Workplace Mediation

When conflict arises at work, the response often depends less on the nature of the problem and more on the culture of the organisation. In some workplaces, disagreement quickly becomes formal. Managers become cautious, employees feel they need to protect their position, emails replace conversations and HR is brought in primarily to administer a process. In others, concerns are raised earlier. Managers are comfortable having difficult conversations. Employees know that disagre

Workplace conflict is inevitable. The way an organisation responds to it is not. Differences of opinion, misunderstandings, changes in responsibility, management decisions, communication problems and personality clashes are all normal features of working life. Most do not begin as formal grievances or disciplinary matters. They become formal when concerns are left unresolved, conversations become difficult or people no longer feel able to address the problem constructively. T

Most workplace grievances do not begin with a single dramatic event. Instead, they often develop over weeks or months through a series of misunderstandings, communication difficulties, perceived unfairness, personality differences or unresolved tensions. Eventually, something happens that becomes the trigger for a formal complaint, but the real issue has often been developing long before that point. This is one of the reasons why formal grievance procedures, while essential i

Workplace conflict rarely begins with a formal grievance. More often, it starts much earlier: a difficult conversation that is avoided, a misunderstanding that is left unresolved, a strained working relationship, or a quiet loss of trust between colleagues. By the time a grievance is raised, the issue may already have become more fixed, more emotional and more difficult to resolve. For HR teams, this creates a real challenge. On one hand, there is a need to follow fair, appro

Workplace conflict does not always arrive as a formal grievance. More often, it starts quietly. A manager notices that two colleagues are avoiding each other. A team meeting feels tense. Emails become sharper. Someone asks to move desks, change shifts or work from home more often. Productivity dips, but nobody wants to say exactly why. For HR Managers, Directors and Business Leaders, the challenge is knowing when workplace tension is still a normal management issue, and when