Breaking News: Workplace tensions are at a boil: Here’s how to navigate it

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The conflict in the Middle East has sparked debate and stoked tensions across the country.

As those high emotions spill over into the workplace, they can disrupt careers, damage professional relationships and undermine organizational goals.

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Employees of all kinds have reported feeling less safe and secure at work, posing a significant challenge to leaders.

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Psychological safety in a team allows for risk-taking, idea expression, asking questions and admitting mistakes, void of the fear of negative consequences. Without it, organizational performance and innovation suffer.

Leaders are also under scrutiny over how they respond to the tension: go too far — or not far enough — and they can be seen to be taking sides.

The good news is that with attention, care and the right kind of leadership, the negative impact of these tensions can be mitigated. The bad news is that the 2024 workplace is a complex place: It is unpredictable and deeply interconnected and a conflict as heated as the Israel/Hamas war can throw a wrench into any tried-and-true leadership “best practices.”

Here are some ways leaders can try to manage the current uncertainty.

1. More in-person work

Leaders can make concerted efforts to get employees to spend more time directly engaging with one another. There should be less reliance on messaging mediums such as Slack, which can be helpful but also can dish out the same problematic dopamine rush as social media.

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This rush is known to exacerbate irrationality and aggression. It can encourage dangerous moral outrage and a nasty cycle of employee tit-for-tat. To be sure to get the benefits of instant messaging apps, experts recommend a set of protocols that include etiquette and rules. These also should be enforced.

For example, what kind of content is appropriate for group channels versus direct messages? What amounts to unacceptable behaviour? How can employees decide when it might be best to meet in person and why?

There is extensive evidence that more direct contact increases camaraderie and reduces prejudice. When possible, leaders should bring employees together to work on important tasks, versus merely in social contexts.

2. Get back to the big picture

Research suggests that leaders should create an environment where the focus is on the work itself. This includes taking every chance to broadcast employees’ contributions to broad, common organizational goals. They should push shared organizational visions and illustrate how values are translated into actions and behaviours on the job.

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At the same time, leaders can also encourage psychological safety by giving a voice to minority perspectives regarding the work. It is also a great idea to create opportunities to share challenges and solutions to specific tasks and projects among employees.

3. Establish a code of conduct

The Ontario Human Rights Code “prohibits harassment (unwelcome vexatious comment or conduct) and other forms of discrimination that negatively impact individuals and groups in employment.”

Developing and enforcing a comprehensive code of conduct can show an employer’s commitment to keeping workplaces free from such conduct. The content should illustrate the benefits of living with differing views and ideologies. It should also distinguish between what constitutes respectful disagreement and comments that could be considered hateful, as well as those that would be more appropriate for private discourse.

B.C.’s office of the Human Rights Commissioner has produced a Q&A on what is considered hate speech that can be helpful as a resource.

4. Stay in the work lane

Given the current realities, some suggest that leaders should work to make workplaces as much of a neutral zone as possible by avoiding temptations to jump into polarizing debates. Limiting the politicization of the workplace can be good for employees, leaders and organizations. It can also help everyone enjoy work just a bit more. 

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Above all, leaders need to model self-control and epitomize the responsibility all employees should embrace: to bring out the best in others. Bringing an end to the use of race, ethnicity, or ideology to judge and categorize others at work might save us from intractable conflict, the destruction of relationships and career-altering actions.

Stephen Friedman is an adjunct professor of organizational studies at The Schulich School of Business, York University in Toronto.

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