Employees in Hayward, California, and the surrounding areas want their workplace to be peaceful. Unfortunately, conflicts can arise. Workplace mediation is often one of the best solutions for dealing with such issues.
What should be done when a workplace conflict occurs?
Supervisors and managers need to be proactive and take immediate action if a workplace conflict arises. As leaders, they are responsible for ensuring that the work environment is one that allows employees to do their best. Implementing a good workplace mediation policy is essential in settling any potential issues. On the flip side, not doing anything can be disastrous for the workplace and can make for a toxic working environment that is detrimental to everyone, including those not directly involved in the conflict.
How can workplace conflicts be dealt with through mediation?
The first step in workplace mediation is to identify the source of the conflict. Determining which employees are involved in the issue is important so that they can be brought together to discuss the situation. The manager should find a private place to bring them so that they can hear both sides of the issue. Each person should get ample time to explain their concerns and their side.
When trying to resolve a workplace conflict through mediation, it’s important to have all the parties involved in that conflict together. Meeting with each person separately can result in the mediation efforts failing. There may be more employees who need to be involved in mediation as they might be indirectly affected by the conflict.
The manager or supervisor should let all parties involved in the conflict know that they are not there to take sides but to be neutral so that a resolution can be met. Stressing the need to come to a solution in a rational, adult manner is important. The manager can also say that if the parties are unwilling to work together to resolve the situation that way, they might both be penalized and possibly let go.
