Restorative Practices in the Workplace

Grounded in the values and principles of Restorative Justice, Restorative Practices are being used to develop healthy and productive organizations by fostering respectful dialogue, and increasing communication and mutual understanding, leading to an improved workplace climate. Rather than waiting for underlying workplace dynamics to amount to conflict, Restorative Practices lay out a process for strengthening communication and handling everyday conflict before it gets a chance to build into something larger. Restorative Practices create the space for hearing diverse perspectives, creative problem solving, equitable decision making, and having difficult conversations. All of these things are done while building, maintaining, and repairing relationships. 

Individuals are more motivated and perform at a higher level when they are treated with dignity and respect, and when they feel a connection and sense of belonging. Thus, the culture of how people communicate and engage with each other in the workplace can have a huge impact on innovation, motivation, productivity and overall satisfaction with work. 

In a 2015 Harvard Business Review article, Emma Seppälä and Kim Cameron offer some persuasive ideas that suggest that “a positive environment will lead to dramatic benefits for employers, employees, and the bottom line.”  They propose that leaders who value healthy communication and foster a healthy culture through connection, empathy, and respect, create a positive and productive workplace. Restorative Practices offer tools for developing these characteristics and implementing the ideas put forth by Seppälä and Cameron. Restorative Practices allow people to listen to each other in new ways; through story-telling, employees both share and hear the experiences, perspectives, and ideas of others. This often leads to building empathy, goodwill, trust and respect within the work community and on individual teams. Talking circles create the space for hearing diverse perspectives, shared learning, and experimentation - which in turn increases creativity and innovation. A highly supportive work culture provides the safety to learn and grow, raise concerns, and try new things. Restorative Practices provide a process for establishing group norms, managing expectations, and developing the interpersonal skills essential for collaboration.  

As companies begin to return from months of remote work, intentionally attending to workplace culture will be especially important. Employees will need time and space to adjust to the new normal. In many cases employees may require healing after layoffs, furloughs, or closures. Many organizations are adapting how individuals work together and changing physical workspace to account for social distancing. In addition, employees are making emotional and logistical adjustments as they return to the office after months of being away. Underlying all of these changes is continued fear of Covid-19 and the continued uncertainty of the economy and the disease itself. Taking the time to use restorative circles will allow employees to build trust, ask questions, express concerns and offer ideas for making the transition to the new normal easier for everyone. Restorative Practices can provide the space to express concerns, worries and fears and connect with others so people can process what they are feeling and know they are not alone in what they are experiencing.

To learn more about Restorative Practices and how they can help your business or workplace, please see our website and contact us for more information on how we can help in your particular setting.