Navigating conflict in the workplace 101

Recognising the detrimental effects of unaddressed workplace conflict, a workplace mental health specialist offers strategies and recommendations for HR professionals on effectively managing conflict to transform it into an opportunity for growth and development.

Conflict is inevitable in today’s fast-paced and complex work environments; however, it can pose a significant detriment to a business if left unresolved.

Genevieve Hawkins, a recognised workplace mental health specialist and author of Shrinking Elephants, offered expert guidance for HR professionals aiming to manage conflict effectively within their organisations. By implementing these strategies, HR leaders can transform conflict into a catalyst for collaboration and innovation, resulting in a healthier and more productive workplace.

How troubling conflict can be

While many associate conflict with overt disputes and formal complaints, Hawkins emphasised the importance of recognising the insidious nature of “quiet conflict”, as these subtle dynamics can influence morale and productivity more significantly than overt confrontations.

“When talking about conflict, most people think about obvious clashes between people, which can lead to formal complaints to be investigated, and at worse, workers’ compensation claims, but the challenge is that there is far more quiet conflict that sits below the surface,” she said.

Hawkins stressed that this type of conflict, if left unaddressed, can have severe consequences for a business, potentially eroding workplace harmony and fostering a toxic work environment.

“People experience intense emotions spiking, but bottle it up, or whisper about it behind closed doors, letting it fester like an infected wound. It is this quiet conflict that is a disease within organisations, leading to absenteeism, presenteeism, turnover, and ultimately loud conflict, bleeding an organisation of energy,” she said.

In an increasingly volatile and complex world, Hawkins warned, this trend will likely worsen if businesses do not take more effective measures to navigate and manage conflict.

“My expectation is that with the volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous world we now live in, this is only going to worsen unless we all learn how to more effectively navigate this,” she said.

Effective conflict management strategies

With HR professionals playing a crucial role in conflict resolution within the workplace, Hawkins provided insightful guidance on enhancing their conflict resolution skills to navigate better and address workplace conflicts.

1. Accept multiple truths: “We can all think we see things objectively, but we all wear our own lenses with our own blind spots, so stay curious and help your business partners to accept there can be many valid perspectives of the one situation triggered by the lenses we all wear,” she said.

2. Stay curious to quiet conflict: “There is much to be learnt and gained in navigating quiet conflict effectively, so help the organisation develop elephant-shrinking skills to help each other feel heard early when there is just the discomfort, as this is what will bring value to the organisation, faster,” she said.

3. Role model: “Don’t expect others to handle conflict effectively if your response to your initial quiet discomfort is to ignore it, be a bull in a china shop or talk about it with others, not those you feel the tension with at work,” she said.

4. Know your role: “Be a coach, not the hero coming in to ‘solve it’ and likewise help your business partners to do the same. Remember the adage ‘your advice steals my learning’. Create a safe space and ask gentle, curious questions to help others learn for themselves, teaching them how to fish rather than feeding them,” she said.

5. Listen for system failures: “People don’t go to work to deliberately do the wrong thing. Stay curious [as] to what is happening, with potential lack of role clarity, capacity and capability for those roles, conflicting objectives and rewards, poor cultural norms and a lack of a coaching culture, [which] all influence how people behave, working to improve these,” she said.

Implementing these positive conflict resolution strategies is crucial for HR professionals, with Hawkins stressing that they not only cultivate a more positive organisational culture but also enable employees to participate in constructive conversations in a meaningful and productive manner.

“HR [is] key in role modelling to the rest of the organisation, how to navigate these conversations. When HR professionals are confident in how they navigate their own personal conflict and learn from it, they build confidence in coaching others to build their skills,” she said.

“The more the HR professional can help develop these skills in others, the less unhelpful conflict there will be, the faster it is solved, [and] the healthier the organisation is.”

Conflict as an opportunity

Hawkins emphasised that conflict, when handled appropriately and effectively, can be a significant opportunity for personal and professional development.

She elaborated that maintaining a sense of curiosity and acknowledging that everyone views situations through unique lenses shaped by their life experiences can lead to a greater understanding of diverse perspectives.

“Conflict becomes an opportunity when we can remain curious. We all wear multiple lenses on our eyes, many we are not consciously aware of, influenced by our childhood, major life events, how our brains process information and emotions (natural neurodivergence), the pressures we are feeling at any point in time, etc.,” she said.

By acknowledging and embracing the diversity of perspectives, Hawkins pointed out, organisations can enhance their self-awareness and foster better understanding among their employees.

“When we can accept that we only have one view of the proverbial elephant and that there are multiple ‘true’ perspectives, we can learn more about ourselves, the other person, and how the organisation’s systems and practices are impacting people,” she said.

“We build better-connected relationships and learn new skills to navigate future disagreements in a more constructive way, increasing communication, engagement and problem solving.”