In the 2006 film Click, Adam Sandler stumbles upon a remote that can pause, fast forward, and rewind reality to the current time. Sandler’s movie is just a fun, sci-fi romp, but wouldn’t it be nice if you could hit pause to reach the best conflict resolution for problems at work?
From entry-level employees to C-suite executives, Top Applicant is going over how anyone can benefit from pressing pause on things to find conflict resolution.
Pause to improve your career or company by signing in, or read on to learn more!
Defining Your Conflict
When you hit pause, you can clearly assess your situation and find the right way forward. In some of the most common workplace conflicts, stepping away for a few moments can be the best option to maintain a healthy relationship with your team.
As we break down a few common conflicts at work, we’ll help you identify the potential causes and impacts on companies and careers.
Personality Clashes
These conflicts arise from fundamental differences in individuals’ temperaments, communication styles, work habits, and personal values. What one person considers assertive, another might perceive as aggressive. Introverts may find extroverts overbearing, and extroverts might think of introverts as uncooperative. Detail-oriented individuals might clash with those who prioritize the big picture.
Everything from differences in emotional intelligence to tolerance for ambiguity, and even general approaches to work, can cause these clashes.
Potential Impacts
The impact can range from minor annoyances and decreased collaboration to significant interpersonal friction, strained relationships, and even hostile work environments. Productivity can suffer as individuals avoid interaction or spend valuable time navigating interpersonal difficulties. Morale can decline, and in severe cases, personality clashes can contribute to absenteeism and turnover.
Poor Communication
This broad category encompasses various types of breakdowns. Everyday miscommunications can stem from a lack of clarity in instructions, ambiguous expectations, insufficient information sharing, poor listening skills, or ineffective feedback mechanisms.
Cultural differences in communication styles, overusing jargon or technical language, and lack of face-to-face connection without sufficient context can also cause conflict.
Potential Impacts
Poor communication can lead to misunderstandings, errors, duplicated efforts, missed deadlines, and a general lack of alignment on goals and tasks. It can foster feelings of being excluded or uninformed, leading to frustration and resentment. Trust erodes when individuals don’t feel they are receiving the information they need or that communication is transparent.
Differences in Values
These conflicts occur when individuals or groups hold fundamentally different beliefs about what is important or acceptable in the workplace. This can relate to work ethic (e.g., views on work-life balance, punctuality), ethics and integrity (e.g., approaches to decision-making, honesty), or even organizational values (e.g., emphasis on innovation versus stability, competition versus collaboration).
Potential Impacts
Value conflicts can be deeply rooted and difficult to resolve, because they touch upon core beliefs. They can lead to significant disagreements on policies, procedures, and strategic direction. Individuals may feel their fundamental principles are being compromised or ignored, leading to strong emotional responses, decreased commitment, and potential for ethical breaches.
Unfair Treatment
Perceptions of unfairness can arise in various forms, including unequal distribution of workload, biased decision-making regarding promotions or opportunities, inconsistent application of policies, or experiences of discrimination or harassment.
Employees who believe they are being treated unfairly often feel devalued, resentful, and demotivated. This can be based on actual inequity or simply the perception of unequal treatment.
Potential Impacts
Perceived unfair treatment impacts employees significantly. It can lead to decreased morale, reduced productivity, increased stress and anxiety, and a breakdown of trust in leadership or the organization.
Fallout from unfair treatment can fuel grievances, legal action, and higher employee turnover. A culture of perceived unfairness can gradually impact the entire work environment.
The Power of Pausing to Resolve Conflict
The fundamental reason we recommend pausing for conflict resolution in the workplace is because emotions affect problem-solving. When you get angry, frustrated, defensive, or overwhelmed, you lose the ability to fully rationalize a situation, consider others empathetically, and come up with constructive solutions.
When you create a temporary separation, your immediate and intense emotions have time to dissipate, which saves space for a more productive conversation.
How to Push Pause
We understand that pausing for an entire day may not be possible, but walking away from a situation for even just a few minutes may change more than just your perspective. As our own management experts take time to pause, here’s an example of how to take a break and reset.
