Mediation's Potential to ReduceThe benefits of workplace mediation can be far-reaching, since it often leads to positive changes in working relationships, immediate renewal of performance, and improvement of morale (Dolder, 2004; Doherty and Guyler, 2008). Additionally, at the organizational level mediation can help create a problemsolving culture and improve the emotional health of the organization (Doherty and Guyler, 2008; Bollen and Euwema, 2013). This appears to be achieved inpart by reducing occupational stress, an advantage of the process that is unexplored in the literature.Acknowledging the importance of filling in this gap, the present article examines mediation's stress alleviating potential and links the processes taking place in mediation to psychological models of stress. By establishing this previously unexplained connection, the article examines mediation's dynamics from a new perspective. It argues that mediation can intervene at the root of the stress process and prompt significant positive changes, potentially with long term stress-reducing effect at the level of the individual and the organization.Psychological knowledge of stress and its links to mediation can enhance the ways in which mediators and organizations might best use this tool to achieve wide-ranging benefits. Importantly, it is not argued that mediation can or should substitute for counseling, a frequently applied organizational stress management intervention (O'Driscoll and Cooper, 2002; Kinman and Jones, 2005), or other forms of individual interventions if they are necessary or more appropriate. Rather, it is claimed that mediation could serve as an additional This is a prepint of an article accepted for publication in Conflict Resolution Quarterly Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company, and the Association for Conflict Resolution Author: Dr Timea Tallodi, University of Essex School of Law Contact: t.tallodi@essex.ac.uk 3 instrument to keep occupational stress at bay and have a more significant place in the system of stress management interventions. Occupational stress and mediationOccupational stress places significant burdens on organizational functioning and individual well-being. Numerous employees face working environments that, for Agencies offering alternative dispute resolution services also address issues of occupational stress. In the US, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service offers training in conflict resolution, which is promoted as leading to less stress, more harmony and heightened performance (Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, n.d.). This service also offers workshops that are explicitly targeted at creating a healthy workplace (Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, 2011). Likewise, in the UK, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) has developed training programs for organizations such as "Managing stress in the workplace" and "Toxic workplace cultures-how to tackle them" (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, n.d.). In Australia, t...

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While abundant literature has been devoted to describe mediation, there is little research exploring how parties perceive and make sense of the process. This article reports two associated main themes from an innovative qualitative research project conducted to understand the lived experiences of parties to mediation using interpretative phenomenological analysis for the first time in the literature. The findings present (1) learning as the key experience of participants in mediation, a so far neglected angle of the process, and (2) the mediator's compassionate approach involving conveying ample understanding and sensitivity toward parties' needs and concerns as facilitating learning. Meanings and fresh concepts have been generated through sensitive and careful analysis of the cases, providing a rich portrait of the dynamics of learning, and the way learning bridges differences between the sides. Implications for mediators and research are outlined.

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