A recent CIPD report looked at whether employers think they are doing enough to prevent and manage unfair treatment such as bullying and harassment.

According to the report findings: –

25% of employees have experienced conflict or abuse in the last 12 months
20% of employees agreed that people in their team can sometimes reject others for being different
36% of employees say that the conflict has been fully resolved and many simply ‘let it go’, a sign of a poor resolution rate in many organisations

Experience of employees

The most common experiences of conflict were: –

Feeling humiliated or undermined – 48% of employees
Being shouted at or were in a very heated argument – 35% of employees
Were subject to verbal abuse or insult – 34% of employees
Discriminatory behaviour because of a protected characteristic, such as sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, or age – 20% of employees
Other forms of conflict, such as assault and physical threat, were relatively uncommon, typically reported by 1–2% of all employees
Those with protected characteristics unsurprisingly reported more conflict, with women more likely to report conflict than men – 28% of women versus 22% of men

Although there seems to be a high level of employer confidence in having effective procedures for resolving conflict, those employees who have experienced it would disagree.

Fostering a ‘speak up’ culture

Employees should feel that they have the confidence to speak up and raise any issues regarding inappropriate behaviour.

There seems to be a clear gap between employers’ confidence in having the policies and procedures to handle conflict and employees’ confidence to take forward a complaint and seek resolution.

As an employer you need to develop a more in-depth understanding of conflict in your teams and encourage employees to have the confidence to raise concerns. This means implementing a framework for conflict resolution with a strong emphasis on positive and early routes to resolving any issues.

Nowadays, responsibility for people management can be primarily down to the line managers. They have a central role in preventing and tackling conflict within their teams. At Guildford HR we can act as your HR Manager and support your line management team with any conflict that may arise.

Role-models

According to the CIPD report there is a lack of role-modelling and leadership by senior management. Also, managers do not have the confidence to challenge inappropriate behaviour.

Employers need to demonstrate that any form of harassment is totally unacceptable from a moral and legal standpoint, and any signs of any type of unfair treatment will be dealt with fairly but robustly.

Guildford HR can support your business with conflict and line manager training as well as supplying straightforward policies. Why not contact us today and arrange a free of charge discovery call on 01483 362732 or via hello@guildford-hr.co.uk

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Reference – CIPD report September 2024 on ‘How employers are tackling bullying and harassment at work’