How to Deal With Infighting

When your office turns into a battleground between warring co-workers, every word is a weapon and every action potentially explosive. Here’s how to manage the conflict.

In its recent assessment of South Africa’s prospects, the credit rating agency Fitch blamed the country’s woes on infighting within the ANC, which it said was distracting policymakers and undermining the investment climate.

The same situation plays itself out in workplaces around the country. And while the stakes may be slightly lower than national economic destruction, your team’s constant fighting will inevitably divert your attention from the real operational priorities.

Few people thrive amid conflict, but it is important not to try to supress or ignore tensions. You want strong, determined go-getters on your team, but having a few alpha personalities in the office will inevitably lead to clashes. Recognise that conflict can’t always be completely avoided (let go of your dreams of spontaneous Kumbaya-singing around the water cooler), accept that some people will never get along and that you can only manage the situation.

The first crucial step in managing infighting is to bring it out into the open, says Karen van Zyl, a consultant at The Anger and Stress Management Centre in Pretoria and Sandton. “Ignoring it will not make it go away, it will probably only worsen the conflict.”

Ask all parties to write down their assessment of the situation and their views on the reasons for the conflict. Ask them to express how they are feeling about the situation and how things could be resolved. These submissions could be anonymous, if required. Carefully work through all the contributions to get a better understanding of what is going on.