Recent figures show that there are 2.51 million people unemployed in the UK. With statistics like these, redundancies are inevitable or have already happened to some individuals. When certain employees are made redundant and others keep their jobs, there is a high probability of conflict due to individuals feeling ‘hard done by’ especially if they have given the company years of service.
After cuts have been made, restructuring and reallocation of job roles is difficult, with individuals unwilling to adapt, or having key responsibilities revoked. This can lead to dissatisfaction and disruption within departments, which can be easily avoided if you plan for all eventualities. However, if the conflict is looking like becoming serious and going to the grievance procedure stage, mediation could be a real option. According to The Guardian, mediation is “an approach that’s gaining currency with human resources departments.” which is probably due to the speed of resolution and how it maintains working relationships. So if these scenarios sound familiar, why not give mediation a go?
To see further statistics from the labour market visit: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/lmsuk0510.pdf
