We provide professional and personal support to help you resolve workplace disputes productively and effectively.
We believe mediation is integral to the healthy development of an organization, and that constructive conflict management stimulates progress and innovation among researchers and administrators alike.
Everyone brings a unique personality and diverse opinions, interests and experiences to the workplace. Tensions and misunderstandings arise naturally as a result. Within academia, high standards, job insecurity, and the rapid turnover of colleagues can be aggravating factors.
Communication patterns, perspectives, and expectations vary between organizational divisions, and can lead to inter- as well as intra-divisional conflict. Administrators and researchers often interact via email and phone rather than face-to-face, and this can widen the divide.
While we may all be familiar with such situations, most of us find it difficult to head off tensions at an early stage. Entrenched conflicts can develop, which colleagues and managers often feel powerless to address.
Protracted conflict can negatively impact job satisfaction, which in turn leads to low motivation, reduced productivity, and increased sick leave. This can rapidly have a negative effect on research output, innovation, and administrative turnover.
A satisfactory resolution, on the other hand, promotes a team’s understanding and tolerance of different points of view. Trust and co-operation are improved, leading to more motivated workers and more positive day-to-day interactions.
Mediation provides structured support for conflict resolution in professional settings. We provide space for new, more positive encounters and facilitate solutions that take everyone’s point of view into account. During the mediation process we walk step by step through the conflict together. The facts are established from everyone’s point of view, and interpersonal issues are delicately but clearly addressed. Together we uncover fresh approaches to the problem.
We offer a non-binding consultation at the start of the process to discuss approaches and potential consequences. If you are interested in mediation but have not yet secured the co-operation of the other party/ies we are happy to advise you how to move forward.