The hidden impact of poorly managed workplace conflict.
Conflict can arise within any organisation, no matter how harmonious it may be. Attempting to successfully manage that conflict can be one of the biggest challenges—and costs—to a business.
Most of us spend a large portion of our waking hours at work, and so the quality of our working environments has a significant impact on our wellbeing.
A supportive working environment and positive relationships can greatly enhance our experience of work; while in contrast negative conflict can seriously undermine people’s performance and productivity. It is stressful and time consuming and takes focus away from delivering on objectives and organisational priorities.
Put another way, poorly managed conflict damages culture and can drain a business of time, talent and profit, with positive and respectful working environments improving morale, engagement and productivity.
Tackling conflict early and effectively is a business-critical skill.
Understanding the spectrum of conflict.
Workplace conflict can occur across a wide spectrum of behaviour, from low-level disagreements to bullying and harassment. And, despite decades of equalities legislation, sexual harassment for example, is still very much prevalent across organisations. However, not all conflict is necessarily negative, but even a minor disagreement can escalate quickly. A recent survey of employees, conducted by the CIPD, showed that a quarter of people had experienced some form of interpersonal conflict within a work environment in the last year.
Culture first: Prevention is better than cure.
It can take a lot of courage for employees to speak up about inappropriate behaviour and then, there can be mixed results on the ability of the organisations to deal compassionately and effectively with the complaints. It’s encouraging that an employee shows a willingness to speak up, however if the organisations response falls short of what’s needed, people’s confidence and trust in management can be short-lived.
More focus is needed by organisations to create genuinely inclusive cultures that recognise and nip conflict in the bud, as well as responding quickly and sensitively to complaints; management need to be part of the solution not the problem. And, as we strive to create psychologically safe and healthy workplaces, it’s essential to recognise the close connection between conflict and mental health.
The real cost of conflict.
Left unmanaged, conflict costs businesses dearly. On average, UK employers spend around six days of management time per each individual case. Conflicts also often manifest themselves into disciplinaries and grievances which again, add pressure to already overstretched management teams. Senior management can also fall into the habit of ‘overriding’ middle management decisions which as result, can make managers feel ‘conflict-averse’ and afraid to make decisions.
Beyond time, the indirect costs can be even more damaging:
- Sickness absence
- Legal advice fees
- Loss of good employees
- Downturn in productivity
- Damage to company reputation
From reaction to resolution: The role of HR.
HR plays a crucial role supporting both employees and the employer, when it comes to conflict. So, it’s important an effective HR professional can identify the root causes, work to implement a structured conflict resolution framework and promote open communication across the organisation. HR professionals need to focus on the following areas:
- Building inclusive cultures based on prevention
- Shifting from process to resolution
- Ensuring relevant support and training for management
- Robust and transparent policies and processes.
Empowering your people and protecting your business.
Many organisations, especially growing SMEs, don’t have the structure, capacity or expertise in-house to manage conflict effectively. And, considering conflict is both a HR and leadership issue, this can lead to problems with management feeling under pressure to become a ‘one stop shop’ to their teams. Without proper training and processes in place, this can leave a company wide open to grievances and costly tribunals.
Support, advice and a professional service.
Howarths are the leading people consultancy across legal, safety and growth, helping businesses and their leaders manage any form of conflict or harassment, providing reactive legal services such as grievance handling, proactive growth services such as onboarding, employee engagement growth programmes and management training.
To find out how Howarths can help your business prevent costly conflict and build a healthier culture, get in touch on 01274 864 999, email sally@howarths-uk.com, or fill out the form below.
