A Workplace Webinar
Disputes at work are an expensive waste of time if not handled correctly. While clashes and disagreement are a fact of life, in a healthy workplace they don’t have to escalate to the sort of conflict that causes disruption, lowers morale, and hits productivity.
Low-level spats are mostly managed or worked round by the individuals involved. However, this assumes a level of ability and willingness in among colleagues. Where one or both of these is lacking (almost inevitable as conflict escalates), the job of calming things down and bringing the dispute to a close will fall to a manager.
The keys to handling disputes at work are available to any competent communicator, yet surveys show that this is one area of their role where managers are least confident.
Conflict at work
Conflict at work is ubiquitous and inevitable, yet most managers and supervisors receive no training in how to deal with conflict constructively. Even the most experienced supervisor or manager can feel out of their comfort zone when dealing with workplace disputes. Unresolved conflict at work damages relationships, lowers morale and productivity, and even causes loss of skills and talent. A consequence of this is that conflicts between staff members are rarely tackled, and if they are, they are often handled badly. This one-hour webinar looks at the common causes of conflict and teaches participants how to tackle it promptly, respectfully, and with confidence. We explain why effective, early intervention is essential when dealing with genuine disputes, and teach basic skills for participants to manage anger and heightened emotions.
Disputes and disagreement occur naturally in any social group. In general people are able to tolerate and manage their disagreements productively, but occasionally things escalate to a point where the participants are no longer willing or able to resolve matters themselves.
Unresolved disputes in the workplace are time-consuming and costly. Apart from the back-biting, rivalry, uncooperativeness, gossiping and general negativity that often goes with them, conflicts between colleagues also damage productivity, morale and motivation, increase the likelihood of error and even cause absenteeism.
This webinar will not only give you the basics for handling disagreement and conflict constructively, it also outlines the steps to take to maintain a culture at work where disputes can be handled respectfully and responsibly, protecting the dignity of individuals and the interests of the employer.
Content
- Common causes of conflict at work
- Typical responses to conflict
- Conflict in teams and groups
- Why well-intended attempts to resolve things often fail
- How to approach polarised positions which seem unreconcilable
- Understanding how to respond to a dispute
- Guidelines for constructive conflict resolution
- Maintaining a conflict-resilient culture at work.
Objectives
Understand how and why conflict often occurs
Understand why conflicts can escalate and ‘polarise’
Become more confident in dealing with disputes
Know how to engage people in a structured and goal-oriented way Reflect on and develop your dispute-resolution skills
Recognise how our own responses may contribute in disputes.
