No one likes WORK DRAMA, but knowing how to resolve work conflict can protect your peace and professional integrity.
One of the biggest causes of stress for those of us working on a team is when the team is not seeing things eye-to-eye. While this is something that can’t be avoided and it can be handled maturely. With respectful communication and having the true desire to resolve the misunderstanding from everyone involved, a solution is not hard to find.
Let’s investigate all the tips and tricks on how to resolve work conflict to help maintain peace in the office.
What causes workplace conflict?
Having to work in a professional environment can make some of us uncomfortable, and having you share your work space with someone you ABSOLUTELY CLASH with doesn’t make it any better. But a lot of the tension coworkers face with one another is simply from the lack of communication between them.
You don’t have to be best friends with your coworkers, but it is helpful if you can at least get to know them. You can respect and value someone’s contribution to the group even if you share nothing in common with them.
Problems within the workplace can even come from a lack of certainty an employee might feel in their role. If someone feels the workload or resources are being fairly disrupted, this can start to a feeling of resentment towards others on the team they believe is receiving better treatment.
You will be one step closer to understanding how to resolve work conflict for others and yourself once you are able to identify what has caused the disagreements. Once the root issue has been recognized the healing process can finally begin.
The 6 steps below will help guide anyone wanting to resolve the conflict within their workspace so they can focus on more important tasks.
How to resolve conflict between workers?
As mentioned above, the first step to handling work conflict is to identify the underlying issue. The next step, and hardest step, is to take action.
Because this step is so difficult, many people simply never do it. Avoiding the problem also means avoiding the solution. If you really wanted to figure out how to resolve conflict between you and someone at work, you’d have to be brave enough to do something about it. Just remember to start this journey with an open heart and open mind.
1. VIEW THE SITUATION FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE
We have all heard the saying “You can’t understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” And for a situation like this, this couldn’t be any more true.
By taking time to stop ruminating on your own thoughts and try to understand how the other person might feel, you stop thinking negatively and with more compassion.
Going it to any tense situation with a more compassionate heart will lead to a better outcome than with one full of resentment.
When you try to learn how someone else feels, you also learn how to resolve work conflict with them.
2. Find the right time and right place to discuss
Timing is pretty much everything. It’s best to know when both parties are ready to talk and then where you all should go and talk.
I would avoid trying to pull your worker for a chat while they are business working on something or with someone. Also you might want to wait until you strongly believe that the both of you are in a calm state of mind to discuss what might be bothering you two.
It would be ideal to try and reach out to your colleague privately. You can do this when they are alone or through a message app where only you two will see it. Once both of you are ready to meet up you’ll need to find a suitable place to have your talk.
A busy, loud and distracting place might not be the more peaceful environment you two should be in to have such an important conversation. Try to look for something a bit more private and quite so you both and focus on what each other is saying.
By being proactive and working toward the goal of understanding how to resolve work conflict in a constructive manner, you become one step closer to finding the solution and mend the professional bond you two once shared.
3. Communicate in a positive and respectful manner
Being able to communicate your painful emotions without attacking the other with harsh words is easier said than done. Even if you begin the conversation with the intention to stay calm and collect, it doesn’t always end that way. But in order to properly resolve the matter at hand both parties need to be able to speak to one another cordially.
For all the thoughts that you wish to share, be prepared for your coworker to tell you their’s. There will be moments where you will need to be an active listener and allow your coworker to fully explain their side of the situation. This may be difficult to do if you are in an emotionally reactive state but it’s just best to sit and listen, without interruption.
After both sides have expressed their opinions, ask any questions you wanted to ask while your coworker was talking. Open communication like this is one of the best ways of how to resolve work conflict by allowing you to clear up any misinterpretations you both had of one another.
4. Acknowledge uncomfortable emotions with empathy
Having the ability to understand your emotions can make such an impact on how you resolve your problems and communicate with those on your team. Speaking honestly about how someone made you feel is the first step to healing any negative feeling toward that person.
There are many different methods you can try to help manage your emotions during a difficult conversation. Such as taking your time to process what has been said and responding in a mindful way. Also, try to be aware of how your body reacts. If you start feeling tense, try deep breathing exercises.
And the key tip for how to resolve work conflict is to keep in mind how your coworker is feeling. Situations like this may seem one sided, but remember that having empathy can help you understand that the other person is also experiencing hurt, just like you.
5. Seek a mutual understanding for solving the issue
The only way a situation like this can truly end on good terms is if feels like a win-win situation. The way to go about doing this is by acknowledging the interest of both sides and agreeing to implant those. Having both sides feel satisfied with the results is how to resolve work conflict once and for all.
In order to get to the finish line, the coworkers must work together and brainstorm what their solution will look like. As mentioned before. Try to be honest, but also reasonable. The resolution can not just benefit you or vice versa.
Try to identify what common goals and interests the both of you share. From there you can craft an agreement that will make both of you feel secure about moving forward from this situation.
6. Reach out to a manager or HR for assistance
If you aren’t able to come to terms with your colleague after trying to discuss the problem and it somehow becomes worse, you might want to seek a mediator. Dragging another work colleague into your disagreements wouldn’t be the wisest discussion. Try reaching out to your boss, manager or someone on the Human Resources Team.
It is always best to make sure that the third party participant is unbiased to both employees. Bringing in an impartial player can help both sides view the conflict in a new angle. Their perception can shed a new light on how to resolve work conflict that the others might not have considered.
Having an expert professional in work relationships can enforce a more fair approach to how to resolve work conflict that will work for both parties.
In Conclusion
There are many other methods in how to resolve work conflict but I hope these 6 can help and resolve your disagreement peacefully and professionally. With these tips you will soon be able to leave your work place with no lingering thoughts following you home. Take back you peace by taking the necessary action needed to resolve your work tension with grace and mindfulness.
Feel free to share with us your secret knowledge of how to resolve work conflict in the comment section down below.