Conflict at Work

Approaching an employee regarding performance and behavioral issues is never an easy topic to brooch, simply due to the fact that it creates an atmosphere of conflict. That being said, it is crucial that employees facing disciplinary consequences be dealt with appropriately.

The first step I would take in discipline an employee would be to identify the problem. This would consist of compiling a list of times that the employee has performed or acted out at an unsatisfactory level. Instead of saying “You behaved poorly”, or “Your performance has not been up to company standards”, I would attempt to use I-statements like “I feel like disappointed that I’ve heard that there have been complaints about your behavior and work performance lately. Knowing that customers and employees feel this way leaves a bad reflection on the company. I’d like for us to put our heads together on how we can overcome these obstacles and get back on track”. I would come up with a list of I-statements addressing multiple instances of the employee’s sub-par performance to illustrate that the employee has not been up to company standards. I would appropriately deliver the I-statements by using a formula for I-statements consisting of a feelings statement, addressing the problem behavior, the consequence, followed by a goal (Abigail, R, & Cahn, D., 2011, p 77).

Next I would take to discipline after notifying an employee that we need to talk would be to pick an appropriate time and place to hold our meeting. I would attempt to pick a time in the day when it was not particularly busy, or would stress the employee out. “The point is this: Try to anticipate the other person’s schedule so that the time to talk doesn’t become one more crisis in a day full of them” (Abigail, R, & Cahn, D., 2011, p 36). The timing and atmosphere prior to a conflict have an effect on the outcome of the conflict, so it is especially important to keep this in mind.

The next step would be to talk to the problematic employee about the issue. “This is the stage where assertiveness plays an important role because you call attention to a problem or issue and give voice to your wants, interests, or needs” Abigail, R, & Cahn, D., 2011, p 37). In this step I would go over the points I had come up with prior to the meeting. After going over the points I would encourage the employee to add feedback, or to explain. 

After speaking to the employee, I would encourage the employee to be proactive in a solution for their problematic behavior. For an example, if the employee was being rude to customers because they were having a bad day, they might try something such as taking several deep breaths before responding to the customer or their fellow employee. It is crucial to involve the employee in this step so that they feel that they are aiding in fixing the problem. I would also lay down a specific outcome that I expect to happen within a certain amount of time so that there is no gray area about my expectations. I would then express that if my expectations are not met, that the consequence would be termination and that I hope it will not come to this. Next I would follow-up with our meeting in writing and have the employee sign this document as an understanding.

The final step in this process would be to follow-up with the employee. If the employee’s actions and performance improve over time, they will keep their job. If not, they can expect to be terminated.

I would expect that the employee would either take this situation well (not defensively) or poorly (defensively). The most important thing that I, as a supervisor can do during a conflict is to listen to the employee and make sure that they feel heard. The last thing that I would want to do would be to make the employee feel that because I am the supervisor I am right regardless of their reasons for their behavior. Listening to the employee and echoing back their concerns lets them know that they have been heard and understood which is crucial to the success of conflict resolution.