In our increasingly diverse workplace environments,
different types of people are brought together to interact on a regular
basis. And when you are bringing
different types of people, with different backgrounds and perspectives,
together to accomplish goals, conflict arises.
Specifically, workplaces become a site of conflicts arising out of
diversity, sometimes referred to as Equal Employment Opportunity, or EEO,
conflicts. These conflicts can arise
between people of different genders, races, national origin, sexual orientation
or identity, ages or disability. The
very diversity that ensures dynamic and productive workplaces can also sometime
lead to misunderstandings, improper communication, or even intentional acts of
discrimination.
Having spent seven years as a litigator with the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, I have had the opportunity to witness hundreds
of these conflicts wend their way through the traditional avenues for resolving
EEO workplace conflicts: administrative proceedings followed by litigation. While this path can be appropriate and
effective; indeed, sometimes litigation is the only way to resolve issues of
workplace discrimination, this type of conflict resolution comes with very real
costs. Not only is this traditional
process time consuming, routinely taking up to several years to resolve, and
expensive, it also exacts a significant psychological toll on all parties
involved.
Finally, the traditional model of resolving EEO conflicts is
an adversarial one: it demands that one party be deemed the victor, while the
other is declared a wrong doer. However,
EEO conflicts are rarely this clear cut; the reality of conflicts is more
nuanced than the law allows us to acknowledge.
By awarding 100% victory to only one side’s story, litigation denies the
parties of an opportunity for dialogue that could result in actual change and
progress in the workplace.
Mediation of EEO issues, especially when the conflicts are
still in their early stages, can provide a better alternative form of
resolution. By shifting the goal away
from determining winners and losers, mediation allows all parties to
participate in addressing perceived wrongs, fixing problematic behaviors and crafting
a solution that allows everyone to move forward.
Unlike in litigation, where only one version of facts can be
held to be true, mediation provides everyone with the opportunity to express
their point of view, feel heard, and work towards developing a resolution that
allows them to move forward. Through the
mediation process, both parties are asked to look at what has happened, consider
what they want for the future, and make changes to move towards that
future. This is the very definition of
progress, and it can happen in a way that saves everyone involved precious
resources – time, money, energy, and soul.
A growing body of legal research is developing the idea of
restorative justice as an alternative to the traditional model of
winner-takes-all litigation. Restorative
justice brings parties together and allows the people who feel they have been
wronged to confront their wrongdoers, and for those alleged wrongdoers to
understand what effects, intentional or not, their actions have taken. Then, the parties can work on developing a
resolution that acknowledges that understanding and endeavors to make people
whole.
Restorative justice is a powerful model of conflict
resolution, and the mediation of EEO complaints and issues in the workplace
promises to address concerns that are traditionally dealt with in litigation in
a restorative way. In this manner,
mediation has the potential to truly transform workplaces and achieve
meaningful change and justice without the damaging effects of multiple years of
contentious litigation.
No comments:
Post a Comment