How To Solve the Crippling Cost of Workplace Conflict
Ask yourself “Do we deal well with conflict in my organization? If you are like most managers, the honest answer is ”NO!” This is not surprising, as humans we have learned to protect ourselves from adverse situations – Don’t stick your neck out!
Conflict is a natural part of work life and has and dealt with well can have positive potential. However, conflict can and often does have harmful impacts on people and this is costing you!
A CEO came to me recently to help with 2 people in her team who were in serious workplace conflict. She had seen it building and thought it would die down naturally and it did for a while, but it had reached tipping point: they could hardly speak to each other; meetings had an air of frostiness; both were off sick frequently; and both of them would consistently mention the other is the problem explaining delays or poor results. What’s more, the company lost a major client and the CEO realised that this conflict was the major cause and was to attend an urgent meeting with the board to explain what happened.
Cost – Increase in staff turnover
Workplace conflict leads to the loss of skilled staff members, hiring and training of new staff is expensive and creates interruptions in the workflow and output.
Cost – Lost productivity and diminished work standards
The people involved in workplace conflict are often pre-occupied with it, either affecting their own work by thinking about it, or interrupting others to talk about it.
Cost – Increased absenteeism
The people directly involved in workplace conflict often take unplanned leave, this may be to avoid situations that place them in the presence of the other person; or they may be experiencing severe stress, anxiety and depression.
Cost – A plummet in culture
Workers experiencing workplace conflict often blame, and gossip about each other to shore up support. Disrespect, criticism, anxiety and workplace sabotage often pervade as factions divide the department or organisation. Discontent spreads as belief in an unjust, negative workplace creates discontent. The workplace becomes unproductive.
Why does workplace conflict happen?
Most managers will do nothing about workplace conflict between workers, hoping those in conflict will work it out themselves. They will not want to get into the middle of something for fear that this may escalate the conflict causing more trouble.
Some conflicts do die down naturally – so it seems. When one person gives in, they will likely be left with resentment, and at some time later find a way to retaliate. Other conflicts become overt involving a whole department, where factions divide teams. The culture of the organisation plummets.
Left unresolved, workplace conflict will usually intensify, as power struggles escalate.
How to avoid serious problems?
The key to resolving workplace issues, is early intervention, before the conflict takes hold and escalates. 3 ways to achieve this are:
- Adopt Assertive Communication
- Skill your managers – Managers need to learn essential skills to identify conflict at an early stage, and instead of ignoring it, they can actively assist their workers by bringing them together to openly discuss their issues.
- Implement a ‘dealing with conflict” policy that gives bystanders responsibility to ‘step up’
Back to our CEO… she had decided it was too late to address the conflict and the situation was that bad, one of the parties “had to go”. After some further discussion and looking at other options, the CEO agreed to interMEDIATE providing mediation as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). This means a collaborative, positive approach to resolving disputes, rather than traditional adversarial approaches, which escalate conflict and result in win/lose and often lose/lose outcomes.
A large part of the mediator’s role is to assist parties identify, explore and understand what it is they care about and which of their cares are being impacted negatively by their disputes or conflicts with others. It is only by identifying these cares accurately that the necessary resolution will become clear and parties will then be helped to feel calmer, more relaxed, less stressed and be restored to competence and happiness.
A co-model of mediation – with two mediators is very powerful. Utilising the skills and experience of both mediators working as a team to impartially assist both parties to find a win/win resolution that they can both (or all) live with, is a peaceful and effective way to rebuild workplace relationships, workplace culture, workplace health and safety as well as productivity.
Both women were crying to me on the phone the night before their workplace mediation. “I can’t do this tomorrow” was the message. Both were incredibly emotional and felt a sense of impending doom. One had been given a much-wanted promotion, however the manager was resisting her promotion. There had been a workplace conflict between them some time ago, and we had been brought in to help the two women resolve the situation, to enable them to work together productively. My question to both was “You don’t have to, but what will you do if you don’t resolve the situation?” Neither had an answer, but they were afraid of the process which would bring them face to face in one room with their adversary.
They each had a non-participating support person to assist them through their presence. Both the women in conflict attended, albeit very tentatively.
We assisted them to have a full and frank discussion, and it became apparent that the women used to be good friends outside of work, but a personal conflict had arisen. We helped them unpack the situation. They spoke about it at length and each gained a thorough understanding of the situation from the other’s point of view and appreciation for the previous miscommunication which ended their friendship.
By the end of the mediation they were hugging each other.
We spoke to the CEO later to check on their progress and she asked “What did you do? They are on happy pills.” Such is the power of a well conducted mediation.
What do you do to deal with conflict? Go to our LinkedIn page to comment on the conversation.
Lead Mediator Jean-Marcel Malliaté has been assisting workers in conflict through mediation as well as training, since 1995. Utilising a powerful co-mediation model, a transformative process is used which aims to transform the conflict, often helping parties to find solutions that improve the entire workplace. An element of education is added as appropriate to enable parties to learn about and understand their conflict styles, and improve their communication skills which extend beyond the organisation to their personal lives, family and community.
For assistance contact: www.InvestigationandMediation.com.au
About the Author
Jean-Marcel Malliaté
Masters in Dispute Resolution (MDR Law faculty UTS)
Cert II Security Operations (Pending)
1st Aid Certificate 2021
Commercial & Private Investigator (NSW Police CAPI Lic: 411750343
Private Security & Investigator (Victorian Police: 1434 & 820B
Cert IV Investigation Government Agencies 2018-2019 (ICETS)
Cert IV in Leadership & Management 2016-2017 (LMA)
Cert III, Workplace Investigation – Factual Reports
Nationally Accredited Mediator (Adv Panel, LEADR 1995 & Fellow of the Resolution Institute, 2017)
Registered Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (FDRP, Federal Attorney Generals Dept R:1004074)
Competency requirement of the Grad Dip Family Dispute Resolution (FMC CHC80207)
Child Protection Multicultural Caseworker (NSW Dept of FaCS)
Certified Workplace Assessor & Trainer (ACWA)
Cert Conflict Management Coach (Resolution Institute)
Adv Dip, Applied Social Science (Australian College of Applied Psychology- (ACAP)
Assoc Dip Counselling & Communications (ACAP)