotionally for the employee) was resolved in about 12 hours.  

Preventative Mediation

Preventative Mediation. Workplace Mediation. Employee Mediation. Trying to get a problem resolved before heading to the courthouse. Whatever term you would like to use, Preventative Mediation is a concept that is growing in popularity.

The process has been around for a long time in universities, but businesses are starting to see the value in this system.

The theory behind it is that before disputes between employees, or between an employee and an employer get out of hand, the parties try to mediate the issues with a neutral to see if resolution can be had before someone files an EEOC charge or lawsuit.

Businesses recognize that it is costly not only to defend an EEOC charge or litigation, but the costs are multiplied when an employee leaves (either voluntarily or terminated) and a new employee must be hired and trained. If a business can keep an employee on board and resolve the dispute, both sides win. Employees feel that they are listened to and taken seriously by their employer and the employer learns important information from the troops on the ground. The employer also has happier employees and does not have to spend the time and money to recruit and train new employees.

Workplace conflict is increasingly costly to businesses nationwide. Some of the costs are obvious such as costs of defending lawsuits and responding to EEOC charges. Other costs are less quantifiable but equally expensive, including (1) wasted time (up to 42% of employees’ time is spent engaging in, or attempting to resolve, conflict), (2) bad decisions (conflict may result in incomplete or unreliable information), (3) lost employees, (4) employee sabotage, (5) work slow-downs and lost work time (e.g., use of sick days for "mental health breaks" resulting from the stress of a co-worker), and (6) lowered job motivation and hostile work environments.

In one study of exit interviews, chronic unresolved conflict is a decisive factor in at least 50% of voluntary departures; conflict accounts for 90% of the cause of involuntary terminations (except for downsizing, mergers, and restructuring).

The reason why preventative mediation works is several-fold:

• the procedure gives the employee the opportunity to have "a day in court" with a neutral and to vent emotions;
• a resolution is likely to emerge, but if a resolution is not reached, other options are not foreclosed;
• the resolution is likely to be more mutually beneficial, and more creative, than one fashioned by a court, jury, or governmental agency;
• lingering animosity is likely to be lessened;
• the parties retain control over the outcome;
• legal fees and other costs are modest;
• and the procedure is private and confidential.

Obviously there are situations where an early mediation is not in one's best interest, but I believe those are the exceptions to the rule. While universities and some large companies can afford to have a mediator on staff, most cannot. That's where an outside neutral could come in and help resolve the dispute.