Managing conflict at work

The run up to the festive holiday period should be a time of relaxation, merriment, and celebration. In reality, this time of year can also be fraught with stress and disagreement. There’s a lot to do to prepare for the big day: securing the best-selling toy or computer console for your children, the big Christmas food shop, as well as dealing with unexpected visitors. This all comes with significant financial pressure during a cost of living crisis. Christmas day is a classic time when arguments traditionally come to a head. Families all over the country will argue over what to watch on TV, who cheated at Monopoly, or who ate the last purple one. You know it’s true!

With so much to do in such a limited time, tensions will naturally run high. And this means conflict can arise and escalate quickly. And that conflict can easily appear in the workplace.

Year-end brings its own pressures. Customers demand tasks be completed before the holidays or in time for their financial end of year. Who decides on who has to work over the Christmas period? Shall we do Secret Santa, and if so what will the budget be? Where will we have our colleague Christmas party? Will it take place during work hours or on a weekend? Where alcohol is involved, there’s always a risk that colleagues will reveal the things that have been annoying them all year.

Tinsel or no tinsel, stress does funny things to us. People say things in the heat of the moment that they might regret. Conflict can start with a simple disagreement over who stole the stapler. It’s important that organisations and their leaders know how to handle conflict in the workplace appropriately and efficiently.

Handling conflict is an essential leadership skill

When managers are equipped to manage conflict effectively, it creates more cohesive, connected, productive teams. These teams are more likely to support each other and work together to achieve their collective goals. They respect and have confidence in their manager, which leads to feelings of motivation, satisfaction and engagement at work.

If issues and disagreements are left to fester, employees who are directly, and indirectly, affected tend to lose respect for their colleagues and lack confidence in their manager.

A strong, high-performing manager is observant and quick to intervene in situations. They understand exactly how to diffuse and resolve situations quickly, before they escalate into more serious issues. High-performing managers know it’s important to do this to avoid negative impact on team morale. When they intervene they are fair and communicate clearly, calmly and effectively.

Steps to managing conflict at work

When disagreements surface in the workplace, whether at Christmas or any other time of year, the first thing any leader must do is act swiftly. It doesn’t matter if you are line manager to the colleagues involved or not. Stepping in and taking control is a must. Here are a few other nuggets of advice from the P3 team on managing conflict at work.

1. Stop it before it goes too far. Ignoring issues will only make matters worse. Managers tend to do this when they don’t have the confidence to step in. Personal grievances can escalate into allegations of misconduct, harassment, bullying and even resignation.

2. Appreciate that there are two (or more) sides to every story. Listen equally to everyone involved, giving each person the same amount of time, attention and airspace.

3. Speak calmly and clearly. If emotions are running high, this could help to diffuse the situation and calm down those involved. Where voices have been raised, find a private room where you can take the conversation to avoid disturbing others.

4. Identify the source of the conflict and the factors that led to it. Try to establish the facts of the issue from those involved. For more weighty disputes and serious allegations this might involve you having to seek further information, such as interviewing people who witnessed the incident or disagreement.

5. Avoid bias. Be conscious of being swayed by personalities or people you know or manage directly. A balanced approach is best.

6. Agree an acceptable way forward. Find a resolution that is suitable to all and ask everyone involved to commit to it.

7. Document the conversation. Create a written record of what was said and agreed to resolve the situation. Depending on the severity of the situation, your HR team may request to see a copy of your report to use as evidence in a disciplinary hearing.

8. Follow procedure. Raise formal complaints and grievances in line with your company policy and procedures. If in doubt, seek advice from your HR partner or provider.

9. Monitor the situation. Make time to have regular conversations with those involved to avoid similar issues in future, particularly if they are members of your own team. Speak to other team members in your 1-2-1s to ensure they have not been negatively impacted by the situation. Colleagues can be indirectly affected too.

Conflict resolution training

Being able to manage your emotions is vital when managing conflict at work. Some managers may find it difficult to set aside their emotions, for example when a direct report or a close colleague is involved. This is where training to build emotional intelligence can be a useful aid.

Learning how to build an open, communicative culture can also create an environment where employees are able to air their grievances. Calm but frank discussions can prevent issues escalating into a full blown argument.

Communication and handling conflict is a core element of our learning and development provision. Clients can access our training, learning and development programmes individually or as part of a bespoke package. Our offering includes structured training and in-person and online workshops, alongside 1-2-1 mentoring and coaching. Look out for more of our free lunch and learn webinars coming in the new year!

In the meantime, if you or any of your team would benefit from coaching or training in handling and resolving conflict, please pick up the phone or drop us an email.

Clearly, the best course of action would be to prevent conflict altogether, however we live in the real world and accept that colleagues won’t always see eye to eye. Organisations with an open culture with leaders who are skilled in handling disputes will be best placed to resolve conflict in the workplace. Those skills may also come in useful to resolve arguments at home over the festive period!

Further reading

To read more on this subject, take a look at our blogs on Leadership skills: communication and handling conflict, Mediation - Don’t hesitate to mediate, and Brave conversations.

How we can help you

If you’d like to discuss any of the issues covered in this blog, get in touch with us today on 0161 941 2426. We’re here to help.