How to resolve a conflict at work if you disagree with your boss

One way or another, the labor conflict cannot be hushed up. But not all workers can speak directly about the problem: many are afraid that they will be fired for this, that they will have their wages reduced or they will be deprived of their bonuses. However, dealing with such complexities is necessary if you want to work in a comfortable atmosphere.

Actions by the employee

In any conflict situation, the employee should try to establish contact with the manager himself. The main rule in this case: never argue in public. It is better to talk in private, discuss the problem that has arisen and voice your vision.

How should an employee deal with a conflict?

There are open conflicts when a manager scolds an employee in front of everyone. Most often, this shows the incompetence of the boss. In this case, the employee must not succumb to provocations and openly show that he is ready to smooth out sharp corners.

If a closed conflict has occurred between the manager and the employee, that is, tension is felt, but the exact reasons for this are unknown, it will be more difficult to resolve it. Be sure to get into a direct conversation, understand what the cause of the problem is, and build on it.

One of the methods for resolving a conflict issue is to turn to a third party who will help eliminate the misunderstanding that has arisen. Another employee, a psychologist or a person who is not interested in the benefit of one of the parties can act as such a person.

Note that the employee, in turn, is important to take the position of the listener. Do not make excuses, but simply listen to the opinion of the leader. This will help to look at the conflict from a different angle.

What to do if the boss finds fault with personal qualities

It happens that the boss reacts emotionally to moments that are not directly related to the work of the employee. If the boss is adequate, he can say without aggression: “In our company, everyone wears shirts, and you wear a T-shirt. We don’t officially have a dress code, but I would like you to maintain the image of the team.”

If an employee likes his work and wants to resolve the conflict, it will not be difficult for him to change his T-shirt for a shirt. But if this does not happen, a real war may begin, where there will definitely be a winner and, of course, a loser. And the employee has more risks: he may lose his job. So always be prepared to negotiate.

How to communicate with different types of leaders

If the boss is serious, likes to structure everything and appreciates being respected, then it is best to say: “Mikhail Alexandrovich, I have completed all the tasks and now I would like to talk with you” – and move on to a dialogue.

The boss will understand that the subordinate is responsible not only for work, but also for the conflict, wants to resolve it and is ready to listen to his boss.

If your boss is authoritarian and does not like open disobedience, everything is quite simple: “he said – he did it.” High-quality performance of tasks without unnecessary disputes and questions is already a small guarantee that there will be no conflicts. You will have to communicate according to the scheme “I am the boss, you are the performer.” But he is unlikely to make unfounded claims.

When the boss is fighting for efficiency, he needs to show the results of the work, to fulfill the plan. It happens that the boss does not care what time the employee came, how he is dressed, etc., the main thing is that he does his job well. Efficiency in this case also helps to avoid conflicts.

And sometimes the leader is not interested in the product itself, but how and how many people work. Therefore, the time and quality of the workflow is the key to mutual understanding. If an employee understands that he cannot or does not want to leave the position, then he needs to learn how to work with his supervisor.

If the boss sees that he has an excellent specialist in front of him, whom he does not want to lose, then he will have an incentive to work on himself – to learn to understand that all people have different values. And a job well done by you will reduce the risk of someone not liking your T-shirt.

What can a leader do

How to identify labor conflicts

• Offer employees to start an internal chat (without management). Here they freely discuss what they cannot discuss at work.
• Anonymous polls. They can be carried out, for example, in Google forms. Ask the team to evaluate from 1 to 10 the salary, job responsibilities, the professionalism of the boss, the conditions in the office. Anonymously subordinates will be able to say more.
• Anonymous messages. Once a month, employees can send notes with current problems to the manager. His task is to think about how to solve them.
• Live communication. The boss allocates time when employees can discuss with him not work tasks, but organizational and household ones. This will increase the level of understanding in the team. It is important that both the team and the management do not create the illusion that everything is fine.

Who should do it

Ideally, feedback from employees should be collected by HR, if any. If not, the one who is responsible for the internal policy of the company. It happens, for example, that the manager himself wants to know about the emotional state of his department.

In addition, psychologists should be involved in the process. They will help determine whether the employees have accumulated aggression towards the boss or, conversely, the boss towards his subordinates.

For example, in my student’s company there is a psychologist with whom employees share their problems. He, in turn, has the right to tell the authorities about the subjects of conversations. It helps to resolve internal conflicts.