employee disputes: what lies beneath
We’ve all been witness to them, ice cold at the Monday meeting, bad vibes in the office, something is amiss and then comes the complaint. “ He never replies to emails” “ She left me off that project again” It’s often perceived as petty, much like the kids at home , can’t they just get along for five minutes?
Easily resolved right, a quick word, a light HR touch and back to plain sailing. But where did it come from in the first place? Time for some real talk - employee disputes are just the tip of the iceberg. It’s what’s underneath that you need to be concerned with.
What Lies Beneath
Not just an excellent ’90s thriller, but what you really need to explore. Underneath that passive-aggressive Slack message, could be months of resentment; the complaint is often the final act in a long-running silent war about recognition, inclusion or some other blurred boundary.
Disputes rarely occur about the small or ‘petty’ things, it’s the big things that are the drivers. Workload, favouritism, poor communication, lack of feedback, feeling invisible, it’s not an exhaustive list, but you get where we’re going here.
And when you don’t see these signs, things can escalate. Fast.
Treat the symptom, not the cause
If that complaint has landed in your inbox, some of the damage is already done. Managers often spot behaviour change but hope it’ll sort itself out, after all, there’s enough to deal with - but conflict rarely resolves itself, positions harden, teams take sides and productivity drops.
Mediation can help, and so can formal grievance procedures, but they’re both ‘after the fact ’; by the time you’re there, you’re firefighting. Prevention is key
Train leaders to spot early signs of friction
Create spaces for honest safe conversations
Listen when someone says (or shows) they’re unhappy
Look beneath the ‘little things’ to see what else is really going on.
And remember…
Every dispute has a back story, it’s rarely about what’s said out loud, it’s about what’s not. So next time things seem be kicking off over nothing, ask yourself ‘ What’s really going on here’