Every business will have employees that don’t really get along. The differences can either be because of their lifestyles, personalities or opinions. But, regardless of what spurs the conflict, you have to be prepared for employees that don’t just mesh together.
As a manager you need to know that discord within the workplace has an impact on everybody, including the culture of your workplace. The tension from a conflict can make your office environment toxic and can negatively impact the productivity standards you want to set for yourself.
At the very same time, you also have to keep the old saying that iron sharpens iron in min. Conflicts if handled in a constructive manner can lead to healthy competition, enhanced innovation, and better creativity.
As a manager, you get to decide just where you want to steer an office conflict; towards resolution or damage control or towards total disaster.
Here we mention some tips you can manage to handle office conflicts in this day and age:
Understand the Conflict
It is human to make assumptions about a certain conflict between employees, especially if you have a lot of rumors going around about it. As a figurehead and an employer, you have to make sure that you don’t assume anything and maintain your level headedness.
First of all, you need to understand the nature of the issue. Is at EEOC issue such as discrimination or workplace harassment? If that is so, then you need to familiarize yourself with the company policies for such cases. If it is harassment, you have to determine how the behavior was perceived, rather than the intent of the behavior.
Encourage Employees to Resolve Issues
As a business leader, you need to realize that your employees are grown adults, and they should be handed over the baton of handling their own issues. Employees should be made to settle down their own issues if possible. This is probably the first line of action you should take, before you try out any other option.
Remember that you don’t want to just jump into the conflict, and might want to take your time understanding what really has happened. Only jump in, if you believe that the employees aren’t capable of resolving the issue with outside intervention. By then, it would be necessary for you to come up with a plan.
Listen to Both Sides
Finally, if you are taking up the responsibility to settle the conflict, you should take it a responsibility to be impartial and listen to both sides. Both sides have their grievances, and you do not want to further aggravate them by not giving them an ear.
JS Benefits Consultant has been operating in the field of HR for several years and can design the ideal Conflict Resolution techniques for your workplace. Get in touch with us today for a free consultation.
