Fit for the Future People Strategy: Workplace Mediation

Our Fit for the Future People strategy continues to invest in ensuring EEAST is a place where we want to come to work and give our best, where we enjoy working with each other and treat each other with civility, respect and dignity. 

We have grown our Mediation Service to increase options for resolving concerns or disagreement, providing support to you to help understand and see things from each other’s perspectives.  All our Mediators are ACAS trained and offer independent and impartial facilitative mediation via an informal open dialogue approach. They are dedicated to working with colleagues to help them find their own solutions to workplace disagreements. 

Zoe Hutchison, who coordinates mediation referrals with the team of mediators, explains the benefits of mediation:

Disagreement or conflict in the workplace can arise through a variety of circumstances, it can be upsetting and distracting, it can affect your wellbeing and take up your valuable time; it can also distract others around you from doing their job and can be stressful for them. Mediation can help you understand more about the circumstances of the disagreement and work towards you resolving your disagreement so you can get on with your life inside and outside of work.

When you are involved in a disagreement, talking to the other person can seem impossible.  Mediation can re-establish those channels of communication. Any agreement is on terms agreed by you, leaving both parties in control of what is finally agreed.

Mediation can be less stressful than formal procedures - although it is not stress free!

Mediation is completely voluntary and confidential, nothing shared with the mediator will be passed on to anyone else unless agreed by all parties.

The mediators don’t take sides or judge who is right or wrong. The objective is to focus on the future, to find improvements and to rebuild relationships.

The Trust actively encourages early intervention approaches to resolve any workplace disagreement so that we can come to work and be and give our best. 

For more information on early intervention approaches and Mediation click on the Trust intranet “You Matter” pages or contact Zoe Hutchison, Mediation Lead on zoe.hutchison@eastamb.nhs.uk.

Published 23rd November 2022