Stress in the workplace

A team of 11 people were experiencing difficulties due to an employee returning to work after an absence of nearly three years having been off with stress. The returning employee had raised grievances against two of her colleagues claiming bullying and harassment over a period of time. 

These allegations had been investigated and found to have no basis. The employee had appealed against the decision the original decision was upheld. Following that outcome the team were advised by a member of the HR team that under no circumstances would the employee be returning to that team. This statement was later withdrawn and as a result the team felt very let down by their employers. The employee was due to return within a matter of weeks and against that background the employers approached Core.

All of the participants in the mediation process were contacted by letter, including the returning employee, explaining the process and what would be expected of each participant. 

With this letter was sent a questionnaire which the individuals were asked to complete and return prior to the mediation day, which attempted to unearth the underlying issues and start the process of the participants thinking in a different way. In addition the mediator, in consultation with the HR department, suggested that she might speak on the telephone before the mediation day with a number of the key players including the returning employee, those against whom allegations had been made, the line manager responsible for the team.

The mediation session was split into two parts. The first afternoon only key players were invited to attend and it commenced with a helpful conversation between line manager and the returning employee, exploring the wider perspective. 

Thereafter, the two individuals against whom the employee had taken out grievances met with her individually in an attempt to restore these relationships and allow them to explore how they would behave towards each other in the future. These meetings were interspersed with private discussions with the mediator who attempted to coach the employee in relation to her responses to what she was hearing.

At the next session the mediator engaged with the whole team for several hours in some team building work, centering around what needed to be addressed in the team as a whole to make it work more effectively and build on its strengths.