How to Handle Internal Employee Conflict

Employees spend a lot of time with their co-workers, sometimes it can be more time than they spend with their family members. All of that time in closed quarters can lead to a lot of conversations about difficult subjects. It could also just be too much time with co-workers because of different personality styles.
As a manager in a manufacturing setting, these conflicts could lead to dangerous situations. What can you do as an industrial company to handle internal employee conflicts quickly and smoothly?

Encourage Communication

Arguments that lead to loud blow-ups usually stem from issues that aren't dealt with in a timely manner. Something small such as how a person eats their lunch could start to become annoying over time. It could also be larger and deal with a political discussion.

Whatever causes the annoyance, encourage your employees to communicate with each other. If they don't want to talk about a sensitive issue, have them tell their co-worker they prefer not to discuss that issue in the workplace. Keeping those feelings inside and letting them build up can lead to worse arguments and conflicts than if they were dealt with originally.

Sit Down to Discuss the Issues

If your employees aren't able to handle the issues on their own accord, then you need to sit down in a quiet environment and talk about the problems together. As the manager, you need to be a neutral party and not side with either of the employees. You also are in charge of keeping the discussion productive and not turning into a shouting match.

Find an Alternative Solution

After all of your hard work of encouraging employee communication and then also sitting down with the conflicting employees, you may not have any other solution but to find another idea. Do they have to be moved to separate departments? Do they need to work different hours?

The alternative solution isn't a road you want to travel down consistently, but it is an option to keep in your back pocket in case you aren't able to solve the issue with the conflicting employees.

If you are in need of employees to fill any of your industrial staffing needs, consider working with a reputable staffing firm. Bear Staffing can connect you with qualified employees ready to help your organization grow!

Key Takeaways:

• Encourage clear communication between co-workers
• Set down in a neutral environment and talk about issues maturely
• Find ways to separate employees who can't work with each other