Conflict Resolution and Psychological Safety

By Dr Mike Talbot

When we think of safety in the workplace, the first list that comes to mind probably relates to our physical well-being: electrical safety, prevention of trips, slips, and falls, fire safety, and more. However, the notion of psychological safety has in recent years gained importance, and we are now asking ourselves the question of whether our workplaces can be considered to pay sufficient attention to our mental well-being.

A recent study across European workforces found that just over half of employees considered that they work in a psychologically healthy workplace. According to the survey, there were some small national variations to the headline figure of 53%, with Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands leading the field, and Greece, Luxembourg, Poland, reporting the lowest levels of mental well-being in their workplaces.

Interestingly, the contributory factors were considered to be, among others, management showing a genuine interest in employees, being open to feedback, involving staff in decision-making, and encouraging a good work-life balance. Fair pay and inclusivity were also mentioned, but what I found curious was the lack of any reference to conflict resolution, which we at EU Mediation would consider to be a major contribution to people’s mental health and well-being.

Unresolved conflict is a major stressor at work, and a work environment where destructive or poorly managed conflict is an everyday occurrence is a very unhealthy place to be. Raised levels of absenteeism and presenteeism, stress-related illness, and decreased morale and productivity are just some of the signs that tell us we need to be paying more attention to this aspect of the workplace culture.

And to add to the above list, I would say that some of the conflict-related factors that organisations need to pay attention to are:

• Creating a culture in which people are allowed to freely speak up about aspects of workplace relations
  Perhaps people feel sidelined, under-utilised, ignored, or even bullied. They need someone to tell in confidence and to know that their situation will not be worsened by them speaking up.

• Regular and open dialogue with managers and team leaders
  More than just the annual appraisal, or one-to-ones that focus only on outputs and objectives, there needs to be more conversations about how people are getting on, and whether anything about poor working relationships is going unsaid.

• Early and proportionate attention given to any conflict as it arises
  Early intervention is key: leaving conflict to fester for even a week or so often leads to entrenchment, team members taking sides, and conflict becoming amplified when colleagues in dispute simply stop talking to each other. Act quickly.
  
  A big lesson for us of the last 26 years is that the last point here, early intervention, can ensure that people do not become overly distressed or adversely affected by a conflict situation: within days of a blow-up with a colleague, individuals who have been suitably-trained need to draw on their own skills in Confident Conversations, to informally facilitate such a conversation, or to make use of mediation to resolve something more complex.
  
  Nobody should be left without the means to raise difficult matters around workplace relationships, and everyone should know that there are steps and processes within their workplace such that early, informal, and confidential resolution of everyday fallouts are commonplace. These are crucial yet simple steps to ensure that we can retain, motivate, and ultimately maintain the psychological safety of workforces.