Module 14: Conflict Resolution in the Workplace

DESCRIPTION AND EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

There is virtually no environment in which people socialize, work or get together for any purpose that is immune to conflict. Conflict occurs in any setting, race, culture, family or system, where the potential (if not inevitability) for individual and different ideas, beliefs, interests and needs occurs naturally.

The problem, of course, is not the existence of conflict itself, but a failure to resolve any conflict in the most expeditious and effective way. The right approach to the problem protects individuals from the potential toxic effects of unresolved conflicts.

Unresolved conflict creates risk for inciting further conflict, and for causing a wide array of negative consequences, including stress, absenteeism, and disability claims, to name a few. One must always consider the potential for conflict to lead to violence.

A well crafted, accessible and user-friendly dispute resolution system provides a model for dealing with workplace conflicts that plays an important role in how employees define the quality of the interpersonal aspects of their workplace experience.

This workshop will use both didactic material and small group participation to teach participants the essential principals of conflict resolution. By the end of the workshop, participants will understand the origins of workplace conflict, and acquire basic skills an to take an informed approach to workplace conflicts.