The role of the supervisor in a work community conflict — Why should you intervene and where to get help?

Conflicts in the work community are part of working life, and addressing them is an important task for supervisors. Unresolved, prolonged conflicts can impair the efficiency of work, the well-being of employees and even lead to inappropriate treatment or harassment.

Why does the supervisor need to intervene in conflicts? — Required by the law and the employees' well-being

The Occupational Safety and Health Act requires the employer to ensure the safety and health of employees at work. This also includes psychological and social stress. The supervisor must intervene in a conflict situation when:

• it disrupts the work or prevents the achievement of targets.
• it affects the well-being, motivation or job satisfaction of employees.
• it threatens to turn into inappropriate treatment or harassment.

If someone already feels that they are the target of harassment or inappropriate behaviour, the supervisor must intervene immediately — investigating inappropriate treatment or harassment is a statutory obligation of the supervisor.

Conflicts can start with small differences of opinion, but if they are not addressed, they can expand and become more personal. They can also indicate deeper problems in the performance of work, management or flow of information. By intervening in good time, the supervisor can prevent the situation from getting worse and support the functioning of the work community.

Supervisor's first steps in a conflict

Addressing conflicts can seem challenging, but you can start the process gradually:

1. Discuss: Discuss the issue with those involved, first individually and then together. The most important thing is to maintain the perspective of work and well-being.
2. Investigate: Try to understand what the problem is, who it affects, how it affects the work and what are the background factors to the conflict.
3. Find solutions: Find solutions with the parties and agree on roles and responsibilities for implementing the measures.
4. Follow: Agree on the follow-up of the issue and its schedule.

Remember that even in a conflict situation, there are always two sides to a story. Listen impartially and actively.

Support from occupational health care — You are not alone!

The supervisor does not need to solve or reconcile all conflicts alone. Conflicts in the work community are often stressful and take a lot of time and effort. Occupational health care provides expert help and support for dealing with these issues.

Occupational health care services can be used in many ways:

• Investigating and analysing the issue: Occupational health care can help you analyse the situation and consider how to proceed. Investigating the issue from a work-oriented perspective involves examining the problems of working together with the parties to the conflict and supervisors, which increases understanding and helps find solutions.
• Mediation: Occupational psychologists can act as impartial mediators. The mediator does not offer ready-made solutions, but steers the process so that the parties can find a mutual understanding and solution.
• Supervisor consultation: An occupational psychologist's support is an accessible form of support in challenging HR situations. It helps the supervisor to deal with acute leadership issues and provides support for speaking up.
• Prevention: Occupational health care can also support the development of the work community’s interaction and cooperation skills through coaching, which prevents conflicts from arising.

It is a good idea to seek external help if the supervisor is part of the conflict, is not sufficiently impartial, has already tried to solve the situation or otherwise feels that they need additional support. Although the employer always remains responsible for investigating the situation and taking the necessary measures, occupational health care provides valuable expertise and support at different stages of the process.

Specialist consulted for the article: Occupational Psychologist Maaret von Wright.