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Mediating Workplace Bullying and Harassment Complaints: A Risk Management Perspective

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Dignity and Inclusion at Work

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment ((HWBEAH,volume 3))

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Abstract

This chapter furthers our understanding of mediation as an intervention in complaints of workplace bullying. It argues that mediation is a viable option for some complaints of workplace bullying and in many cases may be a more appropriate alternative than more adversarial or punitive actions. A review of the workplace bullying literature highlights that the definition of bullying needs to be approached with caution, with this chapter drawing attention to the term “bullying” being used as a broad descriptor by employees to label workplace conflict and discontent with reasonable, though unpopular, organizational and management practices. The premise that mediation is an inappropriate intervention into complaints of workplace bullying without examining issues such as power, neutrality and the confidential nature of mediation is also addressed. A “risk management” approach to mediating workplace bullying complaints is introduced, and it is argued that this innovative approach to mediation may help identify some of the wider influences or “risks” that may have contributed to the bullying allegations in question. It is acknowledged that mediation is not an appropriate intervention in many complaints of workplace bullying but highlights the types of bullying and harassment complaints when mediation may be an appropriate intervention and when it is not appropriate to use mediation. The chapter concludes by acknowledging that further research is needed to address interventions into workplace bullying allegations. It recommends collaboration between innovative practice and research, in order to develop and evaluate different models of intervention that will support mentally healthy workplaces and encourage appropriate workplace behaviours and relationships.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Moira Jenkins

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  1. Moira Jenkins
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Correspondence to Moira Jenkins .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Organizational Behaviour Area, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad, India

    Premilla D'Cruz

  2. Organizational Behaviour Area, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad, India

    Ernesto Noronha

  3. Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, School of Aviation, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Carlo Caponecchia

  4. Department of Social Psychology and Quantitative Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Jordi Escartín

  5. Department of Management and Organization, Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland

    Denise Salin

  6. Centre for Workplace Excellence, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Michelle Rae Tuckey

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Jenkins, M. (2021). Mediating Workplace Bullying and Harassment Complaints: A Risk Management Perspective. In: D'Cruz, P., Noronha, E., Caponecchia, C., Escartín, J., Salin, D., Tuckey, M.R. (eds) Dignity and Inclusion at Work. Handbooks of Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment, vol 3. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0218-3_7

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