Transforming Workplace Conflict for Organizational Success

In response to a formal allegation or complaint, many employers feel compelled to conduct an initial fact-finding investigation or a full workplace investigation. The purpose of an investigation is typically to answer the questions: who did what and what do we have to do to them? In other words, to find someone to blame and then to impose a punishment or sanction on that individual.

Most of the time, those are unhelpful questions to ask. In ProActive’s Restorative Conference process, we instead ask:

• What has happened?
• How has it affected people?
• What can be done to fix any hurt and harm?
• What can we learn from it so we take something positive out of the conflict?

Rather than imposing a solution on the group that could exacerbate the conflict, it is always preferable to engage in a process that allows the group of affected people to come together, clarify how the conflict evolved, build an understanding of how the conflict has affected all of them individually and as a group and develop a plan to reconcile those differences.

ProActive Restorative Conferencing is a process for transforming conflict into cooperation within groups. In our Restorative Conference, the community of people affected by conflict come together and engage in a facilitated conversation about what has happened, and how people have been affected.

Participants benefit from the opportunity to say things to each other that they have either avoided saying or have said hurtfully rather than helpfully. The group then decides together what needs to be done to behave constructively towards to each other.

As the designers and developers of this process, our facilitators then stay in weekly contact to support the implementation of the Restorative Conference Agreement and organises a whole group follow-up meeting with the Conference participants 6-8 weeks after the original Conference.

Recently, there has been an increasing recognition of the importance of understanding how workplace experiences impact our mental well-being. Many workplaces have policies stating that if someone’s behaviour feels disrespectful, you should address it directly with the person involved. However, our experience indicates this policy is frequently ignored because many workplaces lack psychological safety.

A psychologically safe workplace encourages and rewards open communication. It’s an environment where you can comfortably express confusion, view mistakes as learning opportunities, and share diverse perspectives. Leaders in such workplaces model these behaviours, fostering an atmosphere where giving and receiving feedback, even negative, is expected and constructive, ultimately strengthening workplace relationships.

For more information on creating and maintaining a psychologically safe workplace, consider resources by Professor Amy Edmondson of Harvard, McKinsey & Company, and Google’s Project Aristotle.

In Australia, different jurisdictions have laws mandating the reduction of psychosocial hazards and the promotion of psychological safety at work. Safe Work Australia defines a psychosocial hazard as anything that could cause psychological harm, such as:

• job demands
• low job control
• poor support
• lack of role clarity
• poor organisational change management
• inadequate reward and recognition
• poor organisational justice
• traumatic events or material
• remote or isolated work
• poor physical environment
• violence and aggression
• bullying
• harassment, including sexual and gender-based harassment, and
• conflict or poor workplace relationships and interactions

It’s crucial to be aware of these hazards and take proactive steps to create a safer and more supportive workplace environment.