The story of the Yale graduate student, Annie Le, who was apparently killed by a co-worker appears to be a tragic example of workplace violence. Regardless of the suspect’s guilt or innocence in the killing, there is another background story that needs to be looked at.

Coworkers of the two report an ongoing workplace conflict between Raymond J. Clark III, a lab technician, and the scientists that worked there. No one mentioned efforts to diffuse the tension between employees who shared a space, whose responsibilities overlapped, and whose priorities seemed to conflict. Such tensions can be found in most workplaces at times. Fortunately, the vast majority will not end in violence – but one such result is one too many.

An established mediation program, promoting active dispute resolution for these and other types of disputes can drastically impact mounting conflict; likely reducing the possibility of such tragic conclusions.

Yale does refer people to its Employee Assistance Program as one means of addressing workplace conflict. However a plan without a strong method of prompt, confidential, and effective resolution is only going to partially address the issue.

It is imperative that such programs ensure the dispute resolution services are conducted by an objective outside neutral who is able to effectively impact the conflict dynamic. Bringing outside neutrals in to intervene boosts the impact of the mediation, as internal programs may not be able to effectively shake the inherent appearance of bias. An outside person is not privy to the internal politics of a workplace, allowing them a greater reach in efforts to effectively intervene in workplace violence.

CFR provides mediation for a host of conflicts, including workplace issues. Employers can opt to provide an Employee Mediation Benefit to employees and their family members, encouraging those in conflict to address the issue proactively.

Related Posts:

• Bullying….A Workplace Issue As Well
• Bullying – A Type of Workplace Violence
• Why an Employee Mediation Benefit?
• Responding to Presenteeism
• Patient-Nurse Workplace Conflict
• Staff Nurses and Workplace Conflict

Tags: mediation benefit, workplace, Workplace Conflict, workplace violence

This entry was posted on Monday, October 12th, 2009 at 9:07 pm and is filed under Employee Benefits, Found In the News, Mediation, Workplace & Business Conflict. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.