1Over the years, attitudes towards workers have changed considerably.
2After all, there was a time when workers had no rights at all, and laboured in appalling conditions.
3Conditions have improved a lot, but conflict in the workplace is still common.
4And human resources managers nowadays need to be able to deal with it when necessary.
5What is conflict in the workplace?
6Definitions vary, but I'm taking it to refer to a whole range of behaviours that the victim finds unacceptable,
7from minor, harmless arguments to - at the opposite extreme - physical violence.
8Much of this is covered by the term bullying,
9by which I mean one or more people behaving abusively or aggressively against another who is in a weaker position.
10Although all behaviour like this is a form of conflict, not all conflict can be described in these terms.
11As with all human behaviour, there are numerous reasons for it.
12But often it's caused by someone who feels the need to show their superiority over someone else,
13in order to feel that they aren't at the lowest level in a hierarchy or a group of people.
14In some cases one person simply dislikes the other,
15on the basis that the personality of one is in some way incompatible with that of the other person.
16A general habit of optimism in one person could make them intolerant of a colleague who's constantly pessimistic -
17not that that justifies treating them badly, of course.
18Some conflicts arise when people are more interested in promoting themselves and their team than in the company as a whole.
19These conflicts are called 'structural',
20and could come about, for example, when a sales team believe they are the only people in the business who do any useful work,
21and look down on behind-the-scenes administrators.
22Conflict obviously affects the individuals concerned -
23the situation is likely to be very stressful for victims,
24resulting in their absence from work, possibly for months.
25For the company, if no effort is made to deal with conflict,
26it can spiral out of control, and even lead to the breakdown of the business.
27Some interesting work with chief executives - CEOs -
28has uncovered some of the reasons why they may treat colleagues badly.
29Many CEOs combine two opposing characteristics:
30confidence - that is, the belief that they're capable of great achievements - with a high level of anxiety,
31a fear of missing targets, whether set by themselves or by the directors of the company.
32This combination can make them respond badly to anyone who questions their decisions.
33In a high pressure work environment, such characteristics become problematic.
34And it's particularly difficult to tackle the situation
35where colleagues, managers and board members are all trying to achieve their own visions.
36When they can't agree on strategic issues and on where they see the business going,
37there are real problems.
38For managers at lower levels within the organisation,
39it might seem that an autocratic form of management -
40where the chief executive gives orders and everyone else has to obey -
41would see more conflict than others.
42Interestingly, though, a company with a more democratic business model, can suffer more,
43when uncertainty about who to report to leads to conflicting demands.
44Now I'll say a little about dealing with the type of conflict that has harmful effects.
45Of course the ideal is to prevent it arising in the first place.
46A good manager, at any level, will make efforts to earn the respect of the people they work with,
47particularly those who report to them.
48That will involve politeness in all communications,
49and treating them as equals who happen to have a different role within the organisation.
50Sometimes, of course, conflict does occur, and can get out of hand.
51In such cases the human resources department often gets involved.
52However, if one of the parties in a conflict sees human resources as simply a mouthpiece for the chief executive,
53then an external mediator might be able to help.
54By talking to both sides, and trying to find the truth of what's been happening,
55they can build a clear picture of the situation,
56and give feedback that both sides will accept,
57precisely because they're independent.