As an employer, one of your goals is to create a comfortable, productive environment for your staff. However, not all people will get along—especially when put into stressful situations, such as working toward an upcoming deadline. It then becomes imperative to diffuse whatever tensions there are in a healthy manner before it can affect the workplace. The guide below can help you in this leadership task by looking at some of the most common reasons for discord to develop. 

What Are Some of the Reasons Why Workplace Conflicts Occur?

1. Poor Communication 

Good communication within an organization lowers the risk of conflict. Employees should be encouraged to raise concerns with management or co-workers in a positive way through organized channels. Leaders should communicate to employees the reasons for any changes, such as being reassigned or being passed over for promotion in favor of a colleague.

2. Unfair Workloads

All workplace conflicts can lead to low morale and productivity, and employees often feel unmotivated if they think they are being treated unfairly. If someone has a workload that’s too high when it seems that people around them are managing just fine, this can lead to resentment that’s taken out on others. Leaders must ensure that workloads are fairly balanced or take the time to explain to a particular employee why theirs is higher at a given time. 

3. Personality Clashes

Employees are usually chosen based on their abilities rather than their personality type. The result is that most workplaces have a mix of characters, which can lead to clashes. Effective leadership includes being aware of personality types and making decisions accordingly. For example, someone with an outspoken personality could be assigned to lead a project, which will turn their characteristics into an asset.

4. Different Values

Workplaces often have a mix of demographics among their employees. Grievances can occur if one employee’s values are different from another’s, leading them to view a situation in different ways. People from different generations may have conflicting ideas about what is work appropriate and gender and cultural backgrounds can also create different points of view. Having a clear set of company values, and making sure that all employees are aware of them, will reduce the risk of problems.

Leadership training helps managers to resolve conflicts and improves their abilities in many other ways. A class on Conflict Resolution Techniques is offered in December.  Each of the other factors listed above are also addressed in their year-long program. The Colorado Leadership Institute | Crestcom is the Denver branch of Crestcom International, which has over 30 years of experience in delivering its leadership development program around the world. To learn more about scheduling a no-cost workshop to try them out, call (720) 515-8081 or visit their website.