Resolving Workplace Conflicts

Conflicts are a natural part of life - we deal with them with our parents, with our siblings, with our spouses, and even with our own children. But the most difficult conflicts to resolve are usually not those we have with the people close to us, but are the ones we have in the workplace. When we deal with conflicts in the home, we are better equipped to handle them because of the foundation of relationship we have with these individuals. Workplace conflicts are often in danger of being far more explosive than those conflicts in the home, simply because they entail people who hardly know one another. There is no magic elixir that can make workplace conflicts go away completely in an infallible manner, but there certainly are specific things you can do that will enable you to diffuse workplace conflicts before they spin out of control, no matter how close they are to spinning out of control already.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when dealing with conflict, especially in the workplace, is assigning blame. If you tell someone on your project team, "You don't do any work," they are far less likely to listen to you, and you are therefore far less likely to resolve the conflict, than if you express, "I feel like I am doing all the work."

The "us versus the problem" is an especially positive approach to take when dealing with conflicts. This approach essentially aims to allow both individuals involved in the conflict to work together against the problem, instead of the two individuals being pitted against one another. The "us versus the problem" approach is also a very good way for you to avoid placing blame (and for you to avoid having blame placed on you), because the two of you will be working together against the problem.

Finally, make sure you always think twice (maybe even three times) before involving your superiors in an argument. You can introduce bitterness into your relationship with your coworker very quickly when you involve someone else. Furthermore, even if you are in the right and your coworker is in the wrong, no one looks very good when a conflict is brought to the boss.

Conflict resolution might not be easy, but it is very often a necessary aspect of workplace life. Learn how to solve workplace conflicts, instead of fighting further and making them worse.