How do you know if you've a problem?

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There are some signs to look out for when it comes to spotting conflict within your business, and we’re not talking about listening out for bickering in the kitchen at lunchtime:

1. Staff stop going the extra mile
Keep an eye out for staff who used to go above and beyond and have recently taken a backseat. Perhaps they’ve stopped volunteering information in meetings, missed a few deadlines or take extended lunch breaks. It could be that something’s changed in their home life, or it could be they've lost trust in their manager or their colleague - and are either too afraid or too disengaged to speak up.
In Simon Sinek’s TED talk on “why good leaders make you feel safe”, he discusses panama phone number resource the importance of trust. Stating that “when the people feel safe and protected by the leadership in the organization, the natural reaction is to trust and cooperate.”

He explains that “when a leader makes the choice to put the safety and lives of the people inside the organization first, to sacrifice their comforts and sacrifice the tangible results, so that the people remain and feel safe and feel like they belong, remarkable things happen.”

If the working conditions are wrong, staff are forced to expend their own time and energy on issues outside of their job role. When they feel well looked after, they will work harder towards achieving the goals of your organisation.

2. Sickness levels escalate
Workplace conflict can lead to mental health issues, which are a huge concern for UK business and account for 70 million sick days a year according to Unum.
Have you noticed a pattern of absence in certain parts of your business? If so, don't ignore it. There are a now affordabale, easy-to-manage HR systems on the market for smaller businesses - like those provided by Cezanne HR Software - that can help you dig deeper and track absence figures using dashboards, making this issue more visible.

However, it’s important to remember that there is still a stigma attached to mental health, leading to employees misreporting the reasons behind their absence due to the perception that they will damage their future career prospects by taking time off with stress.