Posted on: Monday, May 13, 2002

60 SECONDS ON BUSINESS
Conflict resolution a must-have skill

By Dr. Drake Beil
President, Solution Inc.

When was the last time you had an argument, a fight, or a disagreement at work? Remember the feelings associated and how long they lasted? The negative elements of conflict within a company can be pretty expensive and can stay with you for a long time.

Even minor conflicts have been known to interfere with productivity and more than 11 million workers report health-endangering levels of stress at work. Along with the more publicized incidents of workplace violence, recent estimates put the costs of depression alone at $47 billion a year in disability claims. Add that to the costs of stress-related claims, absenteeism, sick leave overuse, and accidents caused by carelessness and distraction, and you can see why conflict management is everybody's business.

Of all the people skills, conflict management is one of the keys to success and a healthy workplace. While people focus on the job part of the work because it's easier to manage, it's the people part of the work that is more important to master.

Most of us think of conflict and negative connotations appear in our minds, just like I had you imagine earlier. Well the first thing to understand about managing conflict is that it has good elements too! It does not always have to be feared and avoided.

In fact, it may be inevitable, so you might as well get good handling it. Conflict resolutions often contain improvements that have been needed; they build bridges where only walls existed, and it's an opportunity where people can distinguish themselves under pressure and perform exceptionally well.

Reach Dr. Drake Beil at drake@60secondsonbusiness.