Conflict management

From time to time, conflicts arise between employees in an organisation. Often, these are employees at the same level within the organisation, who work relatively closely.

Conflicts may concern the distribution of rights and perks, professional approaches, or values, and ethics. It is not uncommon for the matter to be personal – a colleagues behaviour, approach, and cooperation is different than one’s own or is perceived as irritating. If left unchecked, a conflict will usually begin to escalate gradually – the teamwork becomes poorer and poorer, and will eventually affect the remaining employees.

An option is conflict resolution. Here, the primary focus is finding a solution – what can be agreed upon concerning task execution, the delegation of authority and decision making, etc. We would typically not work with the experiences and emotional reactions that triggered or advanced the conflict.

Often, these situations would be handled through organizational changes and terminations, but in light of the expenses associated with this, psychological conflict management can be a quicker, easier, and less costly approach.