As we spend a large proportion of our time at work, the quality of the work environment and relationships has a significant impact on your team's wellbeing. Different experiences and perspectives among team members can lead to misunderstandings and conflict, which can be positive, such as healthy competition, or negative, such as bullying or personality clashes. 

Managers play a crucial role in addressing workplace conflict early on to prevent escalation. Our report, Managing Conflict in the Modern Workplace also indicates that managers can sometimes unintentionally contribute to conflict. It's important to reflect on your own behaviour and management style, as these can influence workplace dynamics.

This guide equips you with the knowledge and skills to identify and manage conflicts at an early stage, preventing serious disputes, and offers advice on what to do when faced with allegations of bullying and harassment when you need to take a more formal approach.

What does workplace conflict look like?

What is bullying and harassment?

In the UK, harassment and bullying are distinct issues, especially in the context of employment law, and managers need to be aware of the differences.

The first defence: prevention is better than cure

Using performance management to prevent workplace conflict

Informal ways to resolve workplace conflict

Despite the preventative measures we’ve explored above, workplace conflict can still develop. If it does, you’ll need to take action to resolve it early and informally. This can appear daunting, but it’s a core part of your role as a manager. If you ignore unacceptable behaviour, problems can escalate until formal disciplinary or grievance procedures have to be used. This can make it much harder to achieve a successful resolution and repair relationships.

Using formal procedures

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