The Benefits of Being Proactive about Conflict Resolution in the Workplace

Workplaces are environments where conflicts are unavoidable.  When working together, people will inevitably come into conflict over things all aspects of workplace life.  Work goals, duties, performance, expectations, assignments, work styles and communication styles are all potential sources of conflict.

And these conflicts have consequences.  From lowering employee morale to negatively impacting employee engagement, from creating high turnover and decreasing productivity and organizational effectiveness to the big granddaddy of all workplace conflicts: the drawn out and expensive lawsuit.

But conflicts do not have to result in these significant problems.  If properly handled, workplaces can deal with conflicts in ways that not only prevent disruptions to workplace functionality, they can actually result in a better workplace.  And the best way to manage conflict is to be proactive about conflict resolution.

A recent survey of Fortune 1000 companies by a trio of business school professors from Cornell, the University of Illinois and Penn State documented this very thing.  According to their survey results, organizations that proactively engaged in alternative dispute resolution (mediation, arbitration, facilitation, and other forms of out of court conflict resolution) to address and resolve workplace conflicts showed great satisfaction with the processes and results in resolving those conflicts.  

Specifically, organizations that utilized alternative dispute resolution methods were more able create sustainable solutions, avoid litigation entirely and create better systems to deal with conflicts in the future.  And the more proactive these organizations were with implementing methods to address conflict head on, the much higher their success and satisfaction rates.

What could being proactive about conflict in the workplace look like?  Primarily, being proactive is the opposite of being reactive; it means addressing conflict early on and not waiting until being forced to address problems because of a lawsuit.  It this way, a proactive approach could involve utilizing mediation or facilitation to address workplace disputes as soon as they become apparent.  It could also mean designing systems to better allow for the recognition, reporting and subsequent resolution of all problems in the workplace.  

There are several ways for organizations to become more proactive about dealing with conflict in the workplace.  Consult with a trained workplace mediator to see what your options could be, and set your organization on the path to greater efficiency, productivity and functionality.