Destructive vs constructive interactions in the workplace

Unfavourable conflicts not only harm business competitiveness but also affect the morale of employees. For example, overwhelming conflicts among employees from different functions can cause delays in executing the planned work when people avoid talking to one another.
This situation needs attention from top management and requires corrective measures to be put in place before it becomes too difficult and costly to resolve.
One symptom that several organisations have encountered is a higher attrition rate, especially in key areas. Once the company starts losing good people, the ability to run the business successfully will definitely be reduced.
To deal effectively with internal conflicts, management needs to consider enhancing the following disciplines within the organisation.
l Promote effective and open communication. People who have to work together on a certain issue, assignment or project should have the chance to express their opinions. Different ideas or opinions can lead to better conclusions. It is important that everyone should have an equal chance to share his or her thoughts to the team before a conclusion can be reached.
l Focus on issues rather than individuals. Business meetings can take an inordinate amount of time commenting on actions, behaviour, style and decision-making of people, which can be a waste of time and discouraging to the team. By concentrating on the issue in question, team members can brainstorm and come up with the best solutions through a positive problem-solving approach.
l Cultivate the preferred culture by examples. The leader of an organisation should play the important role of nurturing the cultures that help make the business strong and healthy. By showing clearly what kinds of culture the company needs, employees can learn and adopt them over time. This can be done through proper training or direct communication to the team on preferred practices for the company.
l Make necessary decisions quickly. The best way to end prolonged negative conflicts is to be decisive. In certain circumstances, it may not be easy to settle conflicts without some negative consequences. Management needs to show its determination that all problems have to be resolved as soon as possible for the total benefit of the company. The only way is to take action fast. Business operations consist of many kinds of agreements and conflicts. It is important for all employees to see the same ultimate goals and try to find ways to work together that will most benefit the company’s performance. To avoid conflicts at work seems impossible, but we may be able to create and promote more constructive interactions so that the negative ones are insignificant.

DR YANYONG THAMMATUCHAREE is senior vice president, finance and accounting, at Central Marketing Group. He can be reached at [email protected].