Author:
Rian Thomas, In-Common Mediation &
Consulting in Studio City, California
Submitted by: Tammy Goins What
if we calculated the amount of time, energy, and resources
wasted on unresolved conflicts in the workplace? We would
need to include in our accounting productivity losses due
to poor morale, gossip at the water cooler, distractions,
absenteeism, employee attrition, stress related medical
conditions, workman’s compensation, theft, sabotage,
violence, and lawsuits. As well, we would have to add the
heart-breaking costs associated with destroyed relationships
and families breaking apart. We might even include the loss
of public confidence an organization endures when it has
been accused of having unsafe working conditions, illegal
hiring practices, discrimination, or sexual harassment.
In reality, it would be mind-boggling to calculate the costs
associated with unresolved conflict in the workplace. Still,
it is easy to see that the costs are staggering.
The
Cost of Conflict
Conflicts inevitably arise between individuals in an organization,
between organizational units, and between institutions.
It is a part of our everyday life. Alarmingly, there are
a number of studies that estimate that 30% to 40% of a managers
daily activities are devoted to dealing with some form of
conflict (Thomas and Schmit, 1976; Watson and Hoffman, 1996).
Employees’ inability to effectively deal with anger
and conflict in the workplace can result in a tremendous
loss of productivity, not to mention the emotional impact
to all the participants. Below is a partial list of disputes
managers and employees alike may be subjected to in the
workplace:
-
•Unfair treatment [Risser, 1993]
- Unequal
treatment [Risser, 1993]
- Emotional
Abuse
- Discrimination
[Risser, 1993]
- Sexual
harassment [Cooper,1985)]
- Angry
individuals [McClure, 2000]
- Dealing
with resistant individuals
- Resisting
others (inability to saying no)
- Navigating
a high conflict environment
- Navigating
a low conflict environment
- Feuding
groups
- Environments
in transitions (i.e. changes)
- Inability
to ask for what one needs
- Culturally
diverse environment [Cox, 1994]
- Physical
attributes of the workplace (e.g. health and safety issues)
- Unclear
or undefined organizational directives
- Violence
or the threat of violence
Having
to endure conflicts in the workplace without sufficient
training, tools, outlets, or support, employees are destined
to experience various degrees of work related discomfort.
This distress can spiral out of control causing a range
of consequences. At a minimum, the employee is in anguish
over his/her predicament. In extreme cases, employees with
no perceived viable outlet for their grievances may escalate
their concerns to channels outside the company. Conceivably,
a lawsuit may ensue. Below are some eye-opening statistics
gathered by the Rand Corporation relative to workplace litigations
(Brim, 2001).
-
$700,000: is the average jury award in wrongful termination
-
80,000: number of discrimination charges filed annually
with the Equal Opportunity Commission
-
$38,000: average claim paid on a sexual harassment case
-
15,500: number of sexual harassment cases filed annually
- 70:
percent of jury trials in which employees win
- 55:
percent of claims in which damages are awarded
- $6.4:
the average amount, in millions, of punitive damages awarded
in racial discrimination cases
- $2.7:
average amount, in millions, of punitive damages awarded
in employment cases
Current
Responses to Conflict in the Workplace
Many medium and large companies, unions, and government
agencies have some form of dispute resolution, such as rights-based
grievance procedures. This may include processes like review
boards and arbitration. Some organizations are even beginning
to see the value of interest-based interventions such as
mediation. Unfortunately, these mechanisms are utilized
well after disputes have already escalated out of control.
Additionally, they rarely equip companies to deal directly
with the day-to-day interpersonal disputes that cause a
great deal of disruptions in the workplace. In any case,
the key to controlling the cost associated with workplace
conflicts is to address disputes early in their life cycle
before they escalate beyond the organization’s ability
to effectively intervene.
Unfortunately,
organizations generally do not have initiatives to address
the costs associated with conflict, especially early in
its development. Businesses mostly choose to focus on traditional
and more familiar avenues to cut costs in order to increase
profitability. For example, a business may attempt to recoup
the cost of conflict by negotiating better pricing structures
with their suppliers, raising the price of products and
services to their customers, or simply laying-off workers.
Admittedly, these approaches do achieved short term and
easily measurable results; however, they do not address
the day-to-day cumulative costs of conflict, nor do they
offer an ultimate resolution to the underlying problem.
