Last week I was deep in a mediation when the whole WFH issue presented as a contested topic. This is something that all manner of organisations continue to grapple with. In this case Sam was claiming “I have a right to this! It’s what I need to meet my carer responsibilities”.
At the same time Sam’s manager, Jane, was complaining how “selfish” Sam was being, how Sam “has a responsibility to the rest of the team”. You can just imagine how well this was received!?!?! Sam was demanding a right they believed was enshrined in law and morality – WFH. Jane had expectations that Sam would act in a manner that demonstrated their responsibility to the team and the organisation.
It soon became apparent that this was not just a conversation about WFH (this was a symptom), it was a conversation about their differing world views, even their individual identities (this was the cause).
Put simply, a clash between what is more important: individual rights or collective responsibilities???
These workplace conflict issues are really about the larger view of ‘rights v responsibilities’. We have found that speaking to people about these contrasting narratives helps them gain perspective and assists in bringing a more cooperative approach to the conversation. It also assists with self-reflection, which is the no1 best seller when it comes to workplace conflict resolution.
As an aside, regarding WFH, it was only a couple of months ago that Atlassian published some detailed findings on the topic that are very interesting, especially as it relates to productivity. Have a deep dive here and here.
Need some support working through the rights v responsibility equilibrium? Please get in touch.
If this topic has interested you then check our earlier blogs:
