Feedback via the Employee Survey: Results Delivery Option

Another option is how feedback is delivered via an employee survey. Employees are normally afraid to tell the truth on employee surveys due to the fear of retaliation. Leadership should carefully weigh how they are going to deliver the feedback without a dominant response. An option to deliver feedback from an employee survey is to have an un-bias opinion by hiring an outside consulting firm. The firm can serve as an independent buffer between the employees and leadership, providing a safe zone for the employee (Lester, Vogelgesang Lester, & Saboe, 2018). Employees need to know they are being heard.

Lester, P. B., Lester, G. V., & Saboe, K. N. (2018). Resilience within the workplace. Taking a 

cue from the U.S. military. Organizational Dynamics, doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2018.01.005

Communication Helps Foster Resilience

The resilience of employees is essential for their functioning, development, and survival under adverse conditions (Zwetsloot, van Scheppingen, Bos, Dijkman, & Starren, 2013). One method of fostering employee resilience is communication. Resilience is felt internally, therefore, it can be hard to measure (Lester, Vogelgesang Lester, & Saboe, 2018). Organizations should start simply by having open and candid conversations about what adverse conditions the organization is facing; include the employee in on what is going on so they can process how they want to handle it. These conversations should be frequent and delivered by all levels of management.

Lester, P. B., Lester, G. V., & Saboe, K. N. (2018). Resilience within the workplace. Taking a 

cue from the U.S. military. Organizational Dynamics, doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2018.01.005

Zwetsloot, G. I., Scheppingen, A. v., Bos, E. H., Dijkman, A., & Starren, A. (2013). Original 

Article: The core values that support health, safety, and well-being at work. Safety 

And Health at Work, 4187-196. doi:10.1016/j.shaw.2013.10.001

Fostering Employee Resilience

Resilience is a word often matched with being tough and sticking with something no matter how hard it gets. Resilience can also refer to dealing with rough times in one’s life and making it through those times. According to Lester, Vogelgesang Lester, & Saboe (2018), resilience is the ability to bounce back in the face of adversity and despair; being able to thrive amid difficult and austere conditions. In the workplace, a component of leadership includes searching for results and not so much the problem. If an organization exemplifies resilience, they can prove they are willing to withstand the hard times and show action in the results of their productivity. The solution is what counts. Resilience is about the solution of how the organization projects after the incident and not during it (Lester, Vogelgesang Lester, & Saboe, 2018). Being able to get to the results the organization seeks means the employees must become resilient. How can you start to motivate resilience in your workplace?

Lester, P. B., Lester, G. V., & Saboe, K. N. (2018). Resilience within the workplace. Taking a 

cue from the U.S. military. Organizational Dynamics, doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2018.01.005

Conflict management styles of the leaders.

Build cooperation among teams by learning conflict management styles of the leaders. Team members should fully understand the nature of the job role they are asked to perform. Conflict can arise when confusion is present among team members as it pertains to job roles. Job role understanding should be communicated from leadership. Team members will be more willing to cooperate if they understand their role communicated from leadership (Kanazawa & Fontaine, 2013). To build cooperation, leaders should understand their conflict management style.

Kanazawa, S., & Fontaine, L. (2013). Intelligent people defect more in a one-shot prisoner’s dilemma game. Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology and Economics, 6(3), 201-213.

doi:10.1037/npe0000010

The Use of purposeful communication

Increase communication among all teams by utilizing purposeful communication. Confronting issues and providing feedback is a form of purposeful communication. Purposeful communication is when a team member uses sensitivity and forethought when communicating a clear and concise message with a soothing tone that maintains a positive relationship for both parties involved (Cox, 2014; Wilson Learning Worldwide, 2007; & Singleton et al., 2011). Purposeful communication is communicating with tact and getting the point across without aggression and rudeness.

Cox, A. (2014). Increasing Purposeful Communication in the Workplace: Two School-District

Models. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 80(3), 34-38.

Singleton, R., Toombs, L. A., Taneja, S., Larkin, C., & Pryor, M. G. (2011). Workplace conflict:

A strategic leadership imperative. International Journal of Business & Public

Administration, 8(1), 149-163

Wilson Learning Worldwide. (2007). Individual effectiveness: Creating the effective workforce.

Edina, MN.

Reducing workplace conflict

Reduce workplace conflict by creating a conflict management strategy/program. Conflict management involves a wide range of activities which include communication, problem-solving, dealing with emotions, and understanding the roles/positions teammates have (Behfar, Mannix, Peterson, & Trochim, 2008). Creating a conflict management strategy/program will allow a safe place for employees to learn responsibility for their actions and how to handle them. How are you handling conflict management in your organization? Do you have a conflict management strategy/program?

Behfar, K., Peterson, R. Mannix, E, & Trochim, W. (2008). The critical role of conflict

resolution in teams: A close look at the links between conflict type, conflict management

strategies, and team outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(1): 170-188.

What is conflict?

Conflict has many definitions. Conflict is can be known as a misunderstanding, disagreement, argument, an interruption in schedule, or a mental struggle to understand another’s point of view. Merriam Webster defines conflict as a competitive or opposing action of incompatibles: antagonistic state or action (as of divergent ideas, interests, or persons). Conflict cannot be avoided and they ARE going to happen. Over the next three weeks, we will explore some strategies to of how to handle conflict in the workplace.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conflict