15 Effective Ways to Handle Workplace Conflicts

15 Effective Ways to Handle Workplace Conflicts

           Conflict is inevitable in the workplace. Conflict is caused by disputes and disagreements between workmates in an organization. The reason is that each workplace contains people with different habits of work, background, ideas, and values. Conflict can be between two or more people. At work, you should avoid conflict as much as possible. But when a conflict occurs, do not ignore it.

You should handle conflict by resolving it. For instance, imagine ignoring a dispute on who should have done a certain task. Your business is affected negatively. To handle disputes effectively, you need to have conflict management skills. In this post, I will share some strategies you can use to resolve conflict and provide fair solutions for the parties involved.

Active Listening

To listen actively is to focus on what the other person is saying. Any professional in any field requires having this skill. To be an active listener, you need to have an open mind to give open ears. To show you are listening actively, you can respond to the other person using the same words. To add, you can also ask questions to get clarity when confused on a point. This helps you focus and identify the goals of the other person.

Be Patient

Overcoming conflicts is not always simple. Humans don’t like to be wrong and each person holds his view. To resolve a conflict, patience is a skill that is required. It is good to know that the conflict might not get solved right away. You need time to listen to the parties involved to value their arguments equally. Even though the solution might be obvious, don’t rush to make the final decision.

Unbiased Approach

When solving a conflict, you should focus on the conflict itself, and separate the people involved with the conflict. Don’t focus on the people’s characteristics, but instead, look at the problem and focus your energy on finding a solution. Conflicts sometimes create opportunities for solving previous problems that may have developed over time. But, when solving an issue, focus on handling the urgent issue first.

Be Positive

Having a positive attitude when managing conflict helps greatly by keeping the conversation flowing. You need to overcome the issues that are causing barriers to come up with a solution. A positive attitude during a conflict helps the parties being involved feel at ease. This increases the chances of agreeing on a solution that everyone is happy about.

Maintain Calmness

Remaining calm helps you think logically about a solution that is suitable for all parties. However, it’s not easy to hear your tone from the perspective of another person. Before you plan to meet and discuss with the involved parties, you should have let out your emotions. On entering the meeting to resolve conflict, you should maintain calmness and be ready to talk and consider other views. Don’t let out your emotions during the meeting.

Willingness to Cooperate

Depending on a conflict situation, showing a willingness to comprise could save the time used to reach a decision. In serious conflicts, it’s crucial to come up with an agreement between involved parties. Those involved must let go of their pride and focus on the argument. This shows the other party that you are not just concerned about the conflict or presenting your views, but also about coming up with a solution suitable for everyone.

Be Confidential

The happenings and details of the conflict should remain between you and the involved parties. However, if it is necessary or your role, you can share with a person in a higher position but not equal or lower positions. These are people who can help you save the situation by forming a support system that can be used even in the future. Conflict resolution is built on honesty and trust that the details will remain confidential.

Read Body Language

Normally, some people don’t like conflicts. Mostly, they tend to avoid conflicts or, use accommodating styles without being transparent about what they need. In such situations, you pay attention and read their body language. Body language tells you when someone is saying one thing but meaning another. By being aware of emotions, people’s gestures and facial expressions may differ from their words. Create a comfortable environment for honesty.

It’s Not About Winning or Being Right

When you deal with a conflict at work, everyone wins resulting in a new common ground. You should not view the person or team on the other side of the conflict as opponents. It undermines techniques of resolving conflict that result in a beneficial outcome. Approaching conflict with mutual respect, brings better insights into communication styles and expectations. You get the information required to find the best solution for everyone.

Look for Cause, not Blames

Conflicts often arise from mistakes people make. You should not concentrate on an individual’s mistake but look for the point in the working process where the mistake was made. Check whether that person had the right information to correctly do the task. Check if everything in the process worked out as it should. When you focus on the process without blaming anyone, it helps prevent future mistakes and shows your team that you care about them since everyone makes mistakes.

Your Conversation Should Have a Goal

When dealing with conflict at work, it is important to have a goal to be achieved. While solving a conflict is important, what benefits does the conflict bring? When the goal of a conflict is clear, the parties involved in the conflict become more open to discussion. For instance, one may want to know what to do better next time.

Maintain Open Communication

After resolving a problem, the relationships of the parties involved don’t go back to normal. You need to nurture their relationship to prevent future disputes. An open line of communication should be created between the parties. This is to allow them to check on one another and ensure their agreement is protected. In case of future disputes, communication between the parties makes it easier to solve their issues.

Promote Teamwork

Encouraging collaboration among team members helps reduce conflict. You should organize and facilitate team-building activities so your workers can learn to work together. While conflict might be inevitable, teamwork reduces the chances of conflict becoming a problem. However, you should clarify rules and give clear defined roles among team members.

Investigate the Issue

For small issues, you can ask workers to solve them between themselves or hold a meeting to solve their conflict. However, serious issues like sexual harassment, discrimination, and other misconduct, it requires investigation. Meet privately with each party separately before you try to resolve the conflict. Ask each party open-ended questions on what is going on. If it is evident that the situation has potential misconduct, a formal investigation can be launched.

Train Employees

Provide training to your employees on conflict resolution. This will equip them better to handle and resolve conflicts. You should focus on communication and problem-solving skills via case studies. Training arms your workers with techniques to resolve conflict making future issues easier to handle. By doing this, you show you are committed to developing the skills of the conflicting individuals. It also reduces conflict cases in the future.    

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