Principal Research Fellow Professor Richard Saundry and Professor of Applied Economics Peter Urwin have co-authored a new policy briefing evaluating the costs of workplace conflict across Northern Ireland, which recommends a focus on early intervention and improved training for managers.
This briefing, entitled Managerial Capability – Minimising the Costs of Workplace Conflict in Northern Ireland, was conducted through ReWAGE, an advisory group co-chaired by the University of Warwick and University of Leeds.
ReWAGE analyses new work and employment research to advise the UK government on challenges facing the UK’s productivity and prosperity, including COVID-19, the cost-of-living crisis and labour shortages. This briefing was based on research funded by the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas).
Professors Saundry and Urwin found that 37% of workers in Northern Ireland experience conflict each year, at a cost of £851 million annually. The costs associated with workplace conflict include informal resolution or early intervention, mediation, loss of productivity, time off work, formal procedures, dismissal and resignation and litigation.
ReWAGE’s policy briefing compares the costs of failed conflict resolution and resolving conflict early. It concludes that early intervention, such as informal discussion and mediation, is crucial to effective workplace conflict management.
These kinds of intervention both minimise costs to the organisation and reduce the mental health impact of conflict on employees. The briefing emphasises that managers in particular need training to effectively intervene in workplace conflicts.
Professor Saundry said: “Managers play a crucial role in conflict and resolution. If managers don't have the necessary skills, competence, abilities or space to resolve issues and have good conversations with their staff, that can cause conflict. That can then create costs for organisations, government, and the country as a whole. If you have good management, on the other hand, you can actually minimise those costs. It's either a vicious circle or a virtuous one depending on whether an organisation has poorly skilled or effective managers.”
The ReWAGE policy briefing made several recommendations for reducing workplace conflict. It emphasised that Northern Ireland employers need to move their focus away from procedure and compliance in conflict resolution and encourage early and informal resolution. It also recommended that the effective management of workplace conflict should be a core element of organisational strategy, and that employers should prioritise development of fundamental management skills needed to prevent, contain and resolve conflict at work.
Professor Urwin said: “Workplace conflict can create stress, anxiety, and depression, and cost a business financially. It’s clear from this research that effective and early conflict management not only improves the wellbeing of workers, but also maximises productivity and saves organisations money.”
Professors Saundry and Urwin previously authored a policy briefing on workplace conflict across the UK titled The Cost of Conflict at Work and Its Impact on Productivity, which found that workplace conflict costs UK employers almost £30 billion annually. The study explains why early intervention and investment in managerial skills are the key to bringing costs down in the workplace.
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