PSYCHOSOCIAL WORKING ENVIRONMENT
Conflict management
- From friction to flow
Conflict and disagreement are inevitable, and can even be healthy, as long as they don’t become too intense or last too long. Not every conflict can be fully resolved. But every conflict can be handled better than it is today. Sometimes people come out of it stronger. The air has been cleared.
We help you understand and untangle difficult relationships. From friction to flow. Where there is a knot, there is also a bond. Some people come to us with a situation that has reached a deadlock. Others want to build their organisation’s ability to pick up on disagreement before it grows. Some want to train their managers, others want to include employees in building skills.
- Support in specific cases
- Courses for managers and safety representatives
- 40 years of experience
WHAT KIND OF HELP DO YOU NEED?
Three situations, three ways to help
People come to us at three different stages. That determines what we do, and how quickly.
01 / IT’S URGENT
Support in a specific case
Something has reached a deadlock and you can’t move forward. We come in from outside, talk to the people involved, and help you reach something everyone can live with.
02 / IT’S BUILDING UP
Courses for managers
You can tell something is wrong, but you’re not quite sure what to do. The course gives you techniques you can use before it turns into a formal case.
03 / IT AFFECTS EVERYONE
Workshop for the department
The whole group learns to talk about what is difficult, before it grows into something bigger.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
Handling conflict is a skill, not a personality trait
Almost everyone can get better at this. It comes down to a few techniques, practised until they become second nature.
METHOD
Empathic communication
Also known as Nonviolent Communication (NVC), after Marshall Rosenberg. You say what needs to be said without raising the temperature, and without giving up your own needs.
ANALYSIS
Issue-based or personal conflict?
An issue-based conflict is about disagreement over facts or direction. A personal conflict is about not liking the other person. They need completely different handling, and they get mixed up all the time.
OUTCOME
Win-win-win
Solutions where both parties gain something, and where the workplace as a whole wins too. That takes empathy, a willingness to listen, and compromises that actually hold.
STRUCTURE
When the cause lies in poor leadership or organisation
Often the people are not the problem, even if some are more difficult than others. If there are unclear lines of responsibility or poor leadership, sending people on a course will not help much. Our method is the natural one: we talk to people, and we listen. We don’t apportion blame. We look ahead and help share responsibility for a good solution.
SELF-AWARENESS
The five conflict styles
Competing, avoiding, compromising, accommodating and problem-solving. None of them is wrong in every situation. The point is to recognise your own and be able to switch.
ROLE
When the manager is the problem
How do you raise concerns with a manager you believe is the cause, without it costing you your job or the working environment? This is the question we are asked most often.
WHO RUNS THE COURSES
Two people with long experience in this field
Christian H. Rafn has 40 years of experience as an HR director and managing director, and works with leadership and employee development.
Jørgen Rafn is a qualified teacher with a master’s degree in Development Management, and specialises in balanced, thought-provoking dialogue.
- Support in urgent cases
- Courses for managers and safety representatives
- Workshops for the whole department
- Mediation between parties
The problem
The most common mistake is waiting
Issue-based conflicts turn into personal conflicts because they were left alone. What could have been solved with a conversation in March needs a full process by October.
Managers wait for good reasons. They hope it will blow over, they don’t want to make things worse, and they are unsure what they are allowed to say. All three are understandable, and all three make it more costly.
WE FIND THE ANSWER
When should you bring in outside help?
Some signs that the situation has gone beyond what you can solve internally:
- The parties no longer speak to each other directly
- Others in the department have started taking sides
- Someone has reported health problems
- The manager is personally involved
- You have tried once, and it got worse
Frequently asked questions
What managers and safety representatives ask
A disagreement that has become personal and affects how people do their jobs. As long as the disagreement is about the issue and the parties are still talking, it is usually healthy.
Yes. The Working Environment Act requires employers to ensure a fully satisfactory psychosocial working environment. Letting a conflict run its course is not a neutral choice.
Yes. You can call and describe the situation without naming the organisation or the people involved. We are bound by confidentiality.
Yes. Safety representatives are often the first to see a conflict building up. We run separate sessions for safety representatives and AMU members.
Then we work to make it manageable. Some relationships never become good again, but two people can still work together professionally. That is also a result.