Working relationships: avoiding rivalry at work

Previous research from Totaljobs found that 6 in 10 UK workers have someone they consider to be a ‘work enemy’. While ‘enemy’ may seem a strong word, the impact poor working relationships can have on a team and department shouldn’t be underestimated.

We found that over three-quarters of people who say that they have a poor relationship with a team member claim that as a result, they are not happy with their job. In turn, 30% of them believe their performance has dropped due to their workplace rivalry.

In this article we’ll explore more about why this is such a risk for organisations and how employers can resolve tensions between employees to get everyone back on track.

The dangers of workplace rivalries

Our research identified some of the key problems with having too many disagreements amongst colleagues at work, such as:

• Staff turnover: With 70% of employees reporting that workplace conflicts lead them to job hunt and 16% resigning directly due to poor relationships, workplace rivalries can significantly impact retention rates. This creates additional recruitment costs and loss of institutional knowledge.
• Reduced engagement and productivity: More than 75% of employees reported decreased job satisfaction when dealing with work conflict, with 30% admitting a direct drop in their performance. This loss of engagement and productivity isn’t only impacting individuals, but the overall team dynamics and business results too.
• Increased absenteeism: Nearly 20% of employees admitted to calling in sick to avoid workplace conflicts, leading to an increase in needing to deal with absenteeism, subsequently putting extra pressure on other team members.
• Communication breakdown: When workplace rivalries develop, information sharing often suffers as individuals withhold knowledge or avoid collaboration.
• Toxic culture: This conflict can lead to a toxic culture in a workplace, which extends way beyond the experience of the two warring employees.

How to deal with workplace rivalries

Rivalries at work are inevitable now and again. The key is to understand how and why they arise, and take action to make sure there are no long-term consequences.

Here are some of the steps you can take to nip conflicts in the bud and ensure a happy and productive working environment.

Understand where conflicts arise

We found that most workers have a colleague that they don’t see eye to eye with, and in many cases this person is a team member.

It can be true that familiarity can breed contempt, and our findings show that those of a similar age, gender and seniority are the most likely to be the source of frustration.

This suggests that rivalry can be the hotbed of these disagreements. Interestingly, some 85% of people claim that these difficult relationships started out well, before sharply deteriorating. We also found that more than 60% of UK workers gave the same two reasons for disliking a colleague:

• Because they are prone to “bending the truth to make themselves look good”
• And they “comment on others’ work performance”

Offer training and development opportunities

If rivalry is often to blame, it’s clear that an open, flat and fair company structure could help remedy such an issue.

By readily affording all staff opportunities such as learning and development, employers can avoid peers becoming opponents. This can ensure that workers can focus on their own career progression and go down a personalised learning path.

Establish clear performance metrics

One of the key causes of workplace competition or rivalry can be around recognition and taking credit for work.

To address this, employers should ensure transparent and objective performance measures in place and that managers are on top of the work their reports are responsible for, as this can help to reduce the risk of any perceived favouritism or unfairness.

A good time to roll out these metrics if they aren’t already in place could be during performance reviews or salary reviews. Make sure any changes are clearly communicated and consistently applied across teams, with regular reviews to ensure they remain relevant and fair.

This approach could also help managers to identify and address potential conflicts early, nipping them in the bud at the first sign of trouble.

Implement meditation protocols

If initial attempts to solve the dispute don’t work, you could consider a more formal mediation process.

This could mean bringing in a third party to facilitate constructive talks between the employees who are involved. Mediation can help to resolve conflicts, prevent future escalation, and even improve team dynamics over the long-term.

Facilitate open communication

Employers should promote open discussions where concerns can be raised and discussed without fear of reprisals.

While ignoring the issue can be tempting, communication is key to any healthy relationship. This is supported by 1 in 4 people claiming that relations improved after discussing the issue. For managers, the focus should always be to manage these conversations and ensure that negative effects such as bullying and isolation are avoided at all costs.

Giving space to resolving employee conflict is just one of the many benefits of listening to employees’ voices.

Create a positive company culture

Employers can reduce the chances of toxic workplace competition from arising by building a positive and rewarding culture.

This can be achieved through organising social events, recognising and rewarding successes, and through employee handbooks and internal policies.