Addressing
the costs associated with conflict is a viable and effective
methodology for cutting costs and saving untold sums of
money. Conceivably, organizations could realize their cost-cutting
goals through the implementation of an integrated approach
to managing conflict constructively.
Ultimately, the aggregate costs associated with conflict
can be profitably addressed through a well thought out integrated
approach to workplace disputes. This can be called a Conflict
Management System (CMS), and is the subject of this article.
How
To Address Conflict in the Workplace: The Conflict Management
System
The premise of Conflict Management Systems is the following:
the cost of resolving conflict is negligible relative to
the cost of leaving conflicts unresolved. A Conflict Management
System is strategically tailored and customized to support
the needs of an organization based on this operational premise.
Still, a well-designed Conflict Management System consists
of three interrelated components that are essential to its
success.
-
Training: raising employee conflict awareness
which reduces the negative impact of conflict in the workplace.
- Neutral
Third-Party Intervention: provides professional
resources early in the conflict cycle to help constructively
resolve the dispute before it cycles out of control.
- Supportive
Infrastructure: Internal procedures and processes
developed to support an organizations’ ability to
constructively manage and minimize the harmful effects
of conflict in the workplace.
Component
One: Training
Conflict is everywhere. In fact, it is a natural part of
interacting with others. Quite often, conflict arises out
of opposing goals, values, and needs. A great percentage
of these everyday types of conflicts are constructive, though
it truly depends on how the participants interpret and choose
to deal with the conflict. Outcomes can be positive or negative.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are disputes
that originate out of prejudice, ignorance, cultural traditions,
and/or misplaced aggression. Conflict of this type can be
very disruptive as well as destructive. Certainly, an operational
objective of the training component of a Conflict Management
System is to reduce the frequency of destructive conflict.
However, it is not the objective of the training component
to eliminate disputes in the workplace, as much of conflict
is a healthy precursor to positive change. The purpose of
CMS training is to provide employees greater self-awareness
in dealing effectively with all types of conflict situations.
Implementing
a well thought-out training program to address the harmful
effects of conflict in the workplace is analogous to performing
Preventative Medicine. For example, it is a sound practice
to exercise regularly and eat a quality diet as one strives
to deter illness in pursuit of a healthier and happier life.
Likewise, raising self-awareness relative to conflict minimizes
its harmful effects and reframes most forms of conflict
in a productive light. In doing so, training becomes proactive
and serves a preventative role in eliminating the disease
of unproductive conflict. Self-aware employees are more
apt to usefully attend to issues early in the conflict cycle
before they spiral out of control. Thus, the incidence of
unproductive conflict will decrease, and correspondingly,
productivity will begin to rise. The result is a propensity
for a healthier organization.
The
following training opportunities will raise the awareness
of how individuals relate to conflict. While this is not
a complete list of training courses that can be useful in
the workplace, it is a good start. A well-designed CMS is
customized to meet the needs of the environment for which
it is intended. Therefore, the training courses chosen,
as well as who is designated to take a given course is at
the discretion of the organization.
Conflict
Awareness Training
Simply, the emotional energy required to suppress conflict
takes mental and physical energy away from productive work.
Conflict awareness training increases the participants’
understanding of the nature of conflict, therefore, reducing
it’s frequency and negative impact.
How individuals cope with conflict can be classified into
five conflict modes: Avoiding, Competing, Accommodating,
Compromising, and Collaborating (Cloke and Goldsmith, 2000).
Through a series of processes available in training, employees
gain an awareness of the conflict mode that dominates their
own behavior. Once this is understood, employees can begin
to identify the experiences that trigger destructive conflict
for them, and personally intervene before it cycles out
of control. Additionally, anger and conflict can be broken
down into 8 distinct types (McClure, 2000). Employees can
learn to distinguish between the different conflict types
and can become skilled at managing themselves in order to
maximize positive outcomes.
Communications
Training
Understanding the basic behavioral skills associated with
effective communication proficiencies is essential to a
preventative approach to dealing with conflict. Communication
skills include being respectful of others, constructive
articulation, effective listening, suspension of judgment,
and awareness of one’s body language (Decker, 1988).
Communications training offers participants the opportunity
to learn how to become effective in utilizing these essential
skills.
