Is workplace conflict hurting your facility?

Did your New Year’s hope for a more harmonious workplace in 2013 crumble into conflict before January ended?

A news release promoting a book titled The Exchange Strategy for Managing Conflict in Health Care (McGraw-Hill) says the health profession in general has always been stressful: “Think high-stakes work, too many patients, overwhelmed employees. It all adds up to lots of potential conflict, and that’s bad news for patient care, safety, and satisfaction.”

And with health reform now tying payment for services to multiple measures of quality, conflict management within organizations may prove more important than ever, argue book authors Steven Dinkin, Barbara Filner and Lisa Maxwell. Their book outlines a trademarked four-stage conflict resolution process in healthcare organizations that emphasizes being proactive with employees and using sound communication skills.

Here are a few of the authors’ conflict resolution tips:

·        Choose a leader in resolving a dispute who is well-respected by both parties—and is preferably someone of slightly higher rank who works in the same area of the organization.

·        If you’re in the position of resolving a conflict, use positive and easy-to-understand language that isn’t simply regurgitated from the human resources manual.

·        In coming up with a solution, use five “Ds”: Define, Discuss, Determine Interests, Decide, and Document. On the latter, the authors say “everyone should be clear about the documentation and know where it will be kept and who will have access to it.”  

Is workplace conflict a significant problem in your organization, and what steps are most commonly taken to address it? How well are they working? Let us know what you’ve experienced.