When The World Feels Unstable: Why Conflict Shows Up At Work And What To Do About It

Chief Thriving Officer // KAREN ABBS

Psychotherapist & Mediator // CHRIS WAKE

What’s driving workplace conflict in the world right now? Is conflict at work always bad? And what can organisations do to manage conflict well? In a recent webinar Psychotherapist & Mediator CHRIS WAKE joined Chief Thriving Officer KAREN ABBS to explore these questions and more. Here’s some of what they shared.

The number of crises going in the world right now is intensifying the demands placed on purpose-led organisations and their staff. The ‘polycrisis’ – incorporating conflict, climate and economic uncertainty – is creating more humanitarian needs. And yet economic uncertainty means less funding for the organisations working to address these crises. Last year a survey of humanitarian organisations across 160 countries found that 54% had laid off staff due to aid funding cuts. And so more work is being asked of fewer people.

These workplace demands are creating an environment ripe for workplace conflict. Among our client organisations, we’ve seen programmes being closed, rapid large-scale restructuring taking place, talent being lost, productivity declining, and different departments vying for funding. We’ve heard how teams are experiencing a breakdown in communications, collaboration and trust. And for individuals, we are hearing about more moral distress, fatigue, burnout, reduced trust in leadership, fears around job security and struggles with focus.

We are starting to see documented evidence of more workplace conflict, which matches our observations. One recent study found that 44% of UK workers experienced workplace conflict in the past year – the highest level ever recorded. In our own experience, we’ve noticed more frequent conflicts around tasks, priorities and roles; we’ve heard how conflict is escalating more quickly and becoming more intense in workplaces; and we’re noticing increased tension in workplace relationships overall.

To better understand conflict in the workplace, it is helpful to clearly define conflict. We like this definition from conflict resolution expert Bernard Mayer: “Conflict is a natural expression of differences in needs, values, and interests. The challenge is not to eliminate conflict, but to engage with it in ways that lead to growth and change.” We like this for a few reasons. Firstly, it frames conflict as natural and inevitable in human relationships. Secondly, it acknowledges that needs, values and interests tend to underpin conflict, and that these ought to be identified in order to move forward. And thirdly, it says that when handled well, conflict can lead to growth.

Moderate disagreement is crucial to a thriving organisation. For example, conflict around tasks, such as ideas, strategies and content, is important – it leads to more creativity and better decision making. The opposite – a lack of dissent, or groupthink – leads to poor decision-making. Studies show that when ‘task conflict’ takes place within a space where people feel safe and able to be themselves, teams perform better, organisations learn more, and more innovation will occur.

‘Relationship conflict’ tends to be particularly disruptive. These personal clashes tend to be detrimental to both people and organisations, especially when there are strong emotions at play e.g. anger and frustration. And people tend to feel these emotions when they have core needs or values that are not being met e.g. connection, appreciation, respect.

Work is an important place for helping each of us meet some of our needs. You may be familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs e.g. safety, belonging, esteem and self-actualisation. We fulfil many of these through our work – and some of them are being challenged by the current global context.

Fear and shame are often the main drivers of relationship conflict. Academic Mari Fitzduff said “Keep in mind that anger and aggression are usually the result of fear”. Psychiatrist James Gilligan says “I have yet to see a serious act of violence that was not provoked by the experience of feeling shamed or humiliated, disrespected and ridiculed”.

People within a conflict often fail to see the underlying drivers – we need to identify them. To understand this, it can be helpful to think in terms of their positions (e.g. “I want the window open” versus “I want the window closed”); interests (“I want fresh air to circulate” versus “I don’t want a cold draught”) and needs (both of which are about health and physical comfort). Moving from ‘positions’ to ‘needs’ creates a better foundation for identifying joint solutions to a conflict.

Psychological safety makes it easier to move from positions to needs, creating a better foundation for identifying joint solutions. Psychological safety is the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes. Leaders can help create it in three key ways. Firstly, frame work as a learning problem — normalising experimentation and making mistakes. Secondly, model curiosity and ask questions, which signals that alternative ideas are valued. Thirdly, acknowledge your own fallibility, making it easier and safer for others to admit their own mistakes.

A recent study found that the most important factor when disagreeing well was to ‘adapt linguistic behaviour’ i.e. to change the words we use. Five approaches were particularly effective: be curious about the other person’s position, even if you don’t agree with it; acknowledge them, their position, and that you understand what they are saying — we all need to feel heard and understood; find common ground – the beliefs, values, and goals you share; hedge your claims by acknowledging that situations have multiple sides; and finally, share your story, not just the facts. In conflict, our strongest beliefs often come from our past — from family or culture — and are more formative in how we see the world than data and evidence.

And finally, managing workplace conflict well takes time and effort. Revealing our underlying needs, admitting mistakes and sharing stories at work all require vulnerability which can feel too personal or risky. In our webinar, attendees commented that employees will not always be comfortable sharing a personal story, and that employee mental health can sometimes be used as a rationale for avoiding addressing underlying conflict drivers. In our view, a healthy destination for organisations to aim for is to create a working culture where colleagues feel safe to express their own voice as much as they feel comfortable doing, and have the confidence and skills to manage disagreements well – so that addressing conflict outweighs the benefits of avoiding it.

Getting to that destination takes time and effort. We have a number of services designed to help organisations create psychological safety and to navigate conflict. We can provide mediation as well.

Struggling with conflict in your work? Explore the ways we can help you here.