4 Tips on How to Solve Issues Between Co-Workers

It is almost inevitable that your business will have some employees that don’t get along well. A difference in opinions, personalities, lifestyles or various other factors can prevent two people from building a good rapport. This can often lead to discord, which can affect everybody at the workplace. Worst case scenario: it can negatively impact the productivity of your business.

While it may be too ambitious to believe that you can solve the issue, there are certain things you can do to keep the situation under control. If you try to handle the situation constructively, you may be able to turn it into a healthy competition to enhance creativity and innovation.

1. Nature of The Conflict: Often, when two people have issues, people around them jump to conclusions about the nature of the conflict without trying to understand the actual problem. This is generally based on their own assumptions, stereotypes, and other invalid factors. Instead, try to understand what is causing the disagreement between the employees, making it easier to resolve the conflict.
    
2. Encourage Them to Solve the Issue: As a leader, you must keep things running as smoothly as possible. However, you aren’t required to go around solving every minor issue that arises within the company. At first, you should try to encourage your employees to work things out on their own. Provide some guidance on how to tackle their issue, and then ask them to go forward themselves.
    
3. Listen to Both Parties: If they cannot solve things on their own, it may be time to intervene. Listen to both the parties intently. You don’t want your employees to think you’re playing favorites, do you? Once you have a better idea about both of their differing views, you’ll be better able to tackle the issue.
    
4. Find a Solution: After you have the whole picture of the situation, bring both the employees together and work towards finding a solution. Remember that you aren’t encouraging them to become best friends. Instead, you want to find a middle ground where the two can co-exist without causing any more significant issues within the company.

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