Tips for Diffusing Challenging Office Situations
It may be hard to believe, but there are some people that spend more time at work than they do at home. When you think about it, if you take into consideration the amount of time you’re asleep, you actually do spend more of your waking time with your coworkers than you do with your own family. Because of this, it should come as no surprise that most people will experience workplace tension at some point in their career. The last thing you want to do is see your employees jeopardize their career over stress in the workplace by confronting someone they have to work with every day.
We’ve put together some helpful tips that will make it easier to diffuse any challenging office situations that may come your way.
Hit it Head On
You can’t skirt around an issue if it’s presented itself in a pretty obvious way. If you’ve noticed mounting tension between employees, you have to approach them directly immediately. Take them aside separately to find out their personal feelings about the situation and then determine if a meeting with them together would be beneficial. If you let the tension between employees fester without intervening it will only get worse and could lead to a serious office blowup that could cost them their jobs. An end result like this will only waste time for you and money for the company, both of which are never ideal.
Hash it Out
Once you’ve heard each side speak their mind about the issue, you then should consider bring them together to hash it out. You can act as a mediator to keep the conversation on topic and prevent any flaring tempers. When you work in close quarters with someone every day, the only way to move forward is to get the issue out in the open and discuss it like adults.
Lend an Ear
In some situations, the tension isn’t started by an action or word spoken in the workplace but due to existing stress from home or their personal life. As an employer, you may find yourself in a situation where all your employees or colleagues need is just for someone to listen to them. It’s important to foster a loyal relationship with these people and one way you can do that is by lending an ear when they need it. By providing them an outlet for their feelings, you may actually be able to avoid any workplace stressors from developing into a negative situation.
Leave Emotion Out of It
It can be difficult not to take it personal when the tension is directed towards you. As an employer, you need to be able to keep a clear head and leave your emotions at the door when dealing with a workplace situation that involves you. When discussing a situation, try your best to stay on a professional level with your reactions to their concerns and feelings. Your employees may not be able to keep their emotions in check, but you, as their superior, should do everything you can to stay calm and collected while working things out.
Ask Questions
In some cases, your employees may feel as though they have to keep their feelings inside while on the job. This may only lead to hotter heads in the future. The moment you notice things aren’t right amongst your employees, take them aside and ask questions. However, you need to make sure you’re asking the right questions. Don’t ask loaded questions that could make them defensive or withdraw even further. Probing questions asked with genuine concern are the best for drawing out the truth of the matter.
Nobody wants to spend their time walking on eggshells around the office when you can cut the tension with a knife, so to speak. Hopefully these tips will help you diffuse any challenging office situations that may arise in the future.
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