Saundry, R. orcid.org/0000-0002-7813-2148, Bennett, T. and Wibberley, G. (2018) Inside the mediation room - efficiency, voice and equity in workplace mediation. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29 (6). pp. 1157-1177. ISSN 0958-5192
Abstract
Existing research into workplace mediation in the UK has tended to focus on managerial perceptions. Consequently, there has been a unitarist emphasis on the business case for mediation, revolving around its alleged superior efficiency properties compared to conventional rights-based procedures. This paper develops the research agenda in two respects: first, it foregrounds the experiences of participants in mediation through 25 interviews with individuals drawn from a variety of contexts. Second, it extends the analysis beyond the efficiency of mediation to consider issues of voice and equity. In doing so it explores the role played by mediation within the negotiation and re-negotiation of workplace relations and also the way in which it shapes, and is shaped by, power and control. In the cases examined in the paper, mediation not only facilitated employee voice, but allowed subordinates to challenge the authority of supervisors and line managers. However, the influence of mediation on the balance of workplace power relations outside the mediation room was much more limited.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in International Journal of Human Resource Management. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Workplace conflict; alternative dispute resolution ADR; conflict management; mediation; employee voice |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Management School (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Economic and Social Research Council ES/J022276/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 04 Feb 2020 15:07 |
Last Modified: | 04 Feb 2020 15:07 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Informa UK Limited |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/09585192.2016.1180314 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:156482 |