Workplace conflict: Is Prevention Better Than Cure?

Workplace Conflict: Is Prevention Better Than Cure?

It’s widely recognised that conflict in the workplace has a negative effect on morale and productivity. It also affects the health and wellbeing of the workforce. Inevitably, these factors undermine an organisation’s ability to deliver its goals and objectives.

No sensible employer wants workplace conflict. But it’s all too common. So, the burning question is what can you do about it? How do you balance actions to prevent conflict occurring in the first place against effective actions to tackle it when it does occur?

How do we define conflict?

But let’s take a step back for a second and define what we mean by ‘conflict’.

In a fascinating report about managing workplace conflict, the CIPD argue that ‘It’s hard to pin down a precise definition of conflict, and one person’s perception of a difficult situation can differ from someone else’s.’

They go on to say that some conflict can even be regarded as positive if it offers a framework for problem-solving and creativity.

Where it becomes unhealthy is when it crosses the line into unfair or unethical behaviour which causes distress to people and might constitute bullying or harassment. And which can manifest itself in various ways, including verbal (or physical) abuse, setting workers impossible targets or isolating people in the workplace.

At a general level, the key to successful conflict management is understanding the underlying reasons for its occurrence and ensuring an organisation has the right tools in place to prevent or resolve it.

Some conflict is inevitable

In this vein, Benjamin Franklin, American writer and all-round polymath, once said, ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’ I understand the point. But is it realistic to aim for prevention in all scenarios?

I don’t think so. As human beings, we learn (or should learn!) from our mistakes.

Approaching all life from a ‘prevention rather than cure’ perspective potentially sets us up to live in a constant state of anxiety about ‘what ifs’. How are we to know what’s around the corner or how life events will affect our wellbeing? We also need to be able to experience life’s ups and downs to build resilience and improve our confidence.

Maybe the promotion of education, as well as prevention, would be a better route to take. Understanding our minds and bodies, relationships and what makes us tick could avoid a lot of problems.

And, of course, if prevention really was better than cure for humankind, we would all eat healthy diets, exercise properly, have better relationships and live happily ever after…

The same applies to the workplace. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 places a legal duty on employers to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of employees and others in the workplace. Though it’s not uncommon with less scrupulous employers for effective health and safety processes to be put into place only after something has gone wrong, and as a reaction to an accident after inspection by HSE inspectors or local authority officers.

The same approach might be applied to the handling of interpersonal relationships in the workplace (without endorsing action prejudicial to staff wellbeing!). We don’t have to try and prevent every possible conflict scenario. At the end of the day, there are as many personalities as there are people on this planet.

What you can do, is react quickly and before problems spiral out of control. And also recognise that some issues resolve themselves quickly and without outside intervention. It’s the problems that re-occur you should pay more attention to because they are going to cost you in the long run. Especially if they involve the same people or the same issue.

Pretending it’s not happening will only make matters worse. And if you think that dealing with conflict (either by providing training or coaching) is a cost you can’t afford, think about lost productivity, key workers leaving and having to recruit and train new staff. And the accompanying loss of morale across your team and possible loss of employee trust in management.

Help your employees develop people skills and watch your organisation thrive

The key to the development of well-rounded staff is to take an individual approach. Not everyone wants to sit on a conflict management course with a large group of other people (whether they know them or not). This doesn’t mean they don’t want to learn how to resolve conflict. But how we communicate and connect with others is a personal thing. We don’t learn those skills at school and for most of our lives we simply try our best with the communication skills we have acquired along the way.

But improving people skills is in everyone’s interest because when we communicate clearly and trust people around us, we are more receptive to working together towards common goals.

Unfortunately, many people don’t have time for self-development because of their high workload. Or, over the years, have slipped into unhealthy communication habits that are difficult to change, even with a bit of training. And, like most things in life, being all too human, it can be difficult to translate theory into real life, even with the best intentions.

To make matters worse, after the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, ongoing job insecurities and the global economic downturn, many people feel exhausted.

Whether you agree with psychologist Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory or not, if we don’t have our basic needs met, and that includes safety (personal security, employment, health etc) we cannot function effectively. Something has to give. Whether that’s our relationships, our sense of wellbeing or our productivity.

Now is the time to invest in your people

If you want to see your business flourish, it’s time you invest in your people. Before someone else does. But don’t just send them on courses you think they need. Find out what skills they would like to develop and help them navigate the process.

Just like health and safety risk assessments, you can consider the risks that relate to your workforce. This includes low or falling productivity, high staff turnover and even your reputation as an employer. If you need help putting together an assessment that can minimise risks and increase employee satisfaction, contact me [insert link]. We can go through a basic assessment or I can create one specific to your needs.

The ability to communicate effectively, manage conflict and grow as a person will boost the confidence of your employees. This will be reflected both in the way they treat each other and in how they treat your customers. From early childhood, we learn to mimic those around us to help develop social skills. If your company culture is toxic, this will be reflected in the behaviour of your employees. But it’s never too late to change.

Naturally, none of us gets things right all the time. Delivering prevention over cure is tricky. But if you aim to build personal resilience and a positive team working environment upfront while also having the capacity to step in effectively and deal with conflict where required, you’ll find yourself in a much better position. And we can always make the world around us a better place once we know there is a problem!

Drop me a line at mia@neupauer.org to arrange a free no-obligation call to find out if I can help you look after your employees more effectively and build a more inclusive workplace.