Top 10 Tips for Having Difficult Conversations at Work – by Dionne Dury
It is par for the course as a manager that you will face having difficult conversations with staff from time to time. Such conversations might include… Read more »
Mediation was requested to help two colleagues resolve issues that had arisen between them as a result of a change of management and proposed restructure of the organisation. This case was completed in one day and commenced with separate private meetings with each party, followed by a joint meeting.
One employee shared with the mediator (in private session) that she had been so affected by what was happening that this had resulted in time off work with work-related stress for several weeks. The employee had been on an extended career break. There had been a change of management prior to her returning to her previous role and she now felt that she was being micromanaged. In addition significant reorganisation was being proposed. The employee had enjoyed additional responsibility during her career break and was now very concerned about how her role would be affected by the restructuring process and feared that she would lose areas of responsibility that she enjoyed.
In the private session with the manager the mediator discovered that the manager had concerns regarding the employee’s performance; it was her view that the employee only did those tasks that she was interested in. The manager also felt that the employee was jealous of her management role and did not recognise her seniority. Both felt a lot of uncertainty about how their roles would be effected by the reorganisation.
During the joint meeting, the manager apologised for the breakdown in communication. The employee was then able to express her fears for the future and her feelings regarding her loses of responsibility and being micromanaged. The parties were able to discuss what would be appropriate in terms of management support and the performance concerns. The parties reached an agreement that would help them to deal with future issues, including working together on the plans for the service going forward and a commitment to having regular one-to-one meetings and avoid communicating only by email.