Mediation in Managing Workplace Conflicts
Abstract
There is a wide variety of highly different types and levels of conflicts which take place in all aspects of the humans’ life. Mediation is one of the forms of conflict management techniques that is widely implemented in different fields and situations. Given the inevitable reality of workplace conflicts, leaders in organizations often have to perform the role of mediator in their effort to resolve disputes. There are various types of conflicts that occur in a workplace. It is highly important for leaders to understand the conflicts and elements that are
crucial in resolving the conflicts.
Mediation in Managing Workplace Conflicts
Mediation is a process that holds a vital role in different environments of human interactions as an effective form of conflict management technique. There is a wide variety of highly different types and levels of conflicts which take place in all aspects of the humans’ life.
Therefore, mediation in effort to resolve a disagreement and find a solution that can be accepted by all parties involved is highly necessary. Mediation is the most common approach chosen by managements to settle
workplace conflicts. In providing mediation in resolving workplace conflicts, it is important to understand the nature of the conflict as well as the elements that determine the success of the process.
Organizational conflict is an inevitable reality of the workplace which can never be eliminated. In the workplace, conflicts among employees are often arisen from conflicting professional needs, values, interest, priorities, perspective, assumptions and tolerance of those people who work together. At other times, the conflicts can occur on a rather personal level which is not directly related to the employee’s professional role.
Sometimes conflicts originate from work-related disagreement, yet develop into personal and emotional feuds. While workplace conflicts are common and even considered healthy as it leads to resolutions that can lead to growth, those which are emotional and personal can lead to an unhealthy and counterproductive work environment.
Managing conflicts is one of the responsibilities of a company’s management which can often be challenging and demanding constant improvement in related required skills. The goal of a manager or human resources should never be to eliminate conflicts altogether. In fact, they have to focus on their ability to recognize conflicts, and manage them accordingly by resolving them in the best way possible. Resolving the conflict does not constitute imposing decisions to end the conflict.
Leaders must attempt to get to the bottom of the conflict by uncovering the true issue, which is best achieved through mediation as it allows effective communication between or among the conflicting parties. In mediating a conflict, it is essential for the manager to take action as soon as a conflict occurs in …
