UK employers weigh business case for workplace mediation

Workplace conflict costs UK employers an estimated £28.5 billion a year. Against that backdrop, Acas has issued a warning that many organisations lack the capability needed to resolve workplace conflict effectively before it escalates, with Acas research finding that 33% of workers felt their organisation did not have people with the necessary mediation skills to resolve workplace conflict. So how might employers make better use of mediation to help address workplace conflict and so cut costs? We’ll consider that.

The business case for resolving workplace conflict early is clear. Acas estimates that conflict costs UK employers £28.5 billion annually, with costs arising from sickness absence, reduced productivity, employee turnover, and formal workplace disputes. The recent Faculty of Public Health report, highlighted by The Guardian and Personnel Today, argues that badly handled workplace investigations and disciplinary processes can damage wellbeing, trust, morale, and retention, and called for greater emphasis on early and informal resolution. Yet many organisations still struggle to identify and address conflict before it escalates.

For that reason, many HR teams are looking more closely at how workplace conflict is managed and whether concerns are being identified and addressed early enough. Increasingly, mediation is being viewed not as a standalone intervention but as part of a broader conflict-resolution strategy, sitting alongside effective management, HR support, and formal procedures where necessary.

Shabana Ishaq is an independent mediator who has helped a number of clients address their workplace disputes and earlier she joined me on the phone to discuss it. I started by asking what happens if the problem is left unresolved?

Shabana Ishaq: “So typically from the mediations that I've been involved with, they tend to grow and grow and grow. So, there are two options, obviously, that is one possibility, the other possibility is that somebody leaves, and you may wish to retain that individual. Also, it spreads amongst the team, it impacts the morale of others, and it can create quite a toxic work environment – people go off sick with stress, it can cause anxiety, just lower engagement, and productivity within the department. So if concerns aren't addressed, HR or managers might typically think, there are two adults here, or three adults here, they can surely resolve it themselves, but sometimes you do need a helping hand, and it can avoid formal grievances further down the line, or disciplinary matters. So, I think there is very much a need, if conflict is recognised, to consider how that should be addressed, and mediation is something which could potentially cause that issue not to escalate any further.”

Joe Glavina: “What benefits do employers typically see when a mediation is used successfully?”

Shabana Ishaq: “Usually it's parties working together better. So for example if it is a manager and employee, then that will trickle down to the whole team so there's just more positive working environment. There is less tension because we can pick that up even if we're not directly involved. In terms of what employers would typically see, it's preserving that working relationship. Nobody's threatening to leave, nobody's gone off sick, perhaps focusing on their work again rather than the issues between individuals. So, it's more about working effectively together going forward. It helps morale, fewer formal grievances, so it's very much a case of supporting the wider organisation.”

Joe Glavina: “What are the practical steps that HR teams might take if they want to make better use of mediation?”

Shabana Ishaq: “I think from a practical perspective, it's really important for people to recognise if there is an issue, not to brush it under the carpet and hope it goes away and gets better, which is sometimes what I've seen. It’s very much a case of HR teams recognising the benefits of mediation in the first place, supporting their managers with this process, and the benefits of this process. Early intervention is in my opinion very helpful. The sooner the concerns are identified and addressed, the more likely parties can move forward without their positions becoming entrenched. I had a mediation recently where the HR team had, perhaps, left it a little bit too late for me to get involved, and one party refused to even get involved in the mediation process because she had reached that point of no return and was looking for another job and was off on sick leave and there had been a history of disciplinaries and grievances in the past. So I think when it comes to mediation everyone is aware of grievance processes and the use of those within the workplace. Mediation is seen as an add on, but I actually think it's extremely important, especially in today's working environment and the wider societal pressures that employees experience, so it should be seen as part of the conflict resolution approach together with, obviously, good management, effective HR support, and grievance processes. So I think it should be seen very much as part of a wider organisational approach to issues in the workplace. The reality is that workplace conflict is inevitable, the real question is how employers respond, and when they respond, so mediation can help individuals have that conversation and preserve relationships and find solutions that individuals may struggle to achieve on their own.”

Joe Glavina: “You talked about timing and how in the case that that you've been involved in, you were brought in too late. How can the client know whether it’s too early or too late to call you in? How do they judge that?”

Shabana Ishaq: “So, I'll give you an example. I was involved in a mediation between two individuals who had a very significant argument which was impacting the team and I was asked to mediate with them within three days and I would say that's far too early. The individuals haven't even processed the issues yet, haven't thought about it, and we just need to let emotion settle down. So perhaps that was a case of can you sort this problem out for me? Then in terms of leaving it too late, it’s a difficult one because if there is a disciplinary and grievance process also taking place, you want to try and conclude those because that's what ACAS requires, and employers need to do to protect themselves, but I would say fairly soon after consider whether, okay, there's been an outcome here, decision made, now we need these individuals to get back on track, and what you sometimes find is work gets in the way, priorities get in the way, and before you know it, it's been three to six months and by then positions have hardened so it could be seen as too late sometimes.”

So the key takeaway for employers is that workplace conflict rarely resolves itself. Left unchecked, it can damage morale, increase absence levels, reduce productivity and, in some cases, lead to grievances, resignations or formal disputes – all very costly. Mediation is not a replacement for good management or effective HR support but used at the right time it can help organisations address issues earlier, preserve working relationships and avoid positions becoming entrenched.

If you would like to learn more about workplace mediation or discuss how it could form part of your organisation’s wider approach to conflict resolution, in the first instance please contact Kate Dodd, Head of Employment Plus – her details are on the screen for you.