Welcome to the Conflict Management Office

Students enjoying warm weather outside Math 1

Practicing Difficult Conversations with Ovation VR

As part of the VR for Workplace Wellbeing initiative. the Conflict Management Office (CMO), in collaboration with the Staff Excellence Fund, are providing all University of Waterloo staff (full-time, part-time, contract, and student staff) with the opportunity to participate in hands-on workshops that explore how virtual reality can support you in preparing for difficult conversations.

Ovation VR uses AI-driven avatars to simulate challenging scenarios such as performance reviews, job interviews, and conflict resolution. By allowing you to practice these interactions and receive feedback, this immersive tool can help you build confidence and reduce workplace stress.

In this session, you will:

  1. Get comfortable using a VR headset
  2. Set up your Ovation VR account and explore its features
  3. Become familiar with CMO resources available to guide you in preparing for a difficult conversation
  4. Have the option of practicing a challenging conversation using Ovation during the session or at a later time on your own.

Choose a session:

  • Thursday, July 10, 3:30 – 4:30
  • TBA

This group workshop is open to all staff, but capacity is limited. 

To register, email Lynn Long at l3long@uwaterloo.ca.

Individual consultations are also available if you would like personalized support for a specific situation and want to explore how Ovation VR can help you build confidence beforehand.

Our New Name

In order to promote clarity on campus, moving forward, our office will simply be known as the Conflict Management Office. 

  • Will your services change? No, we will still offer all of the same services that we have in the past.
  • Can I book an appointment to discuss an issue related to human rights? Yes, we are one of several offices on campus whose staff are knowledgeable in this area.  You can still book an appointment with us to discuss such concerns.

Difficult Conversation Wednesdays

Are you having difficulties with a friend, a classmate, a supervisor, or colleague? Do think you may need to have a difficult conversation?  Are you unsure how to begin?  Do you wish you had someone to listen and provide feedback as you consider your approach?  The staff in the Conflict Management and Human Rights Office are setting aside Wednesday especially for difficult conversations. 

If Wednesdays don’t work for you, we are able to meet other days as well.

Maintaining Effective Relations with your Supervisor: A Microlearning Series for Graduate Students

Microlearning is an educational concept based on The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve (Shail, 2019). It involves presenting content in "bite-sized" chunks, interspersed with opportunities for application and/or reflection in order to reinforce key concepts and improve knowledge retention (Kang, 2016MacLeod, Reynolds, & Lehmann, 2018). Providing content that is available "on-demand" for self-directed and individualized learning, is also part of a microlearning strategy. Read more about micro-learning.

Each of the short (7-15 min) videos is accompanied by a reflective worksheet that facilitates a self-directed, self-paced learning experience for busy graduate students.  

Although these modules are on the longer end of what is usually considered microlearning, they are still much shorter that the former 90-120 minute workshop format and are designed to facilitate reinforced learning and application of key concepts in a self-directed, individualized learning format.