Interpersonal conflict at work is widespread, but managers can avoid workplace ‘fracas’ by diffusing tension early on.

Research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the professional body for HR and people development, highlights that one in three UK employees have experienced some form of interpersonal conflict at work in the last year. This includes one in four who have had isolated disputes or clashes and a further one in four who report ongoing difficult relationships.

The CIPD is warning that mangers have a key role to play in diffusing tensions early on as workplace conflict can have a major impact on employee wellbeing and productivity, 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, according to 61% of respondents. Alarmingly, one in every 25 respondents who had experienced conflict at work in the last year, said that they had experienced the threat of or actual physical assault at work. The CIPD is urging employers to build an organizational culture that supports positive working relationships and channels which mean that any workplace conflicts can be dealt with early on before it escalates and becomes unmanageable.

When conflict does arise at work, it’s most often perceived as being with line managers or other superiors (36%) rather than with direct reports (10%), highlighting the important influence of the power balance in how conflict is experienced. In other words, the junior person in the relationship is more likely to identify the issue as a problem, while the senior person either didn’t identify it as a problem in the first place or sees it as having been resolved. 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.

Jonny Gifford, Research Adviser at the CIPD, said: “All too often, employers brush workplace conflict aside, putting it down to a difference of opinion, but it’s clear that it has a serious impact on our working relationships, wellbeing and productivity. Line managers have a crucial role to play here. For the most part they are seen as a positive influence in helping to create strong, healthy team relationships, but there’s still a clear case for developing managers and providing them with the skills they need. We need managers who can both build robust teams, where challenges can be made in a non-threatening way, and nip conflict in the bud before it has the chance to escalate. These are not generally seen as part of a core skills set for line managers and that view needs to change.”