4. How to handle challenging situations in the workplace?

Challenging situations in supervisory work include conflicts and inappropriate behaviour in the work community, as well as changes in the organization. These situations involve different perspectives, experiences and expectations from the supervisor. These situations can also evoke strong emotions in the supervisor, but the supervisor must exercise restraint and at the same time take care of daily work.

Operating models for challenging situations in the workplace:

All human interactions occasionally involve conflicts, including in the workplace. Regarding mental health, it is essential that conflicts are addressed and a sense that conflicts can be resolved is gained.
Conflicts can start with unresolved differences in views and opinions. If a conflict lasts long, it can lead to co-operation problems, cliques, personalization of problems and escalation to more people. At worst, conflicts generate inappropriate behaviour and harassment at work.
Conflicts can also be useful – they indicate what needs to be addressed.
In general, the causes of conflicts can be found in problems that occur at work, such as ambiguities in the way work is done as well as in management and decision-making. There may also be individual factors behind conflicts.
The supervisor should address the conflict when it interferes with work, hinders the accomplishment of goals, affects well-being, reduces motivation and job satisfaction or before the conflict becomes “personified". Conflicts must be addressed immediately if someone feels they are being harassed or subjected to inappropriate behaviour.

Intervening with conflicts can be challenging. However, they can be solved in phases:
1. Discuss with everyone involved, individually and together. Consider who should speak with each other to move forward in the resolution of the issue. When investigating the situation, it is important to maintain the perspective of work and well-being.
2. In investigating the situation, these questions may be helpful: What is the problem and who does it concern? How does the situation affect work and for how long has it been going on? What are the underlying factors of the conflict, for example, are there any ambiguities in job descriptions, job requirements, skills or flow of information? Have any attempts been made to resolve the situation in the past? What are you willing to do to solve the problem?
3. Find solutions with the parties involved. Agree on roles and responsibilities for different actions.
4. Monitor the situation. Rejoice finding a solution and the lessons learned – conflicts are part of the everyday life of work. If the problem persists, consider seeking outside help from, for example, the occupational health care service provider.
5. Settling conflicts is demanding for supervisors. You can get support from other supervisors, your own supervisor, HR experts, the occupational health care service provider, the occupational safety officer or representatives. The employees’ shop steward may also be a helpful partner in this. Settlement of conflicts is in everyone’s common interest.
6. If comments and assessments of the mental health of other employees are raised in the discussion, the supervisor's task is to return to the original topic of discussion, fluency of work. The health status of individual employees should not be processed in discussions of the work community.
7. It is good to get outside help if you are involved in a conflict or for some other reason you are not sufficiently outside the conflict, have already tried to resolve the situation or otherwise feel the need for additional support.

Prevention is central in addressing inappropriate behaviour. Promote a culture in which work-related problems can be raised. In discussions with the work community, bring up the atmosphere of the work community, the functioning of co-operation and experiences and observations of inappropriate or other poor behaviour at work. Performance appraisals also provide an opportunity to raise the issue.
If there are experiences of inappropriate behaviour or harassment at the workplace, the supervisor is obligated by law to investigate them.
Supervisors may become aware of inappropriate behaviour or harassment as an experience reported by the employee or as an observation told by a colleague, in an atmosphere survey, in a performance appraisal or as messages from occupational safety and health care.
Learn about your workplace's operational models of preventing and addressing inappropriate behaviour and harassment. Review the operational model and discuss it with employees. Think about how to act in your own work community.

Addressing inappropriate behaviour and harassment
1. If you become aware of an experienced or observed case of inappropriate behaviour or bullying, take the matter seriously and start investigating the situation without undue delay. Follow the instructions and operational model of your workplace. The goal is to find out whether there has been inappropriate behaviour and, if yes, to end it.
2. Study the situation with the parties involved. It is not possible to process these cases anonymously. Approach the process with an open mind and without any bias. The situation must be studied fairly and equally.
3. Determine whether the parties involved have attempted to resolve the situation. First, listen to the person experiencing inappropriate behaviour targeted towards them and the accused separately. It is important that both parties feel that they are being listened to. Then, arrange a discussion with both parties. Each discussion should be about concrete situations: what has happened and when. If inappropriate behaviour exists, make the necessary agreements about work and behaviour to end it.
4. Keep notes about the discussion. Write down the objective of the discussion and the agreements made. The document reminds everyone what has been agreed upon. The document is referred to later as the situation is monitored.
5. Agree on how to monitor the situation and the related schedule.
6. If no agreement can be made or the inappropriate behaviour continues, you can also issue instructions, notices and warnings and, as a final measure, terminate the employment agreement.
7. Help and support in resolving the situation is available from HR experts, your supervisor and the occupational health care service provider. The responsibility for resolving the situation and the required actions is always borne by the employer.

Supervisors describe work in organizations as continuous change management. In order to maintain the organization's ability to function, the ability to renew and change operations is important.
Strengthening expertise is about supporting employees and part of ensuring organizational renewal.
In addition to continuous change work, there are individual change events at workplaces that have a beginning and an end.
Organizational changes may have a negative impact on the mental health of employees, in particular through dismissals or the threat thereof. From the employees' point of view, organizational change can mean changes in everyday work and uncertainty about the continuation of the employment relationship. Uncertainty about the continuation of the employment relationship may also apply to the supervisor.
The main mental health impacts of organizational changes often affect employees who are already poorly resourced before the change and who have few job opportunities outside their current workplace. The supervisor should take advantage of occupational health care support for the entire work community and, if necessary, for individual employees.

The supervisor's key tasks regarding supporting mental well-being during organizational changes are:
1. Honest, understandable, consistent and interactive communication that enables discussions to understand the change.
2. Making it possible for employees to participate in the planning and implementation of the change.
3. Organization of support activities. Different types of support may include, for example, change-related training, mentoring, and support provided by the occupational health care service provider.
4. Allocating time for discussions about the change.

References

Vartia, M., Lahtinen, M. Joki, S. & Soini, S. 2005. Työyhteisötörmäyksiä. Ristiriitojen käsittely työpaikalla. Helsinki: Työterveyslaitos.

Continue to the “How to bring up problems with work ability” section.

4. How to handle challenging situations in the workplace?

Operating models for challenging situations in the workplace:

References

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4. How to handle challenging situations in the workplace?

Operating models for challenging situations in the workplace:

Workplace conflicts

Inappropriate behaviour and harassment

Changes in the organization

References