"The Negotiation" (originally titled "Labor Negotiation") is the nineteenth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's forty-seventh episode overall. The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, Roy Anderson (David Denman) tries to attack Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) for kissing Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) in "Casino Night", only to be pepper-sprayed by Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson). Jim repeatedly tries to thank Dwight for his actions, but each attempt is rejected. Meanwhile, with Roy fired, Darryl Philbin (Craig Robinson) asks for a raise and is astounded when he learns that this raise would cause him to be paid more than his boss, Michael Scott (Steve Carell).

"The Negotiation" first aired on April 5, 2007 on NBC as a longer, "super-sized" episode. It was written by Michael Schur and directed by Jeffrey Blitz, and featured the end of Roy's plot arc to win back Pam, his former fiancée. This also marked the end of Denman's recurring tenure on the show, though he made guest appearances in subsequent seasons. The episode also included the return of actor Ed Helms, who portrays Andy Bernard. The episode was first screened at Paleyfest in early 2007. According to Nielsen Media Research, it was viewed by an estimated audience of 6.7 million people and earned a 3.2/10 ratings share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. The episode received generally positive reviews, with television critics in particular praising the Dwight–Angela storyline. Schur received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, but lost to fellow Office writer Greg Daniels for his work on "Gay Witch Hunt".

Roy Anderson enters the office and tries to attack Jim Halpert for kissing Pam Beesly, but Dwight Schrute subdues him with pepper spray. The pepper spray fumes also incidentally affect himself and others. Toby Flenderson and Michael Scott fire Roy, and a grateful Jim tries to show his appreciation to Dwight for saving him, but Dwight politely declines each gesture, believing he only acted in the line of duty and thus is undeserving of any special praise.

Pam apologizes to Jim that Roy attacked him but her assurance that her relationship with Roy is over for good is met with skepticism. Roy picks up his last paycheck, apologizes to Jim for threatening him, and asks Pam to join him for coffee. Their meeting at a local diner is awkward and ends their relationship. Roy encourages Pam to pursue her feelings for Jim but she says she will not because he is dating Karen. Roy says he does not understand Pam. They hug and leave.

Throughout the day, Angela Martin asks people from the office to tell her the tale of Dwight's heroics, which arouses her. Believing themselves to be alone at the end of the day, the two kiss passionately. However, Jim sees them and decides that keeping their relationship secret will be his gift to Dwight to make things "even". Andy Bernard returns from anger management, and a vindictive Dwight subdues him with pepper spray. This prompts Toby to confiscate the rest of Dwight's arsenal hidden in his desk.

Meanwhile, Darryl Philbin asks Michael for a 10 percent raise due to the extra workload resulting from Roy's termination. When this is refused because it would make his pay exceed Michael's, Darryl goads him into going to corporate to negotiate his own raise. Jan Levinson tries to keep their romantic relationship out of the negotiations but ultimately gives Michael the maximum 12 percent raise that was authorized despite his continued inability to negotiate properly.

Toby becomes annoyed with Ryan Howard and Kelly Kapoor's constant making out and arguing in the cubicle next to his.

"The Negotiation" was written by supervising producer Michael Schur and directed by Jeffrey Blitz. It concluded a story arc featuring Roy Anderson's attempt to win back Pam, his former fiancée. Roy's portrayer, David Denman, reported he was "really grateful" that executive producer Greg Daniels allowed his character to develop, "where all of a sudden, he wasn't just a complete idiot but felt bad for being a bad boyfriend and wanted to try to get the girl back. It's so rare to have that on a television show, because so often everyone wants you to be the same character every week. It was quite refreshing creatively to get to do that." Denman felt it was "inevitable" that love triangles on any TV series are resolved, or "it gets kind of tiring and old. I think it was the appropriate time [to leave], and I had such a great experience working with all those guys." Denman added that Daniels told him the decision stemmed from a desire to advance the Jim–Pam storyline, rather than having anything to do specifically with Denman himself. Denman briefly returned in the series' fifth, seventh, and ninth seasons.