Workplace conflict needs to be quelled before it gets out of hand.
As a boss, business owner or manager, you are responsible for resolving conflict, whether it is between management and labor, feuding employees, or employees and customers. This can be an unpleasant task, but it is absolutely essential if you hope to maintain a placid and productive workplace. Succeeding in this task requires a perceptive mind, a tactful demeanor and an understanding of the points of views of differing groups.
Facilitate Communication
Many disagreements are fueled by a lack of understanding between two parties. By encouraging open communication and providing opportunities to share thoughts and feelings, you can reduce levels of misunderstanding in the workplace and head off trouble before it starts. There will still be problems; some people do not like each other even when they understand each other perfectly. But open communication can help to eliminate that portion of conflict that is caused by misunderstanding. Having private meetings with only you, the manager and the people who have a problem with each other, can often go a long way to removing the tension from a work situation.
Enforce Boundaries
Be clear about who is allowed to do what in your workplace. If someone is stepping on someone else's toes and you allow that behavior to continue, trouble is bound to follow. Well-run workplaces have clear boundaries about what people are allowed to do and say and even where they are allowed to go. Some of these boundaries are explicit and some are unspoken. Some are healthy and some are not so healthy. Try to encourage the healthy boundaries, for example not entering someone else's office without knocking or when they are not present, while discouraging the unhealthy ones, for example hostile cliques forming during lunch and breaks.
Create Clear Expectations
When you hire someone, make it clear what your expectations of them are, both professionally and personally. Employees who know what is expected of them are better able to do their jobs, and can more quickly fit into the corporate culture without annoying their new co-workers. Pay particular attention to expectations that might be unusual or even unique to your workplace; a newcomer cannot be expected to know these things and will appreciate the information.
Maintain Discipline
In extreme cases of conflict where someone's rights have been seriously violated, the person in charge of the workplace must take action. This does not necessarily have to mean dismissal, although that is an option, but should certainly assert the manager's position as an authority. This will not be popular with the person who is being reprimanded, but it will help to maintain order in the workplace, and will make the injured party feel vindicated.
Express Sympathy
The flip side of expressions of authority is just as necessary for a healthy workplace. Express compassion and sympathy when workers experience difficulty, either professionally or personally. At the same time, do not overstep your boundaries into their personal lives. Do not pretend to be more sympathetic than you are, just make a point of expressing a human connection in the event of family losses, illness or other difficulties.
