The Covid-19 pandemic changed the willingness to engage in conflict

Willingness to engage in conflict has increased

A qualitative survey conducted in early 2023 cited a massive increase in mediators' willingness to engage in conflict. While before the pandemic, escalation levels 1-3, as defined by Friedrich Glasl, were the focus of mediation, the circumstances of the pandemic led to an intensification of conflicts and a more difficult conflict resolution: levels 6-8 generally affected 80% of requests. With the end of the pandemic, escalation levels remained high and are only slowly declining to a lower level.

A quantitative analysis also reflects this picture, albeit not in such a drastic manner. It attests to an increase in the last three stages (lose-lose) from 2.82% to 6.95% between 2019 and 2021, while the number of simple stage 1 cases has been reduced from 9 by two-thirds. This trend is further reinforced in a special count regarding mediators with separation/divorce mediation [1] : While 48.72% were still in the first three stages (win-win) in 2019, this figure is only 37.5% in 2021, and the number of cases in the last three stages (lose-lose) has doubled. These statements are not sufficiently significant due to the small number in the sample (n1=40).

The pandemic has led to an increase in the level of escalation, although this varies greatly depending on the issue being addressed. The level remains higher after the pandemic than before, but is slowly declining. Whether the willingness to escalate will return to pre-2020 levels cannot currently be determined.