CIPD Press release - Poorly Managed Conflict Is Crippling
British Business
___________________________________________________________
06
October 2008
According
to figures released today, poorly managed conflicts in the
workplace are crippling British business. The average UK
employee spends over two hours a week dealing with conflict,
which means in total more than 370 million working days
were lost last year at a cost to British employers of more
than £24 billion.[1].
The
statistics are from a new global report Fight, Flight or
Face It, jointly authored by business psychology firm OPP
and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
(CIPD).
It surveyed thousands of employees in nine countries across
three continents, in businesses of all sizes and in all
sectors. A second survey[2] revealed the opinions of 660
HR professionals in the UK, allowing for a balanced employee/employer
view on conflict.
The
figures reveal that stress and heavy workloads are cited
as causes by 34% and 33% of employees respectively, although
half (49%) feel that personality clashes and warring egos
are the number one cause (49%) - all factors requiring close
management in tough times.
Robert
McHenry, CEO of OPP, says: "Workplace
conflict is nothing new. But in the context of the current
economic downturn, businesses could see steep rises in conflict
as workloads increase, budgets shrink and stress levels
rise. The fact that there are too few managers in British
business with the insight to handle it effectively could
cost us dearly.
"When
dealt with in the right way, conflict can actually lead
to positive outcomes such as more effective teamwork and
greater innovation. Training is vital because it allows
managers to understand and deal with the underlying causes."
The
research also found that:
*
Over half of employees (54%) and many more HR professionals
(80%) want managers to address underlying tensions before
they escalate into conflict
*
Training adds value: over half (58%)
of employees who have had training now look for win-win
outcomes from a workplace conflict
*
In countries where training is more prevalent, positive
outcomes from conflict are far more common.
As
to the consequences, a quarter (27%) of employees have already
seen disagreements involving personal attacks or insults,
while one in six (16%) have actually seen conflicts lead
to people being fired. Meanwhile, the majority of HR professionals
(63%) have seen employees become ill or absent following
a disagreement within their organisation.
According
to HR professionals, most conflict is seen in departments
at the operational level, such as customer
service, where it has a direct impact on the performance
and reputation of an organisation. However, conflict also
exists at the senior levels, where others in the organisation
take their cue: 12% of employees say that disagreements
among their senior team are frequent or continual.
Over
the course of the average 44-year career[3], employees will
spend nearly six months dealing with workplace conflict.
It could actually be time well spent, but only if they are
able to do so effectively.
Linda
Holbeche, director of research and policy at the CIPD, thinks
that conflict management should be an integral part of leadership
and management training:
"Conflict
is an inevitable part of the workplace
and can be very damaging and costly if not managed properly.
Managers must be able to identify the early signs of conflict
and intervene and diffuse situations before they escalate
if teams are to work productively and harmoniously. Managers
must also manage under-performance firmly and fairly, as
well as pick-up on when banter starts to become bullying
or when workloads become excessive.
"Just
as importantly managers must learn to manage in a way that
does not create conflict by providing clear objectives,
communicating effectively and planning and managing individual
and team workloads appropriately."
Notes
regarding this Press Release:
OPP
is an international business psychology
consultancy.
OPP's
experienced consultants work with clients in the areas of
assessment, development and teams. as well as in conflict
management skills. OPP offers leading personality assessment
tools, including MBTI Step I, MBTI Step II, 16PF, FIRO-B,
and TKI.
OPP
also supplies psychometric qualification training, including
BPS-accredited certification in Level A and Level B, and
a range of applications workshops for HR professionals,
psychologists and development practitioners.
Fight,
Flight or Face It: celebrating the effective management
of conflict at work The Fight, Flight or Face It report
is a joint publication from OPP and the CIPD. It's based
on an extensive research project amongst full-time workers
in the UK, the USA, France, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Brazil,
Belgium and the Netherlands as well as CIPD members.
_________________________________
*
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
(CIPD)
is the United Kingdom's leading professional body for those
involved in the management and development. They have 130,000
individual members and their objectives are to lead in the
development and promotion of good practice in the field
of the management and development of people, for application
both by professional members and by their organisational
colleagues.
Source:
CIPD
See
also:
CIPD
Press release - CIPD jobs market update - July 2008
CIPD
guide helps HR navigate the coaching maze - November 08
Flexible
working - October 2008 Equality and Human Rights Commission
and Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Worrying surge in redunancy enquiries strenghtens case for
interest rate cut - October 2008
Management
innovation not considered key business priority in UK organisations
despite obvious benefits, says new research - CIPD October
2008
UK
jobs market being crunched 'woeful winter to follow awful
autumn' - October 2008
Slump
in productivity and rising unit wage costs spells bad news
for jobs - October 2008
Increasing
your effectiveness at work by using your Emotional Intelligence
- June 2008
CIPD
report uncovers future focus for learning, training and
development in UK organisations - November 08
