Page 227 - The City and Guilds Textbook: Plumbing Book 1 for the Level 3 Apprenticeship (9189), Level 2 Technical Certificate (8202) and Level 2 Diploma (6035)

Chapter 4 Planning and supervision

In all these cases, you should always show respect for the other person in the way
in which you communicate. Keeping your body language open and engaged, with
good eye contact, will help you to judge how the information is being received.

Conflicts in the workplace

When people work together in groups, there will be occasions when individuals
disagree and conflicts occur. Whether these disagreements become full-blown
feuds or instead fuel creative problem solving is, in large part, up to the person
in charge. Conflicts can occur for many reasons, such as:

l unfair working conditions
l unfair pay structures
l clashes of personality
l language differences
l ethnic differences.

VALUES AND BEHAVIOURS

It is important to deal with workplace conflicts quickly and effectively as,
if left unchecked, they can affect morale, motivation and productivity, and
potentially cause stress and even serious accidents.

Conflicts may occur between:
IMPROVE YOUR
l employer and employee – may need union involvement or some form of ENGLISH
mediation Reaching an agreement
l two or more employees – will need employer intervention through discussion is
l customer and employer – may need intervention by a professional body known as ‘negotiation’.
l customer and employee – will need employer intervention.
Dealing with workplace conflicts

There are several ways in which your employer may deal with disagreements.
They should:
l identify the problem – make sure everyone involved knows exactly what
the issue is, and why they are arguing; talking through the problem helps
everyone to understand that there is a problem and what the issues are
l allow every person involved to clarify their perspectives and opinions about
the problem – they should make sure that everyone has an opportunity to
express their opinion; they may even establish a time limit for each person to
state their case; all participants should feel safe and supported
l identify and clarify the ideal end result from each person’s point of view
l work out what can reasonably be done to achieve each person’s objectives
l find an area of compromise to see if there is some part of the issue on which
everyone agrees; if not, they may try to identify long-term goals that mean
something to all parties.

215

9781510416482.indb 215 29/03/19 8:56 PM