Workplace Conflict?
How a small step by HR can catch it early.
I have worked for many years with organisations in the private, government, and not-for-profit sectors. My experience of conflict in organisations has been of much stress and anxiety for all involved, including HR professionals seeking to restore workplace harmony.
Conflict is so uncomfortable that people go to great lengths to avoid voicing their “grievance” about a colleague.
The Complaints System, or Grievance Handling System, as its commonly called, has been around for a long time. Little has changed in that space and yet we know more now than we did when we first invited our workforce to call out behaviour that they found inappropriate.
The words we use, ’Complaint’ and ‘Grievance’, are inherently negative and they infect relationships with this negativity. They focus people on asserting competing narratives about what happened in the past. The past cannot be ignored and has a place in the conversation, however, this terminology frames the conversation to focus on searching for facts and blame instead of focusing on understanding from different perspectives and looking for solutions for the future.
When people working together depend on each other in a team, for group morale and support, it is difficult for individuals to raise concerns about the behaviour of a colleague. Most people do not want to upset their colleagues. And yet they inadvertently do, often due to a misunderstanding or miscommunication which has gone unchecked. It then becomes even more difficult when the very name of the policy undermines group cohesion and puts both parties in an offensive/defensive mindset.
The result? People avoid raising issues when we all know that raising issues early is the best approach.
It is not the intention of “HR” to promote negativity by implementing these policies. Rather, they were implemented because organisations realised the importance of having formal mechanisms for employees to raise concerns regarding their colleagues; to assist employees to resolve their differences, and avoid longer-term disruption and harm in the workplace.
Employees should be supported to manage a ‘different’ relationship with each other in the future.
So, here is a small and easy first step you can implement to help improve the process.
Rename the Complaints or Grievance policy to Resolution or Working Together. Or select a word/phrase that is a positive fit for your workplace culture. The words ‘resolution’ or ‘working together’ can make people feel more positive and hopeful. The words also organically move one’s thoughts to focus on solutions and future relationships.
It will, undoubtedly, take work and time for the current negative mindset around conflict to change. However, with positive words, it is more likely that employees would raise issues earlier and conflicts will not fester and worsen over time.
Take this first small step to help improve conflict by renaming your organisation’s workplace conflict documents using positive words. And ensure systems and support are in place to assist your staff to have the difficult conversations early.
Conflict, if guided correctly and early can be an opportunity for growth.
Lynette Edwards, Workplace Mediator