Conflict can be an inevitable part of the workplace environment. It can come out wherever there is potential for disagreement – whether between employees, between employees and management or between employees, suppliers, and customers.
If you've been involved in a workplace conflict, it's easy to feel like you're the only one who has had to go through such horrible work conditions. However, its important to remember that you're not alone.
According to FairWay Resolution Limited's research findings into the extent of conflict in New Zealand workplaces, almost one quarter (24 %) of employees had experienced at least one disagreement or argument at work that distracted or prevented them from doing their job, within a 12-month period.
There will, most likely, always be conflict in the workplace, so there are two main points we need to address. One; can we learn from it and turn it into a positive? And two, how do we train our work team to get through conflict situations and support each other so team members don’t feel abused, mistreated, upset, anxious or angry.
NZBA's ‘Situational and Tactical Communications’ (SATCom) course aims to address these two points.
New Zealand workplaces are some of the most diverse and multi-cultural workplaces you’ll find anywhere, so learning about conflict resolution becomes a fundamental skill. Sources of conflict will be as varied as the people involved, and will differ depending on the particular situation and the specific context, but some of the most common include:
Personal differences such as values
ethics
personalities
age
education
gender
socioeconomic status
cultural background
temperament
health
religion
political beliefs, etc.
If handled appropriately conflict can lead to fixing organisational problems, bring the team together through diversity, improve employee longevity, improve communications as well as a myriad of other benefits specific to each individual conflict. NZBA’s SATCom course will help your team to have a Safety Mindset. We often think of a Safety Mindset as thinking about physical risks and hazards but having a Safety Mindset around conflict will help lessen the negative effects. The workshop touches on the key principles of professionalism which can help ensure positive outcomes from what could be negative situations. The course also addresses the 7 Key elements to Active Listening, Effective Questioning, Body Language, and the use of voice in face-to-face conflict situations. Having good conflict resolution skills help employees reduce the friction that damages their working relationships. By resolving conflicts in a more professional and respectful manner, your team will be enabled to collaborate better with co-workers - building stronger work relationships. If your team feels safe and happy at work you will have lower sick leave and staff turnover rates and higher engagement and productivity. If this sounds like something your team could benefit from, especially during these uncertain times of high stress and anxiety, don't hesitate to get in touch with us to register for the SATCom course.