Conflict is a normal part of healthy relationships and of life. Whether it is at work, at home or in the community, we all experience conflict on a somewhat regular basis. Conflict started on the playground and continues throughout our lives. How we manage or de-escalate conflict makes all the difference in the outcome.
Conflict Management is the process of limiting the negative aspects of conflict while increasing the positive. The aim of conflict management is to enhance learning and craft better outcomes.
Whether we realize it or not, we all have a predisposition toward a primary conflict management style: competing, compromising, collaborating, avoiding, or accommodating. Learning about these styles and when to use them, along with effective communication strategies, will help us better manage conflict to improve outcomes.
Those who interact with the public, such as teachers, health care workers and others have special circumstances when dealing with conflict on the job. Conflict management with co-workers often must be set aside temporarily to focus on the task at hand. Once others are cared for, conflict management can begin.
If conflict or any other difficult emotion becomes too much, One Source EAP offers free and confidential help to sort through the challenges in life before they become crises.
Call One Source EAP at 800-300-0628. Calls are answered 24/7/365 and are completely confidential.
Six Ways to De-escalate Conflict
With practice, it is possible to diffuse a heated argument if you know how. Psychology Today lists the steps:
- Regulate your own emotions
- Acknowledge the feelings of the other person
- When emotions are running high, don’t try to fix the situation or problem-solve
- Stay present
- Model appropriate emotional regulation and self-control
- Once the situation is less escalated, then redirect and problem-solve
Learn more on Psychology Today.
One Source EAP Seminars Can Help Your Team Better Manage Conflict
One Source EAP provides seminars to help your team with Conflict Management and De-escalation skills, which can lead to more confident and empowered teams. Seminars such as “Conflict Resolution,“ and “De-escalating Hostile/Aggressive Incidents” can give your teams the skills to handle a variety of situations both within and outside of the workplace. Schedule a seminar for your team. Learn about the wide range of Seminar topics on our seminar page on The Bridge.
