Manage Workplace Tension Before It Breaks Your Team

Leadership is a problem of rising stress that can't be ignored.

Money is subtly changing the face of the modern job. The emotional burden of workers in virtually every industry seems to be higher than it was a few years ago. High gas prices, increasing grocery costs and the cost of all essentials are putting a real strain on millions of workers' finances. Add to that, the planet's changing nature, geopolitical instability and fears of AI taking our jobs, and you have an evolving workforce enduring chronic compounded stress.

It's not a background problem for managers. A leadership challenge on the front-line which impacts on productivity, retention and team unity. Identifying the origins of tension, its emergence, its escalation and how to manage it is one of the most crucial skills a leader can develop today.

So, if the stress on the job is not recognised, it is unlikely to be limited. It spreads. Staff members who feel unseen and unsupported will slowly begin to become less collaborative, less communicative and more likely to leave. Workplace research by Gallup suggests that replacement costs for a single employee can be as high as ½ to 2 times an employee's annual salary. That's a strong enough argument for proactive stress management.

In addition to turnover, the psychological safety of an entire team is compromised when unmanaged tension takes place. If people are not feeling safe to voice their concerns and/or disagreements, their creativity decreases, problem solving becomes weaker and performance suffers. One unresolved conflict can have an impact on every aspect of a workplace atmosphere.

Culture is one of the best weapons in the manager's arsenal against workplace tension, a culture that is taken to heart and practised intentionally each and every day. Positive Workplace Culture is not a values statement on a wall. It's part of the process of how a team functions day to day.

The little things do count here. Celebrating individual efforts publicly, checking in with employees in a real way, not just transactionally and making small, important moments of connection are all ways to foster a sense of belonging. Organizational psychology has been researched and proven time and time again – when employees feel like they belong, their self-esteem improves, their job satisfaction increases and their productivity measurably improves. This is not a soft strategy for managers in stressful times. It's a practical one.

Everyone fills in the blanks in his or her own mind when there is no clarity. Those made up explanations are not generally ones that are hopeful when the economy is in an uncertain time or when there's a change within the organization. When employees feel they are not getting information, they tend to think the worst and that thinking contributes to anxiety, gossip, and mistrust.

Frequent, honest and detailed communication from the managers provides their employees an important thing: ownership. Employees who are educated regarding the rationale behind decisions – even tough ones – are much more likely to understand and accept them. If there is some input from the employees into how the plan proceeds, then tension can be a productive force not an impediment. It becomes an emotion that's positive, it becomes a motivation to do something positive.

Don't communicate everything during a stressful period. It is the willingness to be honest about that which is known, to be transparent about that which is unknown, and to be clear about how choices are being made.

When the workplace climate is already challenging it doesn't do any favours to wait. Without intervention, toxic interpersonal behavior becomes ingrained. Little by little, what seems like an awkward interaction between two people can seep into a team's overall morale.

If internal interventions have failed or if leadership is too close to the situation to be objective, the use of outside professionals with conflict resolution skills is a sensible and often very fruitful measure. External consultants have something that internal resources, even with their experience and skill level, are often lacking – neutrality. Even the most skilled and sincere of the insiders contribute relationships, history and biases to an evaluation. The outside professional can see what is limiting you or may have never noticed that is working in your favor.

This is not an indication of organizational inadequacy. Maturity in leadership is evidenced by it.

Each workplace is a slice of humanity with varying tolerances, communication styles, personal histories and triggers. No two workers will react to the same circumstances in exactly the same way, so managers cannot take a one-size-fits-all tack to dealing with tension.

When dealing with stress it is important for leaders to be flexible, patient and to show sound judgment and understanding of their team. It needs to be flexible and adaptable in the moment, read the situation correctly and respond with strength and sensitivity.

There are many aspects of workplace stress during an uncertain period that cannot be avoided. There are influences outside of the control of any financial manager: financial pressures, global uncertainty, and technological change. A manager can only control his/her reaction to those forces.

While good leadership, regular communication and early, honest and direct engagement will not remove stress from the workplace, it will reduce it significantly. But they can avoid that stress from turning into full-blown conflict — and that is more important than most leaders realize, until it's too late.