Reframing workplace relations? Conflict resolution and mediation in a Primary Care Trust

In recent years, workplace conflict has become increasingly manifest in individual employment disputes as collective labour regulation has been eroded. Accordingly attention has been focused on finding ways to facilitate the early resolution of such disputes. Policy-makers have placed a particular emphasis on workplace mediation. However, the broader impact of mediation on conventional grievance and disciplinary processes and on the workplace relations that underpin them has been largely ignored. This paper reports on research into the introduction of an in-house mediation scheme within a primary care trust (PCT). It explores the implications of the scheme for: workplace relations within the organisation; the dynamics of conflict management; and trade union influence. It argues that the introduction of mediation provided a conduit through which positive workplace relations were rebuilt which in turn facilitated informal processes of dispute resolution. Furthermore, it allowed trade unions within the organisation to extend their influence into areas traditionally dominated by managerial prerogative

Relational union organising in a healthcare setting: a qualitative study

This article explores the impact of a relational organising model within a local UNISON NHS branch. While initial outcomes were modest, we argue that relational approaches have the potential to increase branch engagement with organising activity and to provide a focus on the importance of community within the workplace

Workplace Dispute Resolution and the Management of Individual Conflict —A Thematic Analysis of Five Case Studies

This Acas funded report explores the management of individual conflict and the resolution of employment disputes in five organisations drawing on over one hundred hours of interview data gathered from discussions with HR practitioners, line and operational managers, employee representatives, and trained mediators. In light of increased concern over the impact of employment disputes on public expenditure, economic performance and employee well-being, substantial policy attention has been paid to the ways in which organisations respond to workplace conflict. In particular, there has been an increased focus on the potential for earlier intervention in order to resolve conflict through the use of alternative approaches such as mediation. Surprisingly, there has been relatively little contemporary academic research into these important issues. Therefore, this thematic review aims to provide new insights into the challenges faced by organisations in managing conflict

Everybody’s business: The benefits, barriers, and best practices of building deeper connections with business

A summary of the BC Library Conference 2013 session “Everybody’s business: The benefits, barriers, and best practices of building deeper connections with business,” led by Mark Bodnar & Aleha McCauley.&nbsp

Workplace mediation: the participant experience

This paper reports on a qualitative study of the perceptions and experiences of participants in workplace mediation. In total, 25 individuals, from a variety of occupations and organisations, were interviewed by researchers. The project sought to: explore the trajectory of individual disputes and assess participants’ views of the effectiveness of mediation provision and sustainability of outcomes. Furthermore, the research attempted to examine the broader impact of participation in mediation on the approach of individuals and organisations to the management of conflict

Inside the mediation room - efficiency, voice and equity in workplace mediation

Existing research into workplace mediation in the UK has tended to focus on managerial perceptions. Consequently, there has been a unitarist emphasis on the business case for mediation, revolving around its alleged superior efficiency properties compared to conventional rights-based procedures. This paper develops the research agenda in two respects: first, it foregrounds the experiences of participants in mediation through 25 interviews with individuals drawn from a variety of contexts. Second, it extends the analysis beyond the efficiency of mediation to consider issues of voice and equity. In doing so it explores the role played by mediation within the negotiation and re-negotiation of workplace relations and also the way in which it shapes, and is shaped by, power and control. In the cases examined in the paper, mediation not only facilitated employee voice, but allowed subordinates to challenge the authority of supervisors and line managers. However, the influence of mediation on the balance of workplace power relations outside the mediation room was much more limited