Leadership / Management

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Work flows a lot more smoothly when your people get along well and act cooperatively as a team. Occasionally, however, two employees mix like oil and water. This can be trouble. However, there is much that you can do to make sure that conflicting points of view do not get out of hand.

Everyone appreciates a peaceful and harmonious work environment, but it is inevitable that disagreements between employees will arise. And if you allow small conflicts to escalate into big ones, you might find yourself supervising a workplace where the Hatfields and McCoys would feel right at home.

A tense work atmosphere can send productivity and quality right down the drain. Everyone’s attention focuses on the problem and how it is going to be handled instead of on the work to be done. Here is how to ensure that combative behavior does not become the norm in your department

You need to recognize the problem. Of course you cannot confront the problem with employee conflicts until you recognize that a problem exists. Typically, you will be made aware of an employee conflict in one of these ways.  

1. If you maintain open communication channels with your people, an employee might simply inform you upfront that there is a problem.
2. The workers will engage in blatant disagreeable behavior, which can be easily observed. This might involve snapping at one another or using sarcasm or insults. Once you become aware of the disagreement, you must take immediate steps to prevent it from escalating.

Keep molehills from becoming mountains. Often you can keep a minor disagreement from turning into a full-blown conflict by simply stepping in and speaking to the workers involved. First try to determine if a disagreement is personal or work related. If disagreements are personal, remind the people involved that part of their job is to work together, but that they do not necessarily have to be best friends to do it. Encourage them to work out their own small differences between themselves.

Unfortunately, disagreements that seem petty and easily resolved can grow into full-blown conflicts before you know it. For instance, I recall the day that a word processing operator told me she could not stand the way the woman at the desk beside her chewed gum. I suggested she try to ignore it, but if she could not, to be assertive, but civil, and tell her co-worker what was bothering her. She agreed. However, the employee had a less than tactful way of broaching the subject with her co-worker and soon there was a big problem to contend with. Before the day was over, the operator blurted, ’Your gum chewing is making me sick.’ Needless to say, work halted.

Generally speaking, supervisors should not get involved until the conflicts begin to affect productivity and work quality of the employees involved or the rest of the crew.

This often happens when the combatants take the next step, enlisting allies. But there is one thing that causes trouble where conflicts are concerned and it is when an employee complains about a co-worker to everyone who walks into the department. Sometimes, innocent bystanders will stay innocent, but usually they make a judgment call on the situation and pick a side.

When Push Comes to Shove. When disagreeing employees start asking their co-workers to take sides, or when their disagreement suddenly erupts into a shouting match or some other display that brings operations to a standstill, it is vital that you take some proactive steps. Here is a three-part strategy you can use in order to cope with challenging employee conflicts.

Step 1. Simply stated:

1. Take the combative employees to a neutral corner. It is pointless to try to deal with people rationally when they are distraught and your questions will only rekindle the fire.
2. Acknowledge that the workers are upset. Let them know that you recognize their feelings.
3. Tell the employees that their behavior is unacceptable and that you expect them to act in an appropriate manner.
4. Set a time to discuss the problem in the very near future. For example you could say: Everyone seems too upset to talk about this calmly so I want you to cool down, go back to your work stations, and concentrate on your work for the rest of the day. At seven o’clock in the morning as the shift is beginning, let’s meet in my office and work this out. Overnight is usually enough time for a cooling-off period. Not only does this give the employees a chance to calm down, but it also gives them an opportunity to collect their thoughts so they can present their sides of the story more clearly.

Step 2. Gather the facts:

1. Meet with the employees at the same time. If you try to hear each side of the story in separate interviews, the employees may accuse each other of lying behind the other’s back. Face-to-face, they are less likely to exaggerate or embellish the facts. Also, you cannot very well work out a compromise without having both parties present. Occasionally one person will refuse to talk and this can be very frustrating. Make these employees aware that no workable solution can be worked out without their participation. If necessary, remind them that you are entitled to their full cooperation in helping to resolve the problem.
2. Guide the discussion. Keep the conversation focused on the conflict at hand. Do not let either employee ramble. It is not unusual during these meetings for employees to bring up incidents that have been eating at them for six months. That is, they get historic. Usually the other parties are not even aware that their behavior has caused annoyance and in trying to defend themselves, they can send the whole meeting off on a tangent. The conflict you are trying to resolve suddenly gets lost in the shuffle while they fight over ancient history. It is essential to stick to the here and now.
3. Avoid taking sides. It is vital that you as the supervisor remain impartial as you listen to the facts. If you take sides, the loser is likely to tell everyone that you were playing favorites. This could definitely hurt your reputation with your employees and cause morale and productivity problems down the road.
4. Listen carefully and show empathy. No matter how petty and unreasonable the workers may seem both sides have a right to their opinions. Acknowledge all points of view by saying, "I understand" or "I hear you." Be wary of the feuding employees’ persuasive tactics, however. Each worker may try hard to convince you that his or her opinion is the correct one. But never take the bait. And carefully avoid saying, "I agree" or "You’re right."

Step 3. Work Out a Solution:

1. Focus on behavior, not personality traits. It is unlikely that employees will change their personalities overnight to please their co-workers. If the conflict starts over some personality trait that cannot be changed, turn it into an observable behavior that can be changed. For instance, a microfilm specialist complained that a co-worker was unfriendly because he neglected to say, "Good morning" every day. This made the specialist feel as if he had done something to anger his co-worker. The unfriendly co-worker explained that it was nothing personal, sometimes he just did not feel like greeting everyone.
2. Ask the employees how they might alleviate the friction. In the microfilm conflict, the first man admitted that his happiness did not depend on hearing good morning from everyone and if someone was quiet, it probably had nothing to do with him. The other man admitted that greeting everyone was a little thing he could do to improve his own image in the department, and he would try to be more consistent about it in the future.
3. Get both parties to agree on a solution. Try to get agreement on a mutually acceptable solution, but avoid pronouncing a verdict yourself. You may make suggestions, but it has been proven that people are more willing to implement their own ideas than obey demands handed down by the boss. To make sure everyone understands what is to be done, you might ask the workers to discuss with you exactly how they plan to work out the solution.
4. Do not forget to follow up. Once the employees agree to try a solution, let them know you will get together again in a week [or whatever seems like a sufficient trial time] to see if that solution is working or if another remedy needs to be tried.
5. Make your expectations crystal clear. Make it clear that a harmonious productive working environment are important to you and that you expect nothing less. It also would not hurt to get the workers to shake hands on it and give them both a pat on the back as they leave your office so that their co-workers can see that the storm is past and some compromise has been reached.

Peaceful co-existence can be attained. Chances are if your crew recognizes that you will allow them to handle their minor differences, but that you will not hesitate to step in when their behavior jeopardizes the smooth flow of work in the department, you will find yourself having to mediate fewer and fewer conflicts. Just remember the three steps to a harmonious workplace.

Step 1 – Cool everyone down
Step 2 – Gather the facts
Step 3 – Arrive at a mutually agreeable solution

Also keep in mind that the best way to nip conflicts in the bud is to spend some time observing your people as they interact with one another on the job. That way, you will know where to pay special attention if disagreements are brewing.

For more information about Ken Chapman and Associates’ Leadership Development Programs, contact Ken Chapman at 205.366.0265 or kchapman@leaderscode.com.

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