1101055

Employment Conflict
Types of Conflict
Conflict tens to fall into two broad categories;

Signs and Symptoms

Conflict at work takes many forms, for example;

Conflict between individuals involving: - Colleagues - Employees and their managers

Visual heated exchanges and meetings Someone cutting themselves off from the rest of the organisation Motivation drops: fewer people volunteer to take on new tasks and there is little employee input at team meetings or briefings. Behaviour changes: people start to make derogatory remarks towards each other and there are fewer social events organised. Productivity falls: there are likely to be more queries and complaints if people are not cooperating with each other. Sickness absence increases: unhappiness may lead to depression or stress. Responses to staff attitude surveys or questionnaires: indicate underlying dissatisfaction.

Conflict between groups involving:

- Teams
- Large groups of employees and management.

Typical Responses

Fight -you react in a challenging way. At work this may mean shouting or losing your temper. Flight - you turn your back on what's going on. This is a common reaction - by ignoring a problem you hope it will go away. Freeze - you are not sure how to react and become very passive. You might begin to deal with the issue but things drift or become drawn out through indecision. Face - Approach a problem in a calm and rational way with a planned approach.

Causes of Conflict

Poor management Unfair treatment Unclear job roles Inadequate training

Example
http://www.guardian.co.uk/edu cation/2012/jul/30/educationin-brief-academy-employment

Poor communications
Poor work environment Lack of equal opportunities Bullying and harassment Discrimination

ACAS, 2009

Pros of Conflict

Cons of Conflict

Helps to raise awareness of issues so necessary changes can be made. More cooperation among people. Greater innovation and new ideas shared. Release of tension, anxiety and stress. Clarification of important issues. Increases problem solving skills.

Results in feelings of dissatisfaction, unhappiness, hopelessness, depression, and other emotions. It can result in behaviours such as physical or emotional withdrawal, aggression, and even violence. Staff resignation. Work not completed to a high standard. Decreased motivation.

Cooper, 2012; Leonard, 2009; Rau-Foster, 2000.

Definition
A collective dispute is, according to the Act on solving collective disputes of 23 May 1991, a conflict of employees with an employer or employers regarding working conditions, salaries or social benefits as well as trade union rights and freedom of employees or other groups which have the right to establish trade unions. The act defines several stages of solving collective disputes. Mediation is the second stage of solving such disputes. If the negotiations do not end in an agreement, then the parties of a dispute jointly select a mediator (MarkertMediacje, 2012).

Managing conflict
Managing conflict between individuals often involves: Having a quiet word Investigating the problem informally Using internal procedures - for example, company procedures for dealing with grievances Upgrading line management skills - particularly around handling difficult conversations Using a skilled mediator Managing conflict between groups often involves: Improving the way you communicate and consult with employees Forming representative structures within your organisation to tackle problems - for example, working groups or staff councils Using problem-solving cycles to find joint solutions to workplace problems Getting outside help

Procedures

An employee representative is elected/appointed The dispute procedure is put in writing and should provide an opportunity for a dispute to be referred to higher management. If it cannot be resolved after higher discussion, it should be referred to external collective conciliation. Time limits should be set for reference and stages of the dispute procedure. Try to settle dispute through conciliation before arbitration or mediation.
Labour Relations Agency, 1999 p. 1-4

Conciliation Procedures Conciliation

The use of collective conciliation varies considerably between different types of organisations, with some using conciliation several times year and other once every few years. Collective conciliation is frequently built into companies dispute procedures, this is to show the workforce and/or customers that they make every effort to settle disputes. Generally, disputes are resolved internally and conciliation is only used when all other avenues have been exhausted.

Requests can be made by the employer or employee representative No prior commitment required, only willingness to discuss problems. Entirely voluntary, it is open to either part to bring discuss and end at any time. Agencies will help parties as long as they wish if they see a chance of reaching an agreed settlement.

The conciliation officer will try to secure an agreement to be signed by the parties and any agreement reached are the responsibility of the parties not the agency.

Arbitration Procedures

If conciliation does not reach a settlement, a dispute can be resolved through arbitration.

A single arbitrator panel will be appointed by the agency to consider the dispute and make a decision to resolve it.
The parties then agree the terms. It involves each side writing out their case, followed by a hearing.

Molloy, Legard and Lewis, 2003 p. i iii.

ACAS (2009) Advisory Booklet Managing Conflict at Work. Available at: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1218 (Accessed: 11 December 2012). Cooper, K. (2012) Advantages and Disadvantages of Conflict. Available at: http://www.ehow.co.uk/list_6150874_advantages-disadvantages-conflict.html (Accessed: 11 December 2012). Labour Relations Agency (1999) Collective Dispute Resolution [Online]. Available at: http://www.lra.org.uk/collectivedispute.pdf (Accessed: 11 December 2012). Leonard, I. (2009) Benefits of Workplace Conflict. Available at: http://www.coachingforchange.com/newsletter/NL_AprMayJun09.html (Accessed: 11 December 2012). MarkertMediacje (2012) Collective Disputes. Available at: http://www.mediacje.biz/en/mediation/collective-disputes.html (Accessed: 11 December 2012). Molloy, D., Legard, R. and Lewis, J. (2003) Resolving Collective Disputes at Work: User perspectives of Acas collective conciliation services [Online]. Available at: http://www.acas.org.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=335&p=0 (Accessed: 11 December 2012). Rau-Foster, M. (2000) Conflict in the Workplace. Available at: http://www.workplaceissues.com/arconflict.htm (Accessed: 11 December 2012).