Soft Skill Conflict Resolution: Your Team Morale Depends On It

The workplace can be a stressful place. Conflicts happen between managers and employees; it cannot be avoided. We also see conflict between employees, and between employees and clients/customers. This is only the human conflicts. A lack of ability to solve conflicts can negatively affect your business. That is why it is vital that you promote positive conflict resolution as a soft skill. There are tools you may use to promote good conflict resolution. The simplest is mediation or mindfulness practices, but you need a long-term solution. Bookboon can provide that. 

Hostility at work is not something we can avoid. In a pressured environment, tempers fray. Can you quantify the actual cost of conflict to your business? It leads to stress, poor employee relations, and poor teamwork. Put simply – it damages your productivity in many ways. People who are miserable and stressed are not working effectively. They are not working as a coherent team. The workplace is stressful enough without letting personal conflicts hamper your productivity.

The types of conflict at work

What types of conflict do we experience in the workplace? What types of problems can we expect?

• If people are unwilling to work together, mistakes can happen. This mistakes will not be easily corrected
• If people are engaged in conflict much of the time, they are not properly focused on their work
• When there is a conflict between employees, your clients notice. Your reputation will suffer
• Similarly, when there is conflict between employees and clients / customers, your reputation will suffer
• When there is a conflict between employees and management, they are not pulling together. Business difficulties will not be easily resolved

Clash of personality is one of the major areas of conflict. Therefore, conflict resolution requires strong interpersonal skills. Most of us have enough interpersonal skills to engage effectively. However, there seems to be an issue that when it comes to conflict, there is a major soft skills gap. Human resources are amongst the most difficult elements to manage in the workplace. Investment in this area is vital for your business. This is why you need employees with strong soft skills in conflict resolution and interpersonal communication.

The benefits of conflict resolution

You may not be able to put an actual number on the benefit. However, not everything is about numbers and figures. What we can say with certainty is that an incoherent team is bad for business. Today, it is one of the key six soft skills for safety at work. We see why it is vital to promote good conflict resolution and encourage people to communication properly and effectively. The benefits are clearly the adverse of the problems. A coherent team is happy. A happy team works together to correct problems. Employees able to handle problems effectively are being fully productive. A productive business is one that is making the most of its profit potential. That, in turn, leads to a happier workforce. Remove yourself from the vicious circle, because there is a solution.

A solution for your workplace conflict

Conflict is complex. Although we tend to think of it as employees arguing in the office, it is even more complex than that. Complex problems don’t necessarily need complex solutions, but they do need effective solutions. That is why Bookboon has invested in a comprehensive elibrary – Bookboon’s eLibrary Solution. Using modern electronic methods of learning, you can train and educate your employees in vital soft skills. You can do this without disrupting your business with traditional (and may less effective and on higher costs) classroom learning.

With thousands of available eBooks, Bookboon is the solution for modern and future business needs.