Indiana Conflict Resolution Institute
Research Papers: REDRESS at the USPS

Research Report: Highlights of Mediation at Work: Studies of the National REDRESS Evaluation Project
by Professor Lisa Bingham and David Pitts, Indiana University

Abstract

This research report reviews some of the highlights of the ongoing longitudinal evaluation of the REDRESS® program at the United States Postal Service, the world's largest employment dispute resolution program. These results represent the first systematic data on how a mediation program can function in the workplace setting. This synopsis of the REDRESS® evaluation compares results between the outside neutral and inside neutral conflict resolution systems, explores the role of representation in mediation, and examines the impact of mediation on formal EEO discrimination complaint filings.

The full-text of this article can be accessed through the publisher's website.

Employment Dispute Resolution and Workplace Culture: The REDRESS Program at the United States Postal Service
by Lisa B. Bingham and Lisa-Marie Napoli

Introduction

Organizational culture consists of patterns of meaning in an organization. These patterns can take the form of communication, symbols, beliefs, language, rules artifacts, values, or assumptions.¹ Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of an organization's culture can help lawyers do a better job representing clients in disputes involving the organization. In this chapter, we explore the connections between culture, communication patterns, and mediation. The meaning that employees attribute to their interpersonal communication is an essential aspect of organizational culture. This chapter takes a closer look at a mediation program implemented by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as an example of how an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) initiative can affect organization culture with respect to how supervisors and employees communicate.

With over 800,000 employees, the USPS is one of the world's largest civilian employers. During fiscal year 1997 (September 1996 - September 1997), its employees filed approximately 29,000 requests for pre-complaint counseling alleging discrimination under equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws (i.e., Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Rehabilitation Act). About half of these complaints go beyond the initial informal counseling stage. These become fully investigated, formal complaints, which go to an administrative judge for an adjudicative hearing.

In response to this substantial flow of employment disputes, the USPS has embarked on a major program to bring outside neutral mediation to its workplace. This chapter examines its experience with this program and the limited evidence to date regarding its effects upon workplace culture. First, the chapter presents information about how aspects of culture are used for studying organizations. Next, it gives a brief history of the USPS and its efforts to implement ADR in the workplace. It examines recent preliminary research about USPS workplace culture, and what changes researchers might expect in response to ADR initiatives. It then gives an account of the REDRESS Program (Resolve Employment Disputes, Reach Equitable Solutions Swiftly). It examines the results of research on the REDRESS pilot program in the Florida Panhandle from 1994 to 97. It then turns to a description of the recently implemented national model, which uses a transformative framework for mediation and justifications for it in an employment mediation program. Finally, it concludes that mediation is a promising tool for improving communication problems that are part of workplace culture.

^1. Ott, J.S. 1989. The Organizational Culture Perspective. Chicago: The Dorsey Press; Smircich, L. 1983. Concepts of Culture and Organizational Analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly 28: 339-358; Schein E.H. 1980. Organizational Psychology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1991. What is Culture? in Reframing Organizational Culture, ed. P.J.

The full-text of this article is available in .pdf format.

Indiana Conflict Resolution Institute
Last updated: July 30, 2004
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