Resolving Office Conflict to Keep Things Running

Everything is perfect in your business world: coworkers all get along, business always runs smoothly, meetings never run over…ha!

Okay, let’s visit reality now, your co-workers fight which leads to bumps in your business and long, drawn out, angry meetings and whatever else coworker conflict brings on. You’ve got to do something to keep everything running smoothly, and you’ve got to do it now.

Read on for some helpful tips regarding resolving co-worker conflicts.

1. First, know that work conflicts will happen.

Within a workplace where things need to get done and new ideas bounce around, conflict will surface.

Whether you are the manager or CEO witnessing the conflict, or you are involved in the conflict yourself, know it’s not unusual nor necessarily all that bad. You’ve just got to do something or else it will stagnate and cause bad vibes all over the work place.

2. Handle the conflict before it gets too bad.

Again, whether you are involved in the conflict or you are the one who has to deal with it, it must be resolved.

That doesn’t mean everyone will be BFF”s now, it just means that the issue can’t stay the elephant in the room; someone has to deal with it.

The earlier you can deal with it, the more you’re handling the conflict itself instead of bad feelings coming from stewing about the problem.

3. Extend an invitation to discuss the conflict.

Whether you need to be the mediator or you are involved in the conflict and want to resolve it, extend an invitation to discuss it.

You’ll need those few minutes of focused time, rather than trying to take someone off guard in the elevator or after another meeting. Let them know in the invite what you want to discuss.

For instance, say something to the effect of, “I was hoping we could talk about some of the things going on lately. Do you have a few minutes later this afternoon so we could get together?”

4. Discuss facts, don’t accuse.

When you are talking, leave out the accusations and emotions and focus on facts.

Admit the things you’ve done that may be construed as conflictual, and mention the things your coworker has done in a neutral, observational way. You should bring up how these can be detrimental to work output and how you’d like to resolve this.

Remember, if you are the one in conflict and want to hold this meeting, but feel uncomfortable, you can go to a supervisor or HR for support.

5. Have some idea of how to resolve it.

It’s best to go in with a plan of how to resolve it.

It may be that these two people (or you and the person you don’t get along with) don’t work together any more, but that can be hard to pull off.

More than likely, you’ll have to come up with some ways to work together in the future, and by having a plan of action it will be easier to pull off. Even small things like listening instead of interrupting will lessen the conflict.

What if nothing works?

Sometimes you can do all the right things but nothing helps. Certain people just clash, and the conflict won’t go away.

As a manager or small business owner, keep their interactions to a minimum and support each one.

Keep an eye on everything and have them come in now and then to see how things are going. If you are involved in the conflict, stay professional and as long as it’s not impacting your business, it may just be what you have to work with.

So, what do you do in your small business to help deal with conflict?