Negotiation
Training
At the heart of preventative conflict management is an individual’s
ability to competently ask for what he or she wants. Learning
and utilizing principled negotiation skills raises the probability
of both parties getting what each desires–ultimately
resulting in a win/win agreement.
Manager
Awareness
Many managers feel they ought to be able to handle workplace
disputes without the intervention of others. This may be
due to their own beliefs or their experience of organizationally–imposed
norms that suggest asking for help will be construed by
others as an admission they lack the skills or the confidence
to manage the situation successfully. In reality, an effective
manager knows when to ask for assistance for the purpose
of determining the best course of action in problem solving.
Manager Awareness Training outlines the dynamics of conflict
and the tactical alternatives associated with resolving
various types of disputes. It provides the manager the confidence
to make informed decisions as well as the permission to
utilize neutral third-party intervention resources such
as conflict coaching, conciliation services, conflict resolution,
and facilitation sessions.
Additional
instruction may be required depending on the organization’s
needs. These trainings may include the following: Stay Out
of Court Awareness (Risser, 1993), Diversity Awareness,
Sexual Harassment Awareness, and Effective Hiring Practices.
Component
Two: Neutral Third-Party Interventions
To continue the healthy living analogy begun in the Training
section, someone displaying symptoms such as severe headaches,
loss of appetite, nausea and chills, may consider staying
home from work for a couple of days to recover. On the surface,
the illness may appear like the common flu requiring only
bed rest for several days. However, should the symptoms
persist for longer than is typical for the flu, it would
be prudent for the individual to consider professional treatment
from his or her family doctor or a specialist. Not doing
so could be risky. What if the symptoms are indicative of
some more serious illness such as cancer? Before the illness
becomes devastating and potentially fatal, early detection
and treatment is always more beneficial, and therefore,
highly recommended.
Understanding
this, a well-conceived Conflict Management System provides
qualified assistance early in the conflict cycle to those
experiencing acute, distressing, and/or disruptive struggles.
Intervention should be utilized before an incident escalates
to potentially devastating or fatal outcomes. Therefore,
CMS Neutral Third-Party Interventions are made available
in the form of Conflict Coaching, Conciliation Services,
Conflict Resolution Sessions, and/or Facilitation Services.
Conflict
Coaching
Conflict Coaches work on a one-to-one basis individualizing
interventions to meet the specific needs of the employee
seeking assistance. The objective is to work with the employee
to develop methods of dealing more effectively with workplace
conflicts. Conflict Coaching can be both preventative and
reactive. It is preventative much like training raises the
conflict awareness of the employee pursuing conflict competency.
It is reactive in that amid a “conflict crisis”
a coach could be called in, much like a paramedic, to help
an individual deal with an immediate crisis.
Conciliation
As part of an effective Conflict Management system, conciliation
is a deliberate process used to reach agreement or restore
trust, friendship, or goodwill. A trained conciliator acts
as a go-between to resolve disputes between two parties
(a party being an individual or a group). The parties do
not resolve their conflict face-to-face, but rely on a skilled
conciliator to help negotiate an interest-based resolution.
Neutral
Conflict Resolving Sessions
All parties participate in the same room during a Neutral
Conflict Resolving Sessions. The parties must be willing
participants and agreeable to confront their issues head-on
for this intervention to be successful. When these conditions
are present, the disputing parties are generally prepared
to work out a solution. These sessions are facilitated by
a professionally trained Peacemaker specifically skilled
in the art of dispute resolution. Specific techniques are
used by the Resolver to maximize the potential for a mutually
satisfactory solution. These solutions can be put into an
agreement signed by all parties to serve as a roadmap towards
ultimate resolution of the dispute. A wonderful byproduct
of Neutral Conflict Resolving Sessions are durable agreements.
These agreements generally last over time since they were
creatively crafted openly and freely by the disputants with
the assistance of the Conflict Resolver.
Facilitation
Skilled facilitators can be utilized in a number of different
settings to resolve issues. For example, a facilitator may
do team building with a feuding executive team in an attempt
get beyond their personal issues. Perhaps there are a number
of stakeholder groups in an organization with conflicting
points of view that need to be aired in a public forum.
Also, Professional Facilitators utilize a specialized set
of dialogue skills designed to promote a safe environment
within which all stakeholders are encouraged to speak openly
and freely. Dialogue sessions have the net effect of raising
awareness of all who participate. In doing so, a greater
propensity for understanding between stakeholders enhances
the probability of resolving current and future conflicts.
