Employee conflict resolution is the new must-have skill for every organization in 2024

I was just reading Gartner's workplace predictions for this year and that jumped out at me. It reminded me of the increasing importance of the work we do at tEQuitable.

Workplace conflict is nothing new, but it has dramatically been on the rise and is so pervasive at the moment, it will have a profound impact on businesses. Gartner reports that "conflicts between employees are poised to be at an all-time high in 2024 due to geopolitical crises, labor strikes, climate change, pushback to DEI efforts, and upcoming elections for half of the globe."

On average, employees spend a whopping 12% of their time dealing with conflict at work. Companies will see this impact their employees:

• Collaboration starts to break down.

• Lower morale and higher disengagement.

• Overall stress is increased, resulting in higher absenteeism and loss of productivity.

It's critical that Leadership take action to address this new reality:

• Acknowledging it is the first step.

• Create a culture where discourse and debate is ok, but it must be safe.

• Don’t set HR or Managers up for failure by expecting them to handle all conflicts on their own. They are not experts at intervening in highly charged situations and it could escalate.

• Real-time, confidential conflict coaching resources like tEQuitable can de-escalate, help employees explore options for resolving issues productively, and even alert the org to increasing tensions and recurring, systemic issues.

Investing in effective conflict management strategies will be crucial for creating a resilient and thriving workplace for the company and the employees, and ultimately improve business outcomes.

- tEQuitable Founder, Lisa Gelobter