'Our goal isn't to eliminate conflict – it's how do we manage it?'
“One poorly managed conflict leading to a lawsuit from an executive – that can cost the company millions of dollars easily.”
So says Will Pate, CEO of ImpACTme.app, in discussing the risks of workplace conflict.
And those costs go beyond legal fees, he says.
“You can think about the lost productivity that comes from decreased collaboration. You can think about the lack of innovation — [as] we all know, innovation requires collaboration, so people aren't collaborating effectively.
“So it is certainly high – and maybe almost incalculable – how large the cost to organizations could be from not having good conflict management.”
On the other hand, conflict is not always bad for workplaces.
“We know that conflict is an inevitable part of work life, and so our goal actually isn't to eliminate conflict – it's how do we manage it?” says Dayna Lee-Baggley, co-founder and chief scientific officer, ImpACTme.app, in the same interview.
“Because there are actually sometimes opportunities to better understand the other person, to improve relationships through conflict.”
Who should attend conflict management training?
With conflict being part and parcel of work, it’s important that employers arm their workers with the skills to effectively manage it. And “absolutely everyone” should develop these skills, says Pate.
“If you think about it from someone that you hire, on their first day, in the most junior role, they're going to need to have to understand conflict of the people around them and how they manage it with their own interpersonal relationships.
“Even someone who works front desk at a public-facing office — you're going to deal with the public, and, for the most part, it’s going to be positive, but not always. You want that person [to have] conflict management skills. Support teams, sales teams, back office people who are actually doing the work together will need to interface with other colleagues and teams, and especially at the leadership level.”
Most employers and HR professionals want to have a workplace full of peace and harmony where everyone is focused on getting the job done, according to a previous report.
Conflict management also extends beyond the borders of the workplace, says Pate.
“From a human perspective, it's a quality-of-life thing. Even the most hard-driving professionals, nobody wakes up in the morning saying, ‘I cannot wait to fight everyone at work with, from the minute I get in the office to the minute I go home’.
“Nobody wants that. And so it both improves your quality of life and [your life] as a person working in an organization, regardless of your level or role.”
Practical strategies for conflict management
To help employers in their quest to help workers develop conflict management skills, ImpACTme.app launched a free training program on conflict management developed as part of a St. Mary’s University project to create psychologically safe workplaces.
“We are excited to be able to apply a vast research literature in civility and conflict in the workplace from our researchers to create a training program that offers practical, real-life strategies that can be used in everyday life,” says Dr. Adam Sarty, associate vice-president for research at Saint Mary’s University. “By pairing our knowledge of workplace psychology with the psychology of behaviour change, we can have a lasting and meaningful impact on workplaces.”
The project is funded in part by the government of Canada through the Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Fund, a grants and contributions program that invests in projects aimed at creating safer workplaces for federally regulated employees.
“People do their best work when they have psychological safety,” says Lee-Bagley, an organizational psychologist with 20 years of practice.
“When I work with executives, I see that friction between coworkers often gets more intense as you rise up the ranks and the stakes get higher. Now, workers at all levels have evidence-based training to help them manage any conflict and move forward with more trust.”
