| Over the years, attitudes towards workers have changed considerably. |
| After all, there was a time when workers had no rights at all, and laboured in appalling conditions. |
| Conditions have improved a lot, but conflict in the workplace is still common. |
| And human resources managers nowadays need to be able to deal with it when necessary. |
| What is conflict in the workplace? |
| Definitions vary, but I'm taking it to refer to a whole range of behaviours that the victim finds unacceptable, |
| from minor, harmless arguments to - at the opposite extreme - physical violence. |
| Much of this is covered by the term bullying, |
| by which I mean one or more people behaving abusively or aggressively against another who is in a weaker position. |
| Although all behaviour like this is a form of conflict, not all conflict can be described in these terms. |
| As with all human behaviour, there are numerous reasons for it. |
| But often it's caused by someone who feels the need to show their superiority over someone else, |
| in order to feel that they aren't at the lowest level in a hierarchy or a group of people. |
| In some cases one person simply dislikes the other, |
| on the basis that the personality of one is in some way incompatible with that of the other person. |
| A general habit of optimism in one person could make them intolerant of a colleague who's constantly pessimistic - |
| not that that justifies treating them badly, of course. |
| Some conflicts arise when people are more interested in promoting themselves and their team than in the company as a whole. |
| These conflicts are called 'structural', |
| and could come about, for example, when a sales team believe they are the only people in the business who do any useful work, |
| and look down on behind-the-scenes administrators. |
| Conflict obviously affects the individuals concerned - |
| the situation is likely to be very stressful for victims, |
| resulting in their absence from work, possibly for months. |
| For the company, if no effort is made to deal with conflict, |
| it can spiral out of control, and even lead to the breakdown of the business. |
| Some interesting work with chief executives - CEOs - |
| has uncovered some of the reasons why they may treat colleagues badly. |
| Many CEOs combine two opposing characteristics: |
| confidence - that is, the belief that they're capable of great achievements - with a high level of anxiety, |
| a fear of missing targets, whether set by themselves or by the directors of the company. |
| This combination can make them respond badly to anyone who questions their decisions. |
| In a high pressure work environment, such characteristics become problematic. |
| And it's particularly difficult to tackle the situation |
| where colleagues, managers and board members are all trying to achieve their own visions. |
| When they can't agree on strategic issues and on where they see the business going, |
| there are real problems. |
| For managers at lower levels within the organisation, |
| it might seem that an autocratic form of management - |
| where the chief executive gives orders and everyone else has to obey - |
| would see more conflict than others. |
| Interestingly, though, a company with a more democratic business model, can suffer more, |
| when uncertainty about who to report to leads to conflicting demands. |
| Now I'll say a little about dealing with the type of conflict that has harmful effects. |
| Of course the ideal is to prevent it arising in the first place. |
| A good manager, at any level, will make efforts to earn the respect of the people they work with, |
| particularly those who report to them. |
| That will involve politeness in all communications, |
| and treating them as equals who happen to have a different role within the organisation. |
| Sometimes, of course, conflict does occur, and can get out of hand. |
| In such cases the human resources department often gets involved. |
| However, if one of the parties in a conflict sees human resources as simply a mouthpiece for the chief executive, |
| then an external mediator might be able to help. |
| By talking to both sides, and trying to find the truth of what's been happening, |
| they can build a clear picture of the situation, |
| and give feedback that both sides will accept, |
| precisely because they're independent. |