Hi there! I am a human resources professional and some departments in my organization suffer from workplace conflict. The employees in these departments are often rude with one another and the atmosphere is tense, making it impossible for people to work normally. I want to know what makes a work environment hostile and how I can prevent this from happening. - Leila A.
Answer from Bayt.com:
People often use the terms ‘conflict’ and ‘hostility’ interchangeably, but there is a difference between them. Conflict in the workplace occurs at times when employees are misaligned, uncooperative and have differences in their approach to work. Conflict is part of our working life and often a way for us to work out our differences and reach a solution.
On the other hand, a workplace can turn into a bad and hostile environment when an individual or group of individuals make it impossible for other employees to do their job. This means that the offending individual has changed or altered the work environment in such a way that other employees are no longer able to work properly. Often a hostile work environment includes discriminatory remarks and behaviors, which can ultimately perpetuate a bad and unhealthy overall culture.
A human resources professional’s role is to minimize hostility and build a conducive and positive culture. With the right system in place, you can prevent the onset of a hostile work environment.
Here are five steps you could take to deal with hostility:
Hiring the right people for your company is the first step towards preventing hostility. You should hire people who share your values, mission and vision, instead of simply looking at their technical skills and past performance. You should always check for hostile behavior with previous employers before selecting candidates for your job vacancies. According to the Bayt.com ‘Skills and Hiring Trends in the MENA’ poll, January 2015, 84% of employers across the MENA conduct candidate reference checks before hiring. Having a team of like-minded individuals will lead to a more positive and productive work environment.
You should develop a company-wide policy against a hostile environment. This policy should clearly define what a hostile environment is and what it entails in terms of undesirable attitudes and behaviors. This policy must also describe the tolerance level for such behavior, such as ‘zero-tolerance’, ‘three-strikes’, and so forth. In many cases, managers or high performers are the individuals who create the hostility through workplace bullying, and most of the time the ‘bully’ is unaware of their destructive behavior.
The policy should clearly state a process for handling offenders and what disciplinary actions must be taken against them. It should list down scenarios, the level of tolerance for each scenario and the consequences. Punishment for creating a hostile environment could include employee suspension or even termination. Every scenario can have a different procedure for handling both the offender and the offended. Perhaps your company could have an internal jury to decide the outcome, or it could try to reach a mutually agreeable conclusion through mediation. You could look into the legal procedures in your country in the case of extreme situations.
Training employees on how to behave in the workplace is another effective way to avoid hostility at the workplace. In fact, 68% of respondents in the Bayt.com ‘Values, Ethics and Integrity in the MENA Workplace’ poll, June 2014, said that their company offers ethics-related training. First and foremost, training should be conducted for HR professionals on how to deal with such situations tactfully. They can then coach others on how to do the same. This coaching can be given to your employees during their initial orientation during which you could explain every aspect of your hostility policy.
Often, harassed employees fail to report hostile incidents because their companies do not have an effective reporting system in place. Any policy would be rendered ineffective if there is no proper way to report wrongdoings. The common steps include reporting to your direct manager who in turn reports the issue to the company’s HR department. If the situation cannot be resolved within the department, then it is imperative that the employee is able to go directly to the HR department or even top management, if necessary. Another way would be to have safe channels for employees to report any issues in an anonymous manner. This can be done through online portals, an anonymous mailbox system, or even through a designated person in the organization who is sworn to confidentiality.
