How to Handle Fights between employees?

Our workplace is kind of second home to us as we spend almost 60 to 70 hours every week working. It is quite possible to have argument between two co-workers or senior and junior over some difference of opinion on some issue. Having a healthy argument is always encouraged as people tend to put efforts more and more and try to work out their limits which can be very helpful to everyone and organization. But however, it can sometimes create a rift which can have adverse effect to everyone, and organization may not be able to grow overall. Handling a rift or fight between two employees can be quite difficult sometimes. There is no idle solution to all kinds of fight. We need to analyze the situation carefully and act accordingly.

Normally it may start with a small argument or may be over petty difference of opinion. It might be all ok and normal but if left attended it can grow and over a brief period it will be difficult to deal with the monster rage. If you do some research on google, you might find many ways how to avoid conflicts/fights at work place, but this is more kind of preventive measure rather than a corrective measure.

There is no proper set of corrective measure for all situations, but it can be as effective as up to 70 to 80 percent if dealt carefully. There are some effective ways and methods which can help you not only to deal with the fights and can be very helpful to resolve the issue and needless to say to prevent same kind of situation happening again in future.

1. Discourage gossip and gossipers

Try to make a creative and healthy environment and positive atmosphere at work place. Every employee must be treated at par and should be given same respect like everyone else. There should not be any kind of discrimination based on anything. All sorts of negativity like speaking behind back, spreading rumors should be discouraged and if this is happening proper corrective action should be taken and preventive measures to avoid such things in future.

Make it clear that the fighting must stop and will not be tolerated any longer. Let the employees know that conflict creates a negative work environment for all staff members. If they cannot put their differences aside, you may have to consider taking disciplinary action against them.

2. Listen first, talk second

Allow the employees to air their complaints without interruptions. When you meet as a group, let them know that name-calling or put-downs will not be tolerated.

Talk to each employee individually. Before you come together as a group to resolve the fight, speak to each employee privately to hear his side of the story. Separating the staff members also gives them time to cool their tempers.

Always seek help from seniors and managers. Have a talk with them on regular basis and try to be 100% honest. Managers may not come up with solution, but they can certainly provide with some sort of relief which can also be very useful.

3. Proper Allocation of Work to all Employees

Workload distribution must be proper and just to everyone. It should not happen one is overburden with all office work and other person is given very less.

It will not only improve one’s work productivity but also it will encourage employees to go extra mile and take more responsibilities and come out of their comfort zone.

4. Communication medium must be effective and transparent.

Seniors and managers should be in constant touch with all employees. Mere onetime involvement is not enough. There should be transparency of flow of communication amongst all employees. Managers should be easily accessible for all sorts of communication even if they are super busy. Managers/Seniors should not make work as an excuse to avoid communication no matter how much awkward or scary it may sound to hear.

Follow up with each employee after the end of the meeting. Find out if the conflict has been resolved and ensure that both parties are not harboring negative feelings. Make it clear to the employees you are there for them and wish to keep the lines of communication open.

Communication medium must be effective and transparent. There should not be any barrier to effective communication. The more the barriers, more it will take time to get resolve issues. On the worse case scenario, it might add more fuel to the fire.

5. Get to know the different personalities in your team

Everyone should be given a fair chance to grow and learn. Favoritism or preference should be avoided at all costs. People will learn and grow and excel if properly trained on timely basis. It will not only add up individual’s performance, but the whole organization will also grow and prosper eventually.

6. Encourage friendships

Team building activities are not enough to achieve this. According to a study published in the British Medical Journal in 2008, happiness reaches to three degrees of separation within our social network. So, if one of your employees is happy, chances are it will spread to the others, provided they are on friendly terms.

7. Go Social!

Work hard but party harder. Appreciate and acknowledge the fact the employees strive their best to deliver work on timely basis no matter how much extreme the situation may be. Celebrate even if the occasion is small.

Encourage more and more parties like lunch or dinner or even a movie and hanging out with co-workers. This will create a sense of closeness among employees and chances of fights happening gets reduced drastically.

Try to find out more about your employees. It might be possible there will be someone who is a good singer, actor, dancer, or blogger. Recognize their talent and try to give them more opportunities to showcase their talent.

8. When conflict arises, embrace it

Don’t run away from it. Conflict is an opportunity for growth. You will learn a lot about your team and about yourself through the process of solving the conflict. You have the power to turn a negative experience in a learning experience both for your team and yourself.

Be patient while dealing with sensitive issues. The key ingredient to understanding a coworker’s point of view is listening to how and why they feel how they feel. When it’s your colleague’s turn to talk, hear them out and don’t interrupt. However, once they’ve made their case, don’t be afraid to ask respectful and thoughtful questions if you feel unclear about any points they raised. You are really trying to understand things, after all.

Respect your all co-workers and employees and encourage others as well to follow. Be introspective and recognize how your own actions may have contributed to the issue — even if they were unintentional. During the resolution, was there a moment when you or your coworker said something that helped turn the conversation’s tone from tense to cordial? Use the process as a learning experience for the next time trouble rears its ugly head across your cubicle.

Reference: Some Google sites and personal views.

Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author are based on google search and personal experience. Readers are advised to act carefully while implementing above the same.The author shall not be liable for the any kind of loss.