Advice On Employee Conflict

Conflict exists wherever there are people, so every organization will have its share. It is not realistic to desire a conflict-free workplace. In some cases, conflict is the precursor of major innovation. A workplace in which conflict is understood, acknowledged, properly mediated and utilized can be the legacy of any talented and committed leader.

Expert Insight

Anna Maravelas, author of "How to Reduce Workplace Conflict and Stress" and the founder of Thera Rising, believes conflict to be on the rise generally in the United States as a direct result of unprecedented levels of stress and exhaustion. Hostility and blame, says Maravelas, threaten rational decision-making in the workplace. Eighty percent of Americans feel overworked and stressed from company downsizing and this creates a work culture of rudeness and irritability.

Types

According to author Dick B. Clough, there are five distinct types of employees that foster conflict: Attention seekers, control players, concealers, innovative malcontents and revengers. A mix of these types of employees will typically pepper any given conflict.

Tasks

In any type of employee conflict, organizational leaders must decide whether to ignore the conflict or intervene in it. While this depends on the context of the conflict, for the most part the effective leader intervenes, according to All Business. Intervention can take the form of informal counseling, which gives supervisors an effective means of addressing and managing conflict in-house, at relatively low cost.

Further Options

In other cases in which there is conflict between two employees, for example, a face-to-face meeting can be effective. Close quarters and no available supporters to recruit can sometimes force both employees to move beyond their own complaints and see the other side.

Hiring Skills

Organizational leaders need to hire well. In an interview with Entrepreneur magazine, Terry Sember, author of "Bad Apples: How to Manage Difficult Employees, Encourage Good Ones to Stay, and Boost Productivity," discussed how a skilled interviewer can often spot the seed of conflict. Direct questions such as "How did you get along with your co-workers?" are effective. Responses such as "They didn't understand me" or "There was someone who had it in for me" are red flags that this person may be the type of employee who incites conflict.