Conflicts in the workplace isn’t an isolated occurrence to just your company, it happens in the majority of businesses. Particularly when you’re a small business or are just starting out, workplace disputes and conflict are prevalent. Moreover, when these conflicts go unresolved, they can lead to poor employee operation and behavior, such as depression, aggression, and high turnover rates.
In order to combat conflicts in the workplace, you should be familiar with the different types of conflict and how they might be resolved.
Leadership conflict
For many companies, there is more than one distinctive leader. These other leaders could be co-founders of the business or those who were put in charge of various responsibilities. However, with more than one leader there is more than one way to lead, which can lead to employment disputes and workplace conflict. You may lead in one specific style, whereas another may lead in a completely different manner. In order to avoid confusion and frustration, you should come up with a uniform method of leadership at every level.
Differences in work ethic
Every employee is different and therefore will work differently. For instance, you may have some employees who complete their tasks more efficiently when they work alone and some who do better in groups. When training new employees or tasking your current ones, it’s important to keep these differences in work ethic in mind. That way, you can help avoid workplace conflict by assigning your employees to tasks that they prefer.
Department interdependency
If there are certain departments or specific employees who rely on information or the completion of tasks from a separate department in order to do their job, then there is a possibility for conflict. The reason being is that if one employee is regularly unable to complete their tasks, then the other employee is unable to complete their own by default. For example, if your waiter needs to bring out food to customers but the chef is always behind on prepping the food, then the waiter will be behind on bringing it out. You will need to identify these areas of interdependency to ensure that tasks are managed efficiently to avoid employment issues.
Leadership training and conflict training can be great ways to avoid conflicts in the workplace. In fact, 95% of employees stated that the training they received helped them navigate workplace conflict and come to a resolution. Call Baltimore Mediation today for more information about how leadership and conflict training can benefit your business.