11. Handling conflict, grievances, and negotiations.ppt

mental health and its effect on your work place

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Handling Conflict, Grievances,
and Negotiations

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After studying these topics, you will benefit by:
•Understanding conflict and how best to respond
to conflict at work
•Explaining the various conflict management
styles and their appropriate application
•Defining negotiation and applying negotiation
techniques
•Identifying harassment and workplace bullying
and demonstrating how to respond

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After studying these topics, you will benefit by (cont.):
•Stating employee rights in the workplace
•Demonstrating how to resolve conflict in both a
union and non-union environment
•Recognizing warning signs and proactive steps
to take against workplace violence

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CONFLICT
•Conflict: disagreement or tension between
two or more parties (individuals or groups)
–A perceived threat to one’s needs, interests, or
concerns
–Individuals are looking at a situation from
different perspectives
•No workplace is without conflict

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TOPIC SITUATION
Ahmed as a Team Leader
TOPIC RESPONSE:
How did Ahmed mishandle the situation?
What assumptions did Ahmed make about Ali?
How should Ahmed correct the situation?

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RESOLVING CONFLICT
•Do not make conflict personal
•Avoid making assumptions about the
individual and/or situation
•Clarify facts
•Be willing to resolve the issue

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RESOLVING CONFLICT
Basic Rules
1.Resolve in person when possible
2.Remain calm and unemotional
3.Be silent and listen
4.Try to view the disagreement from the other
person’s perspective
5.Explain your position and offer a solution
6.Come to a solution

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RESOLVING CONFLICT
•Emotions make it difficult to logically resolve
an issue
–Remain calm and unemotional
–Acknowledge hurt feelings or anger
–Do not let the anger or hurt dominate your
response
–Look for facts and feelings
–Identify where communication broke down

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RESOLVING CONFLICT
•Basic concepts to deal with workplace
conflict:
–Only you can control your response
–Do not let feelings dictate actions
–Attempt to resolve conflict immediately
–Accept responsibility for actions
–Apologize if necessary
–Retaliation is not the answer
–Keep your conflict issues confidential

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RESOLVING CONFLICT
•If the conflict negatively affects your
performance:
•Document the offensive behavior
•Seek assistance within the company
•If necessary, seek outside assistance

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Managing Emotions-Handling Yourself
•5 questions
•Why am I feeling so angry/hurt/frightened?
•What do I want to change?
•What do I need in order to let go of this feeling?
•Whose problem is this, really?
•What is the unspoken message I infer from the situation?
•5 goals
•Aim to avoid the desire to punish or blame.
•Aim to improve the situation.
•Aim to communicate your feelings appropriately.
•Aim to improve the relationship and increase communication.
•Aim to avoid repeating the same situation.

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CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND
NEGOTIATION
•Forcing conflict management style: attempts to
make the other party do things your way
•Avoiding conflict management style: used
when you do not want to deal with the conflict, so
the offense is ignored
•Accommodating conflict management style:
The other party has his/her way without knowing
there was a conflict. Used when preserving the
relationship is a priority.

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CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND
NEGOTIATION (Cont.)
•Compromising conflict management style:
both parties give up something of importance
to arrive at a mutually agreeable solution
•Collaborating conflict management style:
both parties work together to arrive at a
solution without having to give up something
of value

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CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND
NEGOTIATION
•Negotiation:creating a solution that is fair to all
involved parties
•Both sides come to an agreement if both parties:
–Want to resolve an issue
–Agree on an objective
–Honestly communicate their case/situation
–Listen to the other side
–Work toward a mutually beneficial common solution

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CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND
NEGOTIATION
•Passive behavior: consistently allowing
others to have their way, avoiding conflict
•Assertive behavior: standing up for your
rights without violating the rights of others
•Aggressive behavior: standing up for your
rights in a way that violates others’rights

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TALK IT OUT
What prevents individuals from being
assertive?

