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Finding it difficult to get back into work after returning from holiday? Is conflict with family and co-workers making it hard to focus on what is important? Fair Way is here to help! Read on to understand how interpersonal conflict at home can impact on work and the ways that individual wellbeing and conflict resolution techniques can support you through this time.

There is a new Covid-related issue surfacing in the family dispute resolution (FDR) world. With the launch of the Trans-Tasman bubble, many families are chomping at the bit of an overseas escape. In the context of an ongoing global pandemic, with overseas travel comes risk.

As mediators we meet people when they are stuck in challenging situations which stretch their ability to be patient, reasonable and empathetic. Our role as mediators is to design processes which facilitate their capacity to participate in mediation and in this way to provide the opportunity for them to move forward.

The Trusts Act 2019 is the first major overhaul of NZ trust law in generations, replacing the 1956 Act. From Fair Way’s perspective, one of the most significant developments is the inclusion of dispute resolution for internal and external trust disputes. 

The introduction of mandatory family mediation in many western countries over the past four decades resulted in much gender-based criticism. Feminists warned that family mediation shall disadvantage women who are not yet strong enough to negotiate directly with their husbands. Fathers’ rights groups claimed fathers are systematically discriminated against in favour of mothers.

In this article I will discuss the idea of a tikanga Māori based dispute resolution process and what that might look like. In recent times this specific area of dispute resolution work has been a passion of mine and was the motivation for setting up my own mediation business Omeka Resolution Services.

A good lesson in life is learning more about how you make decisions. If you asked someone how they make decisions, generally their reply would include some reference to ‘using my head’. But what about responses that includes things like ‘it was a heartfelt action’ or ‘my gut said don’t do it’? 

The above whakataukī or proverb speaks of the importance or sanctity of people in the world and is a reminder to us all not to forget that it is people that matter the most. Of most importance here is the fact that people all share a whakapapa and whakapapa is what binds all people. 

If you ask people if they have ever experienced conflict at work, you would be hard pressed to find someone who has not. Both international and New Zealand research bears that out.  In a benchmark 2008 study of 5,000 employees in nine countries, the primary cause of conflict was interpersonal (49%), followed by workplace stress (34%) and heavy workloads (33%).