The dangers of being involved in a damaging court case are obvious, the day-to-day impact of un-welcome comments and remarks causing conflict and strained relationships less so. Research* indicates that conflict between colleagues lost UK businesses 370 million working days in 2007 at the cost of over £24 billion. This requires us all to act early.

Wikipedia describes banter as “non-serious conversation, usually between friends, which may rely on humour or in-jokes at the expense of those taking part”. We all like to have fun at work, however business owners and managers need to be aware of what is going on between their staff and take a lead to ensure that communication between co-workers does not cause damage to the business.

What can we do promote healthy workplace relationships?

• Daniel Goleman** encourages us to be emotionally aware – if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. It’s time to find out more
• Ascribe to the highest standards of personal behaviour. As leaders we give off signals about what is acceptable and what isn’t.
• Provide a model for people to manage conflict – Marshall Rosenberg’s Non-Violent Communication is excellent and can be easily adapted to the UK workplace.
• Create a culture of appreciation. Get people talking about what they like and value, recognise people’s efforts at every opportunity – introduce a “good colleague” award.
• ACAS recommend introducing an “Organisational Statement of Standards”*** and make this part of everything the company does, including guiding the behaviour of the top team

References:

* “Fight, Flight or Face It? Celebrating the effective management of conflict at work” Robert McHenry, 2008

** “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ” Daniel Goleman, 1996

*** “Bullying and Harassment at Work” ACAS, 2009

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