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Recognize Escalation
This is the “pre-pause” warning sign that seasoned employees and managers can recognize. As tensions rise, discussions become heated, unproductive, or emotionally charged. Easy warning signs include raised voices, personal attacks, defensiveness, shutting down, and repetitive back and forth without progress.
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Make the Request
In Click, Adam Sandler could take out a remote and pause the world around him. For the real world, we don’t have a remote! Instead, you can voice-activate a healthy pause with a few well-placed words.
Here are some easy, go-to phrases to pause a potentially difficult situation at work.
“I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. Can we take a break and circle back in a little while?”
“I think we both need a moment to consider this project. How about we revisit this after lunch?”
“I’m going to refresh my drink. Would anyone want anything while I’m up?”
No matter how you make the time, the calmer and more confident your request is, the more respectfully it will be received. Some situations may make you want to get up and scream, but trust us, a productive pause starts with a respectful request.
- Agree on a Timeframe
When making this request, don’t forget—you’re the one in control. Make the most of this moment to suggest a specific time to reconvene. This shows a commitment to conflict resolution and prevents the issue being indefinitely dropped.
The timeframe should be reasonable enough to de-escalate, but not so long to leave the issue festering. This could be 15 minutes, an hour, or even the next day, depending on the context and urgency of the conflict.
During Your Pause Period
In the movie Click, Sandler uses his powers for some good, but mostly mischief, like slapping his boss. While this may be tempting during your pause, we can think of a few more productive ways to take a restorative break from the situation:
- Try controlled breathing exercises or a few minutes of mindfulness.
- Go for a quick walk around the block, down the hall, or to pick up lunch.
- Look into a different task and reserve time later to address the conflict.
- Talk to a neutral third party (not to vent, but to gain perspective).
- Reflect on your role in the conflict and what you hope to achieve.
No matter what you do, or how long it takes, making the most out of your moments of pause is important before reconvening. As you prepare to face your frustrations head on, we recommend taking at least 5 to 10 minutes to think.
Benefits of Pushing Pause
While staying productive is one thing, maintaining healthy relationships at work isn’t below anyone’s pay grade. At all levels of your organization, there are people who benefit from taking a few minutes out of the day to maintain their sanity. Whether in a quick lunch break, or a walk to the watercooler, there are many reasons we recommend refreshing your perspective for the most effective conflict resolution in the workplace.
De-escalating Emotions
Pausing allows time for intense feelings to subside to create space for more rational discussion.
Preventing Regrettable Words/Actions
In the heat of the moment, it’s easy to say or do things you might later regret. Pausing limits the impact your immediate response has on relationships, projects, and the future.
Promoting Thoughtful Reflection
Taking just 5 minutes out of your day could save a career that’s been decades in the making. By reflecting on multiple perspectives, you can move forward with more thought-out strategies and discussions.
Tearing Down Walls
Stepping away can help you feel less reactive and more in control to limit unconscious defensiveness. This makes both sides more open, honest, and receptive to feedback.
Increasing the Likelihood of Constructive Dialogue
A calmer state allows for improved listening, communication, and a collaborative “us-against-the-problem” approach. This constructive dialogue is what truly successful relationships are made of, but there’s one final piece of the puzzle that a pause puts into place.
Showing Respect
Walking away from a troublesome situation can actually show more respect for the emotions, reputations, and professional integrity of everyone involved. Knowing when to walk away and for how long is totally up to you, but you should first prioritize getting work done effectively and respectfully.
Ready to Reconvene?
No matter how, when, or why you face the conflict, focus on fostering effective communication at work. Feel free to briefly acknowledge the pause, and even set some ground rules for the renewed conversation. HR mediators, time, limits, and structured conversations show a mutual commitment to finding an acceptable solution.
We Take Professionalism Personally
To be a next generation job-posting platform, Top Applicant adds a deeper level of care for our users. Whether you’re pushing pause on your current job or fast forwarding your business, everyone has access to the features they need—completely free!
For employers, free job listings, close contact with applicants, and curated suggestions all make filling your next position easier than ever! To help applicants build their career, we offer in-depth screening, which streamlines the search process. Alongside our free resume builder, portfolio designer, and so much more, Top Applicant makes it easy to find a role that works for you!
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