How to Deal with Conflict at Work as a Manager

Conflict in the workplace can be difficult to manage. Asking employees to approach the situation like adults and work it out themselves will rarely produce results. When a team fights internally, tasks can be abandoned, productivity grinds to a halt, and team morale plummets. Responsibility is often then left to the manager or leader to solve the issue and raise spirits again.

It is naive to assume that we will never encounter conflict in the workplace. CIPD’s 2024 Good Work Index revealed that 25% of UK employees had encountered workplace conflict in the previous 12 months. While this is down from 2019’s figure of 30%, it still means that 1 in 4 UK workers will have clashed with their colleagues in the past year.

Not only does workplace conflict deliver an emotional blow, but it can also cause financial issues. In 2021, research from Professor Richard Saundry of the University of Sheffield Management School and Professor Peter Urwin of the Centre for Employment Research, University of Westminster, revealed that the cost of conflict for UK organisations was £28.5 billion per year.

It is too easy to turn a blind eye to conflict rather than try to resolve it. With so many issues cropping up across the business day, employees disagreeing with each other can end up low on the list of priorities. But, before you know it, the office is not in alignment and you have more issues than ever before.

Why does workplace conflict arise?

Disagreement is natural, and more deep-rooted conflict will inevitably arise simply because we are all individuals with our own ways of looking at the world. Individuality is great, but it can also lead to abrasion and negativity when people refuse to consider other’s thoughts and feelings.

Let’s imagine your business runs a project. In addition to the project lead, there is one staff member who is very skilled and experienced. Rather than follow the direction that the project lead sets, they demand that things are done their way. The project lead refuses to listen to them, and everyone is left on the sidelines as the pair descend into a battle of wills to see who will emerge as the victor.

This is no way for a business to operate.

So often, employee disputes arise because there is some breakdown of the parties involved. It can be caused by a variety of factors, such as:

• Resentment, frustration, or bruised egos
• Communication breakdowns
• Loneliness, depression, stress, and other well-being issues
• Low team morale

These are just some of the examples we typically see. Most of the time, workplace conflict is not caused by intentionally malicious behaviour. Though conflict arises out of workplace bullying, the two should not be treated equitably. Bullying is a serious issue that must require disciplinary action to resolve. When we resolve workplace conflict, issues may be smoothed out with nothing more than mediation and some open communication.

What can hinder conflict resolution?

Though there are many conflict management techniques to help us resolve issues, there are a few factors that can hinder resolution. The main ones a leader may encounter include:

Bias

The leader might hold a level of bias towards one of the parties involved. Perhaps the defendant has worked with them for a long time or has a better level of rapport than the accuser. This can cause the mediator to unintentionally fall back on their own biases rather than look at the facts at hand.

When bias is at play, people’s concerns and feelings can be dismissed as they don’t align with what the mediator personally believes. It can be difficult to step away and view a situation without bias, but it must be done if a positive outcome is to be reached.

Dishonesty

Unfortunately, dishonesty can be commonplace in disagreements and conflicts, and its presence can make everything much harder to resolve. When talks break down into little more than “he said, she said” rhetoric, it is difficult for the mediator to get to the truth at the heart of the matter.

We should note that dishonesty isn’t always intentional. If someone is lying deliberately to conceal poor performance or behaviour on their part, that is a different conversation that needs to be had to establish psychological safety within the workplace. If they are misremembering events and creating confusion without realising, it may be down to the mediator to listen carefully to establish the truth.

Turnover

Unfortunately, a long period of workplace conflict with no resolution in sight may result in employees choosing to leave over solving the issue. Saundry and Urwin’s research also revealed that 485,800 employees resign each year, and a further 874,000 employees are estimated to take sick leave as a result of the stress and turmoil caused by workplace disputes.

If people simply pack up and leave, the conflict doesn’t get resolved. There is even a chance that future incidents could occur if the perpetrator is still employed within the business, or they could cause chaos in their new place of work if they aren’t aware of their behaviour. Staff turnover doesn’t magically make the conflict vanish; it only delays it.

Examples of unacceptable workplace conflicts that must be addressed

Most workplace conflicts will most likely be petty squabbles or small disagreements. They will be uncomfortable and must be resolved as soon as possible, but they are manageable. However, some serious conflicts do need to be escalated and resolved as soon as they are discovered. Often, these conflicts will require disciplinary action for those perpetrating them or may require legal proceedings. Such actions can include:

• Workplace bullying — As mentioned above, the deliberate humiliation and intimidation of a colleague or subordinate in the workplace.
• Discrimination — Discriminatory and hateful comments or actions against someone’s race, gender, sexuality, or other protected status.
• Sexual harassment — Including but not limited to unwanted comments, inappropriate gestures, and unsolicited physical touch.
• Verbal aggression — Escalating disagreements to shouting matches, potentially also with inappropriate and insulting language, disrupting the rest of the office.
• Deliberate sabotage — Where a worker deliberately chooses to withhold information or manipulate a situation to either better themselves or to harm the reputation of their target.

Workplace conflicts should be small disagreements that are quickly mediated, fixed, and forgotten as the parties involved move forward. The behaviours listed above are nothing short of toxic and should have no place in any work environment. Appropriate action must be taken quickly to resolve the issue and remove the problematic individual from the workers they are harming with their words or actions.

How do you resolve workplace conflict?

