When parties want to get on with their business and their lives, mediation may be desirable as a means of producing rapid results. The majority of mediations are completed in one or two sessions. Parties who negotiate their own settlements have more control over the outcome of their dispute. Parties have an equal say in the process. There is no determination of fault, but rather, the parties reach a mutually agreeable resolution to their conflict.
Many disputes occur in the context of ongoing work relationships.
Mediation can also make the termination of a work relationship more amicable. Parties are generally more satisfied with solutions that have been mutually agreed upon, as opposed to solutions that are imposed by a third party decision-maker. Mediated agreements often help resolve procedural and interpersonal issues that are not necessarily susceptible to legal determination. The parties can tailor their settlement to their particular situation and attend to the fine details of implementation. After a mediation resolution, if a subsequent dispute occurs, parties are more likely to utilize a cooperative forum of problem-solving to resolve their differences than to pursue an adversarial approach.