all these People have potential

When people achieve their full potential, they fire on all cylinders at work.  They are present and resilient. They are happy. They're even more innovative. And the organizational goals are usually met and surpassed as a result. 

On the other hand, conflict in the workplace gets in the way of progress and goals. People disengage. As for innovation? Forget about it. Nobody brings new ideas to a place where they do not feel safe. People and their organizations fall short of their potential, way short. 

Conflict comes with significant costs and negative repercussions. Both public and private sector organizations struggle with it. A recent Justice Canada report cites a study by wellness company, Morneau Shepell, saying that workplace conflict costs Canadian businesses an estimated $2 billion annually in lost productivity.

These losses arise from decreased employee engagement, absenteeism, turnover, and the time and resources spent resolving conflicts. Moreover, unresolved workplace conflicts impact employees' mental health and well-being. According to the TELUS Mental Health Index, workers who experience conflict at work lose an average of 55 workdays per year. 

That's not 55 days of absenteeism. It's lost time on the job. It's slower productivity. And it is also absenteeism, too. It's a combination of losses. 

Do the math. Take the average daily salary of your average employee and multiply it by 55. Add to it the time that the managers need to deal with the problem. Add to the time that executives need to deal with it. There's collateral damage to others on the team, too. In worst cast scenarios, add the substantial costs of legal fees, settlements and more. Even if it is only 25 workdays lost, it's a big stinky loss. 

DDI, a global leadership company, conducted a survey of 700,000 managers worldwide in 2024. It indicated that 49% of all managers did not have the skills to resolve conflict. They were not able to breed trust in the corporate culture. 

These are hard skills to learn (those things we call soft skills). But they need to learn them. 

Employees hope and expect that their managers and executives are equipped to deal with conflict, are informed on how to build trust. It would seem that half the time, employees risk being disappointed or, worse, disenfranchised. 

Now, more than ever, conflict resolution is needed.

While organizations have been backing away from diversity, equity and inclusion policies and efforts, the rise in social and political division has put fuel on the fire of conflict. That's in the workplace. 

And what of the world outside of the workplace?

Communities are seeing a spike in conflicts that are based in needs (food, housing, income, status) and identity (race, religion, gender, culture). Statistics Canada reported that from 2019 to 2023, hate crimes (identity-based) went up 130%. The majority of those were race related. And the majority of the race-related hate crimes were committed against Black Canadians. 

Certainly, the pandemic contributed to tensions. Other geopolitical, cultural and technology factors contributed, too. 

The times are ripe for conflict. And riper yet for conflict resolution.

It is the onus and responsibility of all managers and executives to properly assess the risks of workplace conflict and issues of trust.

If success is at all a part of an organization's mandate (which is a rhetorical statement), and if we extrapolate the statistics from the credible sources mentioned above, the numbers are not in favour of potential. 

Conflict is winning the day. 

So what can be done?

In the same Justice Canada report mentioned above, it noted that employees who had experienced workplace conflicts and that were resolved through dialogues were the east likely to experience negative outcomes. Less absenteeism, less loss of productivity and higher trust in their workplace. 

At Circle Potential, not only do we believe that dialogue is the way, we know it is the way. We witness how, when it is structured and rooted in respect and dignity, when people are at the table and able to speak and be heard, conflict subsides and common purpose wins. Human potential flourishes. 

We are architects of dialogue and trust. We help leaders to build trust within their organizations. We help employees and stakeholders to be heard. And we get them working together to find their own solutions, solutions that they can own. It is all in the service of human potential.