How To Resolve Conflict

Peta Sigley, the co-founder, and chief knowledge officer at resilience institute Springfox, is here to settle your office disputes.

Conflict is part and parcel of any workplace, and while most of us do everything in our power to avoid it, learning how to quickly and painlessly resolve problems is the only way to prevent bigger ones later on. Here are my top tips for dealing with drama…

DON’T SKIP THE SMALL STUFF

Workplace conflicts often arise from seemingly minor issues, such as a staff member interrupting their co-worker during a moment of focus, or a clash over a meeting room that wasn’t booked. One of the simplest ways of preventing office conflict is ensuring general etiquette is maintained. Rather than calling out to a co-worker across the room, walk to their desk. If someone is engaged in a task, don’t hover, just leave a Post-it note with your message. If you want to avoid pushing your colleagues’ buttons, a little consideration goes a long way.