"Saving Face" in Employment Mediation. Face in the workplace. Post #2

The workplace as a source of “face.”

As adults, we spend most of our time working. We want to develop professional competencies that generate feelings of dignity and pride. Charges of employment-related discrimination are often centered on the loss of dignity and disrespect. Victims of sexual harassment, for example, suffer embarrassment and shame on top of the deprivation of employment opportunities. Allegations of unequal pay, prejudicial termination, or unfair treatment center on “the value and utility of individuals.”  Business owners who are accused of violating the civil rights of their employees suffer affronts to their dignity as well. They feel unfairly attacked, anxious over the ultimate outcome, and afraid to lose resources.

“Face” within the workplace can also take on a collective - if not moral and political - manifestation. Although a claimant may seek individual remedies through litigation, society has a larger interest in righting the wrongs within the workplace culture. #Metoo is a clear example of a societal response to workplace disparity. For example, the #metoo movement has criticized traditional conflict resolution (“law and legal enforcement”) because it preserves systemic “structural social hierarchies.” In particular, when resolving claims of sexual harassment in the workplace, confidentiality – a bedrock traditional principle of mediation – often yields to transparency.

As a result of #metoo, confidential settlements are perceived to do more harm than good by isolating victims, shielding predators from accountability, and allowing “harassment to persist.” State and federal laws now prohibit the use of confidentiality provisions in sexual harassment settlement agreements. For example, to the exclusion of other forms of discrimination based on race, age, ethnicity, the Internal Revenue Service no longer allows the deduction of expenses related to the settlement of sexual harassment claims.

NEXT TIME: Power & emotions in employment mediation.