A diverse workplace is composed of various types of personalities and that may sometimes create some friction between co-workers or with the boss. If such conflicts remain unchecked, they may result in bigger workplace issues, which can be harder to resolve.
Conflict arises in every workplace at some point in time. Leaders should be proactive in solving such conflicts so they do not affect employee morale and productivity.
Here is a list of some common workplace issues that employees face along with their possible solution:
You are overloaded with work
There are times when the workload increases suddenly, and there’s no one to blame. Tasks are assigned to you when you already have too much on your plate and you need to pick between getting things done and the quality of work.
Solution: Talk about this with your manager, because your manager may not be aware of your situation. Inform that how workload has increased tremendously since few days or weeks and how you are assigned tasks that need to be done without compromising any of the pre-assigned ones. Your manager may help you prioritize your tasks, and if not, prioritize them yourself and let her approve it.
Your boss resigned or is fired
Your boss who truly appreciated your work or who helped you make your projects successful is going to leave, which makes you worry that her replacement won’t be a good fit. You are worried that you and your new boss might not share the same vision that you used to with your former boss.
Solution: Don’t panic. There is a possibility that your new boss will be as good as your old boss. So, before you actually interact or work with your new boss, don’t make any dire moves. Pre-judging someone just because she is replacing your favourite boss won’t help, so it is better to just keep calm and know by yourself when you start dealing with the new boss.
You run into conflict with a difficult co-worker
It’s not that you haven’t tried to be nice, but somehow you keep running into conflict with one of the difficult co-worker. And this is making it impossible for both of you to work on the same project.
Solution: First of all, let go the ego that is hurting the equation. Take note of something that your colleague might be doing to make your job easier and if you find such points, thank or compliment them for their contribution. This might help in the long run.
But if it doesn’t work, you should know that difficult people’s behavior is about them and not about you. You won’t be able to eliminate such people from the workplace, so it is better to remain calm and composed in front of such people.
There are several other workplace issues that are addressed in our section Q&A with Jane.