Minor workplace conflicts should be solved and mitigated before they are allowed to expand and become a serious danger to operations and peace in the office. By knowing how to quickly resolve conflict and follow steps to head it off, leaders can be more confident in helping their employees manage issues.

1. Acknowledge there is a problem

The first step any leader should take when diving into conflict resolution strategies is to acknowledge that there is a problem present. Even if the mediator personally believes that a great deal is being made over nothing at all, they should still put these feelings aside and focus on how they can help ease the situation. Acknowledge the feelings of those caught up in the conflict and ensure that they know they are supported.

2. Gather information

Next, the mediator needs to gather information about the conflict. Whether it is a single incident or the culmination of several, the person chosen to manage the dispute needs to establish a timeline and ensure they have a full picture of what actually happened. If necessary, they may need to speak to some other members of the team who are not involved in the conflict but may have witnessed problematic behaviour.

3. Fact-check

Once all of the information has been gathered, the mediator needs to fact-check. This is the opportunity to work out whether or not any dishonesty, deliberate or otherwise, is present. There may be differing opinions and emotions clouding the truth. A round of fact-checking to remove confusion may be of benefit to everyone.

4. Agree on meeting rules

Eventually, a mediator will need to get the people at the heart of the unresolved conflict to sit at the same table to talk it out. To do so, they both need to agree to some civil rules beforehand so that the attempt to manage conflict can proceed smoothly. Basic guidelines such as agreeing to speak calmly and facilitate discussion can help to keep things on track. If anyone breaks these terms when they have been agreed to, the meeting is halted and rescheduled.

5. Keep emotions to a minimum

Interpersonal conflict is often tightly tied to emotion. Conflict resolution works best when emotion is taken out of the equation and focus is instead placed on talking things out in a calm and respectful manner. If it seems like one party is becoming emotional, give them space to calm down so they can return to the discussion with a more even temperament.

6. Work towards a good outcome for all

Resolving workplace conflict should not result in one party being awarded over another unless a serious incident like those listed above has occurred. Instead, encourage all parties to find common ground and a satisfactory conclusion for everyone. Ensure there are measures and protocols in place to prevent the same issue from happening again.

What preventative measures can leaders introduce?

Though workplace disputes may seem inevitable, there are some preventative strategies managers can put in place to ensure that no further conflicts can arise from the same incident. Remember, prevention is more important than a cure and can help to deliver a healthier and happier workplace overall. Good policies include:

Clear communication

Establish clear communication channels among all employees and set expectations for what respect, professionalism, and trust look like when using these channels. This will help to establish a standard among employees, and expectations should be set for what is and isn’t appropriate communication.

Regular team check-ins

Leaders often have a lot they need to juggle, and this can mean that they are unaware of any tensions that might be brewing in their team. Regular team check-ins, both as a group and on a 1-to-1 basis, can help ground a leader and align them with their team as a whole. It is also the perfect opportunity to try out a little team-building, as dreaded as those interactions might be!

Inclusive work policies

Ensure that you have inclusive work policies that reflect the diverse society we currently live in. They should be easy to access for both job candidates and current employees. This should aim to create a harmonious atmosphere where everyone knows they are respected.

Well-defined responsibilities

Frustrations can quickly grow when someone is hired to do one job, but then they have a load of unexpected responsibilities heaped on their plate. Establishing clear guidance that outlines roles and responsibilities should help to cut down on confusion and overlap so workers can complete their tasks with confidence.

Fair and standardised performance management

Conflict in the workplace can often arise due to perceived favouritism, where one employee feels like another gets preferential treatment. Whether or not this is true is one thing, but measures can be put in place to try to dissipate such beliefs. Fair and standardised performance management, such as peer reviews and the rotation of responsibilities, are just two of many practices that can help to make everything fair.

Which skills can help leaders manage employee conflict?

Conflict management skills are valuable for leadership, and many of them tie in well with other skill sets.

An experienced manager may have a good set of conflict resolution skills gained from other scenarios they may have faced. However, to effectively manage conflict within an organisation, a leader should demonstrate the following behaviours and skills:

• Active listening — To help understand all parties’ grievances and see the issue from their perspectives.
• Patience — To recognise that conflict can take time to resolve and to ensure discussions aren’t rushed.
• Emotional intelligence — To recognise the emotions of oneself and others to help deescalate a situation and validate the feelings of participants.
• Adaptability — To recognise one approach isn’t working and pivoting to a style that might be better suited.
• Problem-solving — To help provide a workable issue for the solution.

These are just five examples of soft skills a leader might employ while exploring conflict management styles. Each one may be developed in other areas long before the manager has to deal with conflict, and they might be put forward as a potentially good mediator because they have demonstrated these skills well.

Plan for prevention, but don’t dismiss disputes

The goal of any leader should be to create a harmonious workplace with employees who are happy to interact with one another on both professional and personal levels. However, even with the best preventative measures in place, it would be foolish to assume that disputes still won’t take place.

A rational and prepared leader will recognise that conflict can take place if issues are not addressed soon enough. They will be prepared to head them off where possible, but will also know how to successfully mediate conflict when it does arise among their teams.

Proper leadership development needs to be in place to give leaders the foundational knowledge required for good conflict management skills.

ChangingPoint’s Leadership and Executive Coaching works on a 1-to-1 basis to break down a leader’s strengths and weaknesses and build key understandings to empower them to lead their teams to new successes. Get in touch to find out more about how our experts can help you.