How to Handle Even the Most Difficult Employee Conflicts

When a group of people work together, there’s bound to be conflict. Whether it’s about working as a team, meeting their employer’s expectations or bringing personal issues to the workplace, conflicts will come up. These strategies can help you resolve these conflicts before they turn into major problems in a way that helps your company and your employees.

If you don’t try to resolve employee conflicts, you could face liability issues. More and more, courts and federal agencies are finding generally bad behavior a violation of the law. And if you, as the employer, know about the behavior and don’t try to stop it, courts may hold you responsible for it. Your employment policies can help you lay out how you’ll take action on employee conflicts.

What should your employee policies cover?

Bullying and abusive conduct

Thirty-five percent of U.S. workers said they have experienced workplace bullying, and another 31% report witnessing it. But only 3% of employers have policies that specifically address bullying.

Legislators are making moves to fight workplace bullying, so you need to make sure your policies keep up with new legislation. There’s no federal law addressing this, but 17 states have considered it in just the past year. California, Tennessee and Utah have passed laws with various degrees of severity, but they all encourage or require anti-bullying employee training. Tennessee’s law even protects employers from some lawsuits if they adopt an anti-bullying policy. Employers with operations in multiple states need to make sure they follow each state’s individual guidance on bullying prevention and abusive conduct.

Social media

Social media has become the preferred forum for employees to vent, and seven out of 10 Americans use it. This can lead to headlines, which can lead to lawsuits. If you want to discipline employees for social media posts, you need to put this in your policies. Make it clear that if an employee makes a post or statement that causes your company to be viewed in a negative light by other employees, consumers, vendors or the community, the employee may be subject to disciplinary action. Keep in mind that private employers have more discretion than public employers to take action against employees for social posts.

Complaints

Complaints should be made in writing. If an employee complains verbally to their supervisor or an HR representative, this person should take notes and ask the employee to review, modify and sign and date the document.

Mental health and stress-related issues

Throughout the pandemic, employers have seen a rise in mental health concerns and stress-related issues among their employees. The ADA allows employers to step in if:

• They reasonably believe an employee is experiencing a mental health or stress-related issue.
• The employee continuing to come to the workplace could create an environment that presents a danger to themselves or others.

In these cases, you can require an employee to undergo an evaluation, but all action steps need to be spelled out in your employee policies. You should also consult with counsel to make sure any mental health evaluation is in line with the ADA.

Download our tip sheet to learn 10 ways to settle employee conflicts before they lead to bigger problems, and contact LaToya Merritt or any member of Phelps’ Labor and Employment team if you have questions or need compliance advice or guidance.