Conflict Management In A Workplace

It is a known fact that anywhere humans exist, conflict is bound to happen. In the workplace, employees come from different geographical locations, cultures, religions, etc, to work together, in the process also sharing ideologies/beliefs on certain issues.

The work environment usually comprises people who have a different outlook towards life and problems which makes conflict inevitable. When conflict occurs in the workplace, if not handled properly, can lead to division and lack of productivity. There are some common causes of conflict such as poor communication, Toxic Work environments, personality differences, unclear job expectations, harassment, etc.

A workplace in the first place should have already laid down rules to help prevent conflict from occurring. But in a process where conflict occurs, there are measures on how to properly handle conflict in the workplace.

1. Clarify What Led To The Conflict: This should be the first ideal thing to do when a conflict arises in the workplace. Getting to know what led to the conflict will help to know how to resolve it. Anyone acting as a mediator in a bid to broker peace, which is usually the manager, should ensure to hear from both parties and not just a single-sided story, to avoid making rash decisions to be able to get a proper understanding of what led to the conflict. Most times, false clarification often leads to impartial/unfair judgment.
2. Conflicting Parties Should Come Together To Settle Their Differences: Regardless of how tense the conflict is, conflicting parties should be made to come together, so they can both trash out their differences, rather than holding grudges. They should be able to state what they are not pleased with so there won’t be any repetition of such cases again. Avoiding proper conversations will only generate much hatred because the tension has not been doused. They should be able to have honest communication regarding the issue at hand.
3. Achieving A Common Goal: After both parties have poured out their grievances, for the conflict to be properly handled, they need to come to a common objective which entails resolving the issue and how to prevent it from recurring. Parties involved need to summarize their areas of agreement, and if possible seek possible opinions from colleagues to ensure that they both agree to reach a common goal.
4. Implement Preventive Conflict Strategy: Once a conflict has occurred, even if parties involved have settled their differences, they should never presume that the issue is resolute. Prevention strategies need to be implemented to prevent another conflict from arising. Conflicting parties need to understand what led to the initial conflict and avoid repeating such mistakes that led to the initial conflict.

Conclusion

Conflict is bound to happen where humans exist, and the workplace is not an exemption. It is how conflict is handled that matters most because a conflict not properly handled can cause division and reduce productivity in a workplace if not properly handled.