Internal
versus External Third-Party Interveners
An organization
experiencing conflict may decide to utilize internal or
external interveners, or even a combination of the two.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both. The advantage
to using internal interveners is their familiarity with
the organization’s dynamics, core business, culture,
and personnel. The disadvantage is the potential perceived
lack of confidentiality and assurance that the internal
intervener is acting in a non-partial and neutral fashion
because of their connection with the organization. This
can greatly inhibit the effective use of an internal intervener.
Correspondingly, an external intervener can be completely
neutral resulting in greater appearance of trust and credibility.
However, the external intervener may lack familiarity with
the organization.
Component
Three: Supportive Infrastructure
A good medical doctor works collaboratively with patients
to check vital signs, recommend needed tests, evaluate the
results, make recommendations, and explore alternative treatments.
The ultimate goal is the overall health and well-being of
the patient. Likewise, the Supportive Infrastructure of
the Conflict Management System includes the mechanisms to
support, evaluate, and manage the CMS. It is the structure
that allows the smooth integration of the three CMS components:
Training, Neutral Third-Party Interventions, and Supportive
Infrastructure. In short, a Supportive Infrastructure is
essential to the success of the CMS.
The
attributes of a Supportive Infrastructure include:
Support
from Upper Management:
Organizational leaders must clearly articulate and model
the values and virtues of the CMS. In doing so, buy-in for
the CMS throughout the entire organization is maximized
ensuring a higher probability of program success.
Budgeting
Cost Centers must allocate sufficient dollars to support
managers and employees in freely utilizing CMS services.
Values
in Alignment with the Organization
A well thought-out strategic plan, including values, philosophy
and principles which is clearly parallel to the mission
of the organization. Additionally, Human Resources policies
and practices should be in alignment with the objectives
of the CMS.
Confidentiality
Like those who use an EAP (Employee Assistance Program),
users of the CMS must be able to utilize all parts of the
CMS without impunity. If employees do not feel safe in using
the CMS, they will be less likely to effectively take advantage
of the valuable CMS resources; specifically neutral third-party
intervention professionals.
Administrative
Center
This group is responsible for the administration of the
program, including resource distribution and tracking of
those resources. To use the program, employees confidentially
contact this group to request assistance. Trained CMS Administrative
Center individuals allocate the resources (i.e. Training
or Third-Party Intervention). Additionally, the Administrative
Center works with the Conflict Competency Committee to maximize
system-wide best practices.
Conflict
Competency Committee
This is a Stakeholder Group that meets at regular intervals
(i.e., once a quarter) to evaluate the progress and competency
of the CMS. Committee members are empowered to allocate
resources and make improvement recommendations. Data from
the Conflict Competency Committee is also funneled to the
Feedback System.
Feedback
System
The Feedback System collects on-going information about
what has been done as well as what has been learned. This
data is analyzed in such a way as to impact future decisions
and actions. A good Feedback System values continuous improvements
as well as results. Additionally, the feedback system should
be able to detect the possibility of systemic problems that
are causing organizational pain and suffering. By doing
so, appropriate steps can be taken to remedy the problems
identified by the System.
Return
on Investment(ROI)
A ROI component is essential. Organizations need to have
the ability to measure the impact of the CMS on productivity.
Data collected by the Administrative Center, Conflict Competency
Committee and the Feedback System are compared with agreed-upon
financial data in order to track productivity over time.
Advertising
The word must get out. Employees need to be informed of
the CMS services available to them and any changes to the
program that take place. Suggested avenues to accomplish
this are presentations at staff meetings, having a noticeable
presence on the internal organizational website (intranet),
the development and circulation of an informational CMS
brochure, and regular In-Services (mini-seminars) detailing
the CMS to the staff.
Incentives:
A reward system that encourages employees to follow certain
“norms” as they relate to effectively handling
of conflict in the workplace need to be built into the organization’s
performance management system.
When
the three components of the Conflict Management System –
Training, Third Party Intervention and a Supportive Infrastructure
– are functioning as an integrated whole, the benefits
of the entire program will be enhanced. Destructive conflict
will diminish, productive conflict will flourish, and the
costs associated with conflict will decrease measurably.
