This this includes over a quarter of employees (29%) who have had isolated disputes or clashes and a further one in four (28%) who report ongoing difficult relationships.  The CIPD is warning that managers have a key role to play in diffusing tensions early on as workplace conflict can have a major impact on employee wellbeing and business outcomes, with as many as one in ten employees leaving their organisation as a result.

The report, Getting Under the Skin of Workplace Conflict, found that conflict manifests itself in a number of ways at work, the most frequently cited one being lack of respect.  The most common cause of conflict is a clash of personality or working style (44%) rather than a conflict of interest as such.

Individual performance competence and target setting are also among the issues most likely to spark conflict, with promotions or contractual terms of employment being less influential.

The report found that there is a clear power differential at play with employees being most likely to perceive a lack of respect, bullying or harassment from their boss or other superiors and as many as 1 in 4 said that their line manager actively creates conflict.

An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) represents a proven, cost-effective solution and is an excellent support mechanism to help employees deal with life’s expected and unexpected issues. In simple terms, an ‘EAP’ is a 24 hour, 365 day CONFIDENTIAL telephone counselling service for your staff.  Please Contact Us for further details on how you can easily set up an EAP for your employees including, a cost-effective Pay-As-You-Use model.