Mediation - Can It Help You

20th Dec 2017

"He's the worst manager I've ever had"
"She doesn't seem to understand that I need results"
"I've no choice but to raise a grievance"
"I don't know what the problem is"
"the atmosphere in the office is awful"

Work place conflict - how did we get here?

Workplace conflict can have a significant impact on business, both in terms of management time and productivity. All of which can harm the profitability of the company.

If not dealt with, employees and directors can become disengaged with the business. There is nothing worse than not wanting to go to work on a daily basis.

What does conflict mean? Kriesburg describes it as "a social conflict that exists when two or more parties believe that they have incompatible objectives"

Conflicts can arise in many situations. Within the workplace, conflict can arise as a result of strong feelings, misperceptions, poor or miscommunication, repetitive negative behaviour, perceived or competing interests, misinformation, lack of information and differing views and values.

Once explored it is possible that much of the conflict is a result of mispercetions and misunderstandings of communication.

For instance, manager needs a report in order to complete payroll. He's under pressure. He says to the employee "Where's that report?"

What emotions is this statement likely to create? the employee is likely to feel angry, upset, resentful. She may become defensive, demotivated. "why is he having a go at me?"