Many of the causes of stress in business are external but the way they are handled will determine the success or failure of your people and business. Workplace Stress and Negative Workplace Behaviours create a vicious circle of ever increasing conflict leading to absenteeism, workplace bullying complaints, the loss of valuable employees and the demotivation of the workforce. Mediation can be a circuit breaker providing an opportunity for the "ring leaders" of workplace conflict to work out how to improve their workplace for everyone.

1. Conflict and Workplace
Stress
Reducing the cost and consequence of Conflict Related Stress

2. How stressed are your employees?
• The research shows that people working in larger firms are more
stressed than small businesses – with 61% of workers in companies
with more than 250 employees reporting high levels of stress-related
illness
• Compared to 54% of small business workers with less than 40 staff.
• Plus, 54% of large firms are seeing more stress-related absenteeism
compared to 48% of small companies.
• Regus research surveyed more than 20,000 workers from 95
countries saw a worldwide trend that stress is causing a worrying
increase in absenteeism (49%) that is damaging business productivity.

3. It’s a vicious circle
Workplace
Stress
Behavioural
Impacts
Worry about job
security

4. It gets worse
Workplace
Stress
Behavioural
Impacts
Bullying
Avoidance /
Lack of
teamwork
Destructive
Competition
Distrust
Absenteeism

5. Mediation can break
the cycle
Workplace
Stress
Behavioural
Impacts
Bullying
Avoidance /
Lack of
teamwork
Destructive
Competition
Distrust
Absenteeism
Strategies to deal with underlying stressors
identified e.g. leadership / management
training or coaching, process or change /
risk management procedures improvement
Improved
Teamwork
Behavioural
Protocols Agreed
Collaboration
Enabled
Rebuilt Trust

6. Mediation is not training, coaching or
counselling
• Your mediator has a depth of understanding and background in
business, leadership, management and other disciplines allowing
them to help mediation clients identify the root causes of their
workplace relationship conflict
• You mediator can not do further work with mediation clients in other
roles e.g business coach, counsellor or mentor
• Your mediator can refer on to other trusted and appropriate service
providers

7. What is mediation?
• Mediation is a structured and confidential process facilitated by an
independent professional mediator.
• The goal of mediation is to facilitate the voluntary resolution of disputes by
the parties involved.
• The output is a workable agreement on specific issues, behavioural
protocols and/or communication strategies
• The result is understanding of what is driving conflict in your workplace
and an action plan to resolve the issues

8. What is Medi8?
• Medi8 is an Australia Wide consortium of Independent Mediators
• Our Mediators come from wide ranging backgrounds and understand
business, leadership and management
• Email: office@medi8.com.au
• Phone: 03 8370 2301 to find out more about hiring a Medi8 Mediator
or if you are a mediator and would like to be part of the consortium