Conflict& Crisis Prevention
Today's workplace faces unprecedented
challenges. Conflict and violence, arising from the accelerating pace of
global economic change, the diversification of the workforce, the effects
of business downturns and downsizing, and increasing stress on families,
threaten employee and organizational well-being. In many workplaces, our
research has shown,
"resentment routinely displaces
cooperation and communication. Hostility surfaces as threats,
intimidation, harassment, stalking and verbal degradation. Advanced
information technology has brought with it anonymous cyberstalking, an
electronic form of harassment. Some employees are chronically in
conflict with supervisors and fellow workers, or bent on retaliating for
discipline or perceived slights. Domestic abuse, as well as simmering
ethnic linguistic and cultural rivalries, may disrupt the workplace. And
workers sometimes become embroiled with non-employees, such as
customers."
— From The
Violence-Prone Workplace
Responding to these challenges, Workplace
Solutions has marshaled a consortium of professionals skilled in conflict
resolution, crisis management, and violence prevention. They have pooled
their experience and insights in order to ensure safety and productivity
in offices, factories, and schools.
Workplace Solutions fosters understanding
of the sources of conflict on the job, extreme behavior, and
organizational distress. Applying expertise drawn from a wide range of
disciplines, it promotes policies and programs that address the root
causes of conflict and aggression in a collaborative manner. Rather than
focusing exclusively on the supposedly dysfunctional employee as the
source of danger, we examine underlying factors in the workplace that may
lead to extreme behavior, and we develop specific strategies for early
intervention in situations, such as a climate of hostility, that could
result in violence. The object is to transform a workplace from
crisis-prone to crisis-prepared. As the nation confronts the phenomena of
terrorism and excessive gun violence, consensus-based problem-solving
promises heightened protection for the workplace.
Workplace Solutions is an independent,
nonprofit organization, created with a grant from the William and Flora
Hewlett Foundation. The foundation has expressed its interest in aiding organizations
which “explore new ways of approaching contentious public
policy issues through collaborative action that addresses the legitimate
interests of all involved parties.” Workplace Solutions was among a
select group of organizations that the foundation designated for support.
The group also included Harvard University Law School, the Administrative
Conference of the United States, and the American Arbitration Association.
Workplace Solutions has achieved a record
of excellence in providing three principal services:
Training
Research
Consulting
For further details, please view the pages
on the website that are devoted to thes