Success
Stories
Addressing the cost associated with conflict in the workplace
in a systematic fashion is just beginning to gain acceptance
in many circles. Below are some examples:
The
National Bank of Canada
The National Bank of Canada instituted an Alternative Dispute
Resolution pilot program. The Bank’s Employee Relations
counselors received training on interest-based negotiation
and conflict resolution skills. Instead of contacting public
offices (i.e. government agencies, legal rights commissions,
etc.), Bank employees with work complaints were provided
direct contact to an Employee Relations counselor. Consequently,
Conflict Resolution Sessions were offered early in the life
cycle of the dispute, at the time the employee filed his
or her complaint Additionally, the Employee Relations Department
performed conflict awareness training and conflict management
best practices presentations for bank managers and HR personnel.
As a result, the number of disputes have been reduced by
50%, the legal cost have dropped by 85%, and the number
of workplace dispute-related calls fell by 55%.
The
United States Navy
The United States Navy’s Human Resources Office at
Norfolk, Virginia created an Alternative Dispute Resolution
Program supported by qualified neutral facilitators from
various disciplines. The program offers the parties involved
in a dispute the opportunity for an early, informal, and
mutually satisfactory resolution. The Dispute Resolution
Program Manager reports that the system generally costs
less and uses fewer resources than traditional administrative
or adjudicative processes (Guthrie, 2000).
The
World Bank
The World Bank has adopted a Conflict Resolution System
Network with an emphasis on informal and non-adversarial
approaches to addressing disputes in the workplace. The
network is a hybrid of services which offers Bank employees
multiple options to address their complaints. The Conflict
Resolution System Network is designed to be inclusive and
effective for all staff regardless of levels, locations,
gender, nationality, race, ethnicity, culture, and sexual
orientation (SPIDR, 2001).
Conclusion
Productivity losses add up quickly when workplace conflict
is not proactively and successfully managed. Over a number
of days, months, and years, multiplied by the number of
employees affected, the real dollars lost can be staggering.
It is evident that there are tremendous advantages to preemptively
dealing with conflict in the workplace before it escalates
beyond an organization’s ability to resolve, or worse,
even contain it.
A well-designed
Conflict Management System can have a significant positive
impact on the quality of life if its employees, as well
as its bottom line. Specifically, addressing the cost of
conflict in the workplace can have a transformative impact
on the overall health and well-being of an organization.
References
Cloke, K. and Goldsmith, J. (2001). Understanding the Culture
and Context of conflict: Resolving conflicts at work. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Cooper,
K. (1985). Stop it now. St. Louis, MO: Total Communication
Press.
Cox,
T. (1994). Cultural diversity in organizations: theory,
research & practice. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler
Publishers.
Decker,
Bert (1988). The art of communicating: achieving interpersonal
impact in business. Los Altos, CA: Crisp Publications.
Brim,
R. (2001). Firms, employees forsake court for win-win option:
mediation. Knight Ridder Newspapers
Guthrie
J. (2000) Help available for conflicts in the work place.
http://www.norfolk.navy.mil/pwc/archive/00dec/help.html
McClure,
L. (2000). Anger and conflict in the workplace: spot the
signs, avoid the trauma. Manassas Park, VA: Impact Publications.
Risser,
R. (1993). Stay Out of Court: The Manager’s Guide
to Preventing Employee Lawsuits. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
Society
for Professionals in Dispute Resolution (2001). Guidelines
for the design of conflict management systems within organizations.
http://www.acresolution.org/research.nsf
Thomas,
K. and Schmidt, W. (June, 1976). A survey of managerial
interests with rsepect to conflict. Academy of Management
Journal.
Watson,
C. and Hoffman, R. (1996). Managers as negotiators. Leadership
Quarterly, 7 (1)
Rian
Thomas is with In-Common Mediation & Consulting in Studio
City, California. He is a Conflict Management Practitioner
and Organizational Development Consultant working with organizations
to improve productivity through minimizing the destructive
and disruptive impact of unresolved conflict in the workplace.
He specializes in team-building, conflict coaching, conciliation
work, conflict resolution sessions (early mediation), and
conflict awareness training. Rian Thomas can be contacted
at (818) 251-6565 or riant@in-common.com.
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This
program has been approved for 1 recertification credit
hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the
Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI).