Re: discipline vs. mediation

I was on the union negotiating team that negotiated a mediation policy that included training an equal numbers of Union Reps and Mgmt reps in a pool that a coordinator could choose from. As it turns out Mgmt opted out of mediation in all but a few cases.
We tried to get mediation as part of the grievance process.

Mediation requires the supervisor to sit down and discuss issues with the employee, a concept that has been outdated/replaced by the computer.

Re: discipline vs. mediation

Sure mediation does work?? After months of using Departmental mediators to work out a problem 8 of us had with one employee, the office brought in an outside contractor and the entire mediation blew up. By the time the mediation ended 90% of us had accepted other jobs with other agencies. That office is still trying to fill our positions. They should have just reprimanded the individual instead of dragging all of us through the mud. One good thing about the mediation is that I love my new job.

Re: Discipline in the workplace

You are right on the money, you must work for the same people that I work for (just kidding, you are in a different agency. The esp. women was so on !

Re: Discipline v Mediation

I agree with you re: the heroic (and often futile) attempts supervisors/managers make to correct chronic problems. In a previous article ("Our Discipline System Needs Corrective Action") I wrote about that. I've witnessed over a year of efforts before formal discipline even began.

As for XYZ Mediation, Inc. -- I only wish. This is actually my volunteer work. Like Little League coaches and soup kitchen workers, in your community and/or agency you will find volunteer mediators if you look for 'em. Their experiences of success likely parallel my own.

Lastly, when you say that your databases show that "discipline does work", I urge you to consider what that sentence means. "Worked" for who -- the employee, boss, or co-workers? When attempting adult behavior modification, success isn't easy to define. I worked on hundreds of disciplinary actions (including removals) and have mediated for 10 years. I feel the dialogue begun in mediation often opens doors that discipline can't.

Re: Discipline v. mediation

Thanks for pointing this out. Mediators must be true neutrals. Here in Seattle, mediators must have no links to the agency in which they're mediating. Hence, a Social Security employee and Navy retiree might me mediating a matter in EPA. Neutrality makes all the difference in our effectiveness out here... and we've been very effective.

Re: The Heavy Hand of Discipline

You're not looking at it from the manager's point of view. You are annoyed because you are working and you have co-workers who spend the day watching their mini T.V.s, surfing the 'Net, chatting with relatives on the phone, etc. But if you blow the whistle, your manager will retaliate because it brings up the obvious issue - that he is not doing HIS job, so he retaliates against you. I learned that the hard way. We have a group clerk who comes to work in the morning for about an hour, then turns around and goes home. She spends the day at home, then comes back in about 3 pm to check her messages and email and then leave for the day. Everybody in the office knows about this - it has been going on for years - but when I reported it, everyone from the group manager to the Territory Manager all came down on me - because it made them look bad. So I was on the "S" list until I transferred, and the secretary still spends 6 hrs a day at home, while getting paid for 8 hours!!!