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HARASSMENT
Harassment: offensive, humiliating, or intimidating
behavior
Sexual Harassment: unwanted advances of a
sexual nature
•Types of sexual harassment:
–Quid pro quo: payback for a sexual favor
–Hostile behavior: any behavior of a sexual nature that
is offensive
•Harassment can occur between:
–Boss/employee -Man/woman
–Woman/woman -Man/man

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HARASSMENT
If You Are a Victim
1.Minor offensive behavior—tell individual you
are offended and ask them to stop
-Document action
2.If behavior continues or is extremely
inappropriate, immediately contact supervisor
or HR department
-File formal harassment charges
-Provide facts and names of witnesses

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HARASSMENT
The Complaint Process
•Complaint is filed
•Confidential investigation occurs
•Share factual, documented events
•Supervisor/HR will render an outcome

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HARASSMENT
Employee Rights
•Zero Tolerance
•Harassment Free Workplace
•Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) -federal agency
•Department of Fair Employment and Housing
-state agency
•Employee unions
•Unlawful to retaliate against anyone who files
a claim, even if claim is without merit

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HARASSMENT
Be Aware of Employer Actions
•Harassment policies
•Harassment training
•Report inappropriate behavior
•An employer cannot help you if he or she
is not aware of the problem

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TOPIC SITUATION
Katie’s Tattoo
TOPIC RESPONSE:
Who was right and wrong in the situation between
zaini and Talha?
Whose rights were violated?
If you were Zaini, should you have handled the
situation differently? Why or why not?
If you were Tahla, what would you have done
differently? Justify your answer.

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WORKPLACE BULLIES
•Workplace Bullies: employees who are
behaving in an offensive, humiliating, or
intimidating manner
–Workplace incivility
–Bullying and incivility are inappropriate in the
workplace

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WORKPLACE BULLIES
Dealing with a Bully
•Do not retaliate with poor behavior
•Document dates, words, and witnesses
•Share factual documentation with boss or
HR department and file a formal complaint
•If company fails to deal with situation in a
reasonable time and manner, seek outside
assistance

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KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
•Legal right to work in an environment free from
harassment, discrimination, and hostility
•Share concerns with supervisor and exhaust
internal remedies before going to government
agencies:
–State’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing
–Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
–State Personnel Board
–Department of Labor/Labor Commission
–Department of Justice

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RESOLVING CONFLICT AT WORK
•Resolve directly with
other individual
•If unresolved, inform
immediate supervisor
•If situation worsens,
formally file a
complaint with the HR
department
•Seek assistance from
an outside source
Immediate Supervisor
Human Resource
Department
Outside Agency or Private
Attorney
Coworker Coworker
Figure 12-1

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•Union Terms:
–Shop Steward: a coworker who is very
familiar with the union contract and
procedures available to assist you in resolving
a workplace conflict
–Grievance: a problem or conflict that occurs
in a unionized workplace
–Grievance Procedure:formal process of
resolving a union-employer conflict
CONFLICT UNDER A UNION
AGREEMENT

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CONFLICT UNDER A UNION AGREEMENT
•Union exists to protect employee rights
•Refer to union contract
•Confer with shop steward
•If there is a violation of policy, a formal
grievance is filed
•Employee, steward, and supervisor meet
•If unresolved, a union official will meet with the
HR department
•If unresolved, attorneys from both sides (union
and employer) will meet

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WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
•A result of unresolved conflict
•Includes any kind of harassing or harmful
behavior (verbal or physical)
•Workplace violence can come from:
–Coworkers
–Bosses
–Customers
–Family

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TOPIC SITUATION
Ali Helps a Coworker
TOPIC RESPONSE:
Did Ali handle the situation appropriately?
Why or why not?

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WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
•Employee Assistance Program (EAP): a
benefit offered by many employers that provides
free and confidential psychological, financial,
and legal advice
–If you are experiencing a stressful situation at work
or home, take advantage of this benefit

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WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
Look Out for Warning Signs
•Be aware of your surroundings
•Keep work area and access well-lit
•Request an escort to your car if necessary
•Keep emergency phone numbers posted in
visible areas
•Report suspicious behavior or situations
•It is better to be safe than sorry

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AGREE TO DISAGREE
•Conflict frequently can’t be avoided
•Apologize if you are wrong
•Forgive if you have been harmed
•Mature coworkers are willing to forgive and not
hold grudges
We don’t have to like all our colleagues, but
we must demonstrate professionalism and
show respect to everyone

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THINK ABOUT IT
Identify grudges you have held or people you
need to forgive. Make a point of resolving one of
those issues within the next week.