Expert Opinion: How do you manage conflict in the workplace?

Senior HR Consultant, Andrea Ferguson, from Stockport-based Cornerstone Resources, discusses using mediation as a way to manage conflict before it turns into a formal grievance.

Where there are people, there is mess. We all bring different ideas, convictions, ways of working and preferences to work. So what should we do as leaders when we are faced with employee conflict?

Conflict at work is inevitable. Different personalities, competing priorities, and the occasional badly timed email will always create tension. The real test of leadership isn’t avoiding conflict; it’s how you deal with it.

Too often, organisations let problems simmer until they bubble over into a formal grievance. On paper, this feels like the “safe” option – a process, a procedure, a neat policy to follow. But in practice, grievances and disciplinaries are time-consuming, expensive, and about as effective at repairing relationships as a chocolate teapot.

That’s where mediation comes in.

A Better Way Forward

Mediation is not about winners and losers. It’s a confidential, structured process that allows people to explain their concerns, explore how the situation looks from the other side, and, crucially, rebuild trust.

Take a real example. Two managers in a professional services firm had reached a stalemate. Meetings were avoided, emails had become curt, and their teams were splitting into camps. Both were preparing formal grievances.

Through mediation, they sat down (with a neutral third party) and talked, really talked without interruption and felt heard. They discovered their conflict was less about malice and more about misunderstandings and assumptions. By the end of the session, they had agreed on practical steps for working together again. No grievance letters, no tribunals, no resignations. Just two professionals who could finally share a meeting, and even a cup of tea, without glaring.

The Business Case for Mediation

This isn’t just a “nice to have” – the data is compelling:

• 85% of mediations succeed.
• East Lancashire Primary Care Trust saved £213,753 in just 18 months through mediation.
• The 2024 CIPD Good Work Index found that 25% of employees – around 8 million people – experienced workplace conflict in the past year.
• ACAS estimates the annual cost of conflict to UK organisations at £28.5 billion.
• In 2024/25 alone, ACAS handled 117,000 individual disputes.

If workplace conflict were a line item in your accounts, the Finance Director would be choking on their Hobnob.

Spotting the Warning Signs

The earlier you intervene, the more likely the conflict is to be resolved before relationships are beyond repair. Look out for the subtle signs:

• Colleagues are avoiding meetings or quietly ducking out of team socials.
• Uncharacteristic silence in discussions from usually vocal staff.
• Rising turnover or unexplained dips in productivity.
• Feedback that hints at discontent without spelling it out.

Ignore these warning signs, and you’ll find yourself knee-deep in grievance paperwork faster than you can say “ACAS”.

Final Thought

Mediation is not about sweeping issues under the rug. It’s about surfacing them safely, listening with empathy, and finding a constructive way forward. Done well, it saves money, protects relationships, and transforms workplace culture from adversarial to collaborative.

The alternative? Prolonged stress, escalating costs, and more managers sighing that “this never happened in my day”.

So perhaps it’s time to ask: shouldn’t mediation be our first step, not our last resort?

And if you’re still undecided, ask yourself one simple question: would you rather spend the next six months in grievance investigations and hearings, or have everyone back around the table by next Tuesday?