... and it might not just be about whether the heating is too high or too low! Read our quick and informative guide to managing conflict in the workplace to ensure a calm and productive atmosphere.

Although minor arguments, like having the heating on or off during winter, can boil over, a study this summer by Cascade, a human resources software provider, indicated that the main causes of workplace conflict were more major issues.

What scores highly?

The study of 1,000 adults in employment in the UK indicated that unfair workloads and unequal working hours were top of the list, followed by gossip and rumour-mongering, groups and cliques in the workplace.

Somewhat surprisingly, salary differences scored significantly lower but that could be because workplaces are (arguably) more secretive about salaries than they used to be.

Perhaps the most startling statistic was that half the respondents felt their organisations were ill-equipped to deal with the issues mentioned above.

Laying the groundwork for a peaceful workplace

As is often the case with tricky management issues the best way of dealing with them is to lay down a good infrastructure so that disputes don't come up in the first place.

The keys to this are:

• Having good policies for workplace behaviour - a staff manual is a good starting point but make sure it's regularly reinforced with training and other resources. Guidelines on appropriate behaviour should feature heavily, including a zero-tolerance approach to bullying.
• Train supervisors and managers - very few people can be expected to manage naturally without help.
• Hold regular (but quick and effective) team meetings to put information out and quash rumours before they start.
• Implement regular review sessions where staff can discuss issues openly and in private, so problems can be nipped at the bud.
• Be open and transparent about what's happening in the business, particularly upcoming changes. Keeping things from people until the last minute makes rumours inevitable, doesn't allow people to prepare and creates a toxic atmosphere.

Dealing with conflict

Sadly no matter what we do, conflict at work is likely to happen at some point. So when issues arise that need you to step in, deal with them openly and treat the individuals involved with respect. A good staff policy document will have a dispute resolution process to go through and bear the following in mind:

• Listen to grievances and do your best to understand them - often this is all that's needed and a solution will present itself during discussions.
• Don't get personal. Tackle the problem or behaviour that's causing it, not the people involved and don't let the people involved fall into that trap either.
• Don't talk down to employees. Ask them about the situation and find out what solutions they think would be appropriate. Either agree if they are reasonable or broker a different solution if not.
• Listen to the opinions of everyone involved.

This can all sound a bit daunting so bear in mind that although we've talked about training members of staff there's no reason why senior managers and directors shouldn't be trained themselves.

There are numerous courses on dispute resolution and creating a positive working environment that you can take. When it comes down to it, a happier working environment will lead to increased productivity and lower staff turnover so it's well worth investing.

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