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Workplace Conflicts in a Crisis

All along I had a strong feeling that with these lockdowns, the rate of domestic violence and crimes would go up. To my surprise, I recently found that this wave of interrelation conflicts didn’t just strike homes but also the business world.

Visiting two of my clients with whom we had established harmonized teams before lockdown, I noticed a change in behavior and performance as some employees seemed to be stressed by this pandemic situation.

As employees try to live with the constant uncertainty and the continuous requirement to adapt to new conditions, tensions in relationships become more prominent, and mismatches in personality become more visible. The team members who don’t take full responsibility for their functions create friction and frustrations for those who have to cover for them, which leads to loss of motivation and an unpleasant working atmosphere.

On top of that, working remotely demands a higher level of communication. In a normal face to face meeting without masks, one might easily notice when a point is not well understood and address the issue with minimum damage. However, in a remote working situation, one idea that is poorly communicated through email or any other platform might cause latent conflicts or frustrations.

And indeed just like a virus, the consequences of conflicts can also be rampant. A poor organization in one company affects other companies working on the same project. This amplifies tensions in the companies causing ineffectiveness and unproductiveness.

Fortunately, by walking along and working with managers, some have now been able to get back to their driver’s seat. Solving problems and situations that were pulling them down and making the horizon even clearer.

Thus, understanding that employees’ engagement has been shaken by this crisis is key to restoring a clean-cut path to a company’s recovery. The commitment of the business owner to employees remains essential. Surely support within the company should be offered to solve the collateral damages caused by the lockdown but also supporting other companies with which one works with shouldn’t be ignored.

No Peace – No Business

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