Today’s Talk On Purpose With Shad Ali (190502) – Strategies For Managing Workplace Conflict
Strategies for Managing Workplace Conflict – Today’s Talk On Purpose With Shad Ali – 190502
First, let me say I am amazed but not entirely surprised by the extent to which Workplace Conflict has become prevalent. And this view is validated by research data and real-world experience even as recent as two days ago.
Studies indicate: 25 percent of employees surveyed in 1998 reported being treated rudely at work at least once a week and That figure rose to 55 percent in 2011 and rose again to 62 percent in 2016,
Another study from the UK this time found that four in 10 employees reported having experienced some form of interpersonal conflict at work in the last year. Oh and 85% say they deal with conflict to some extent at work; 29% of them say it occurs always or frequently.
Now, should we be concerned about this? Well consider the impacts:
- It costs organizations on average $12,000. in Employee turnover costs per toxic employee;
- Employees spend on average one day per month dealing with Conflict
- Managers can spend as much as 1/3 of their time dealing with conflict issues.
And I encourage you to visit onpurpose.ca and calculate the costs of employee disengagement in your workplace, we have a quick and simple calculator there that can help.
While there are several causes of workplace conflict, among them being: poor communication; Incomplete, incorrect or ambiguous information (Assumptions); inappropriate management styles; Cultural, social or personal uniqueness and sensitivities; Inappropriate use of authority; Opposing positions, competitive tensions, power struggles, ego, pride, jealousy, performance discrepancies, compensation issues, or someone just having a bad day.
As for the effects, well they are several to including work disruption; decreased productivity; project failure; absenteeism; turnover; voluntary and involuntary termination; and of course, Emotional stress can be both a cause and an effect of workplace conflict. You know, our Stages of growth X-Ray process is pretty good at detecting these types of issues and helping leaders cut them off at the pass, so that’s something worth looking in to.
So, what can managers and leaders do to address and maybe stem or arrest workplace conflict?
- Well start by defining acceptable behaviour,
- Have open dialogue about conflict and address it head on
- View conflict as an opportunity
- Foster interactive communication. Communication that is clear and respectful can help build trust between and among employees and managers
- Build and foster Trust environments. The absence of trust among employees and managers can compromise communication all around and the presence of Trust can accelerate performance, productivity and results.
- Encourage Empathy. When people are sensitive to colleague’s feelings and show empathy and awareness wow, this is central to establishing a trusting relationship among
- Set clear expectations and communicate up and down the line.
- Commit to Conflict resolution Although conflicts arise in every organization, the methods to handle them vary. Managers and leaders must deal with workplace conflict issues head-on and resolve disputes fairly and quickly or they will escalate and gain amplitude.
While not a complete list of strategies the aforenoted is a good start anyway. So take action on these strategies for addressing workplace conflict – Today’s Talk On Purpose With Shad Ali.
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