How to Navigate Conflict in the Workplace

This blog will share three tips on how to navigate conflict in the workplace. Conflict in the workplace can mean a number of things, from toxic leadership to problematic coworkers. You may experience conflict if your boundaries or needs are not being acknowledged. You might be experiencing a combination of these factors as well.

 

Overall, this can make for an unsatisfactory experience at your workplace. As a result of this, you may feel frustrated, burnt out, and wanting to seek out better opportunities for yourself. It can feel easier to leave things behind without advocating for yourself. However, being able to develop and maintain this skill is essential, as it can apply to other areas of your life.

 

When you are able to recognize your needs and communicate them, you can feel more self-respect, increased self-esteem, and decreased anxiety. It can be scary denying something or saying “no”, especially if you have a tendency to attend to others’ needs over your own. 

 

Here we will share three tips for navigating conflict in the workplace: (1) Be assertive for your needs (2) Set boundaries with yourself and others, and (3) Reflect on your self-worth. With these three tips, you can grow in your skill of advocating for yourself and your needs. You may also find that in an environment that discourages you from doing so, that you are better off finding a workplace that you feel safe and comfortable in.

 

Individual therapy in Simi Valley, CA provides you with a space to reflect upon and discuss concerns related to your workplace. Our therapists will guide you through understanding what is best for you and your mental health needs, while providing a space to relieve stress.

 

It is common to feel that speaking up about your needs is unnecessary or a burden. However, your needs do matter, and should be a priority in your workplace. Consider consulting with a therapist to understand ways you can discuss your concerns with an employer.

 

 

Make sure to check out our blog on 3 Benefits of Individual Therapy.

 

How to Navigate Conflict in the Workplace: Being assertive for your needs

Being assertive for your needs can be accomplished through different ways. First, you can communicate and be assertive through writing a letter to your employer, speaking with them over the phone, or going into their office to speak with them directly. 

 

It’s important to clearly communicate your needs with key details and reasons for what you are seeking from the employer. For example, if you are seeking a raise, you’ll want to highlight that you have been there for a certain amount of time, you have accomplished specific goals, and believe you have contributed to a high level of success in the company.

 

Alongside financial needs, you may also want to change your work schedule or work setting. Perhaps your availability has changed and you are now needing to work different hours or days. There may also be a need for working from home on certain days, requesting more hours in your schedule, and more.

 

When advocating for changes, explain why they are necessary or will be beneficial for you. It could turn out that these changes could be beneficial for the workplace as a whole as well. While it can feel intimidating to speak about these, it’s important to make your best efforts. 

 

Anxiety therapy in Simi Valley, CA provides you with tools to make decisions and take action based on difficult feelings or situations you may find yourself in. This can look like developing coping skill sets, for example.

 

One way to practice being assertive for your needs is looking yourself in the mirror and saying them out loud. You can also write them down in their entirety, or practice holding a conversation with a friend or family member who can act as your employer. 

 

 

Make sure to check out our blog on Signs It’s Time to Start Anxiety Therapy.

 

How to Navigate Conflict in the Workplace: Setting boundaries with yourself and others

Setting boundaries with yourself and others is a crucial skill to develop and maintain. With that being said, it’s not always easy to. Your boss asks you to stay later than your availability to continue working on a project, for example. While a part of you would rather go home and begin making dinner, you feel an obligation, or fear of making your boss upset, so you stay later than you can or feel comfortable with.

 

Boundaries with others include your availability during office hours, your unavailability outside of office hours, or an inability to work overtime or pick up extra shifts frequently. This can be clearly communicated through written communication or speaking with them directly, to lay out the specifics of your availability for work or being contacted. 

 

Boundaries with yourself can include not taking on additional work or extra jobs you don’t have time for. An example is if your manager is needing you to go to another office or store, but it would take longer than your scheduled shift is set for. You would politely state that it would go past your scheduled shift, and you cannot do it at this time.

 

An important boundary with yourself is also not tolerating any misbehavior from fellow employees or your boss themselves. Misbehavior can range anywhere from microaggressions about your ethnicity or sexuality, to crude jokes that are insulting, to physical or sexual harassment. In these instances, it is appropriate to seek outside help or practical support such as a legal consult or union representatives.

 

Trauma therapy in Simi Valley, CA works from a trauma-informed perspective – meaning our therapists implement foundational understanding of how trauma influences the body, mind, and connections to others.

 

If you feel that you are constantly needing to reinstate your boundaries with others, it may be a sign that your needs are not being acknowledged or respected in the workplace. Working with an individual therapist will provide you with the tools to understand what steps need to be taken for the benefit of your well-being.

 

Make sure to check out our blog on 5 Tips for College Students.

 

How to Navigate Conflict in the Workplace: Reflecting on your self-worth 

Reflecting on your self-worth in the workplace is something that you can do on a regular basis. Highlight your strengths and abilities through positive self-talk, affirmations and mantras, and more. Reflect on and recognize what you bring to the workplace.

 

It’s also important that our employers and coworkers appreciate your efforts as well. There may be times where you feel unheard or unseen for your actions or efforts. It could be that someone else takes credit for your work. This can leave you feeling frustrated, resentful, disappointed, or upset.

 

While it’s not always a feasible thing to “just go get another job”, it can be seen as an alternative option. Whether you have been with a company for a number of years, or you are a few months in, you may experience treatment that leaves you feeling uncomfortable.

 

There are businesses, companies, and organizations out there that will truly value you and prioritize your needs as they come up. You deserve fair, respectable, and good treatment at your place of work. 

 

It can feel scary considering leaving a job, especially one that may bring in stable and consistent income. You also may not be in a place where you can physically or financially be unemployed, due to living situations, having a family, a lack of transportation, and more factors. 

 

There are actions you can take now for coping with your current work environment, or finding ways to make any issues known, such as to a human resources representative. If your job does not have one, you and your therapist can work together to brainstorm resolutions or ways to cope with your current situation.

 

You do not have to navigate conflict at the workplace alone. Consider seeking out an individual therapist to provide you with guidance and support for coping with your situation, or finding alternative resolutions such as leaving your workplace.

 

Make sure to check out our blog on Therapy: Where to Start.

 

Consider calling our therapy group at (805) 774-1506 for a free and transparent consultation on how you can get started in parenting therapy, individual therapy, or family counseling! Our intake coordinator will guide you to finding the best fit service and therapist for your needs.

 

Seek out a validating, safe environment with us today. We will help you get to where you want to be. Our therapists provide teen therapy, individual adult therapy, LGBTQIA+ therapy, anxiety therapy, depression therapy, family therapy, and more in-office in Simi Valley, CA.