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The principles of conflict management
- 1. 1 The principles of conflict management 3:1 NEXT
- 2. 2 Guidance Procedures Policies Work related violence These are put in place to help keep everyone safe at work. It is vital that both employers and employees understand the importance of: NEXT
- 3. 3 Workplace violence ‘any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work’. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides a definition of workplace violence. It defines it as: NEXT
- 4. 4 Employers Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act of 1974 places a legal responsibility on employers to… ‘ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees’. (Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978) NEXT
- 5. 5 Employers ● Policy statements ● Risk assessments ● Procedures detailing what to do in conflict situations ● Procedures to check and review safety precautions ● Appropriate training ● A safe environment ● Safe working practices ● Support for concerns about abuse and aggression ● Support following violent incidents. Employers must provide: NEXT
- 6. 6 Employees Employees, including security operatives, also have responsibilities under the legislation. Section 7 of the act says that an employee must… ‘take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work’. NEXT
- 7. 7 Employees ● Familiarise themselves with their organisation’s policies and procedures ● Follow those policies and procedures ● Be aware of what might trigger a risk situation ● Be prepared to gather, share and discuss information on risk situations ● Attend appropriate training ● Use risk assessment systems ● Plan, with others, what to do in risk situations ● Report violent incidents in the workplace correctly. Employees must: NEXT
- 8. 8 Reporting workplace violence Proper reporting: ● Picks up trends or particular triggers for aggression in the workplace ● Ensures that their policies and procedures are up to date and effective ● Provides information for insurance and/or investigative purposes ● How to report will be detailed in the organisation’s policies and procedures ● Sets the expectations for both staff and customers as to what behaviour is and is not acceptable. It is best practice to report all incidents of violence in the workplace, even where only abuse or threats are involved. NEXT
- 9. 9 Conflict Conflict: A serious difference between two or more opinions, principles or interests. NEXT
- 10. 10 Conflict management Conflict management: The practice of recognising and dealing with such conflict in a rational, balanced and effective way. NEXT
- 11. 11 Conflict management Security operatives must understand: ● How conflict arises ● How to recognise ● How to deal with it Preventing or reducing conflict in the workplace will go a long way towards making our working lives safer and easier. Security operatives will come across conflict as they carry out their roles. Security staff often have to enforce rules and regulations, and sometimes have to control the behaviour of others. NEXT
- 12. 12 Using communication to avoid conflict The effective use of communication skills can: Reduce the chances of conflict arising in the first place Help us to deal with difficult situations when they occur. NEXT
- 13. 13 Communication As professional security operatives, it is vital that we always act in a positive way. ● Approachable ● Positive and constructive ● Professional ● Calm ● Clear ● Polite ● Smart ● Helpful ● Fair ● Honest. We can do this by being: NEXT
- 14. 14 Communication skills Communication skills are all to do with: The effectiveness with which we communicate meaning, guidance and intention to others How we can influence behaviour. NEXT
- 15. 15 Encounters We need to: ● Be aware of the appropriate attitude to adopt when dealing with various types of people ● Take care in how we talk to them in different situations ● Achieve a reasonable response ● Reach a conclusion that is satisfactory to all parties concerned. Not all encounters will end happily. Good communication skills should keep incidents of conflict and aggression to a minimum. Each time that security operatives deal with a customer or a member of the public, it is called an ENCOUNTER. NEXT
- 16. 16 How we think The RATIONAL side, and the EMOTIONAL side. Imagine we have two sides to our brain NEXT
- 17. 17 How we think ● Think things through ● Plan what we are doing ● Sensibly consider options before we make decisions. The RATIONAL side helps us to: The EMOTIONAL side helps us to: ● Feel things like affection, love, sadness, fear and anger. When things are normal the brain is pretty evenly balanced, because we are normally both feeling and thinking things at the same time. NEXT
- 18. 18 How we think during conflict If we ourselves become too emotional in a situation it will: ● Reduce our ability to think rationally ● Cloud our judgement ● Cause us to make unhelpful decisions. During conflict, where we might get upset, angry or even frightened, the balance in our brain is disturbed, and we start to use the emotional side more than the rational side. This is a perfectly natural response to the situation, but it can be controlled. NEXT
- 19. 19 How we think during conflict If we can calm ourselves down, though, then the rational side of the brain can pick up, and we can start to deal with the situation more effectively. The RATIONAL side Likewise, if someone we are dealing with at work becomes too emotional in a situation, then they may become very difficult to deal with unless we can calm them down first. The EMOTIONAL side NEXT
- 20. 20 Fight or flight When we become frightened our bodies will automatically go into what is called fight or flight mode. This is because of the basic natural animal instinct in us all to help us survive potentially dangerous situations. Stand and physically FIGHT off an attack Run away from the situation, FLIGHT to keep ourselves safe or to Fight or flight prepares our brains and bodies to: NEXT
- 21. 21 During fight or flight The body releases the hormone adrenaline into our system to increase our physical ability to fight or run away This adrenaline rush: Increases our heart rate Pumps extra blood and oxygen to the muscles we need to use Widens our eyes to take in as much of the situation as possible Intensifies our sense of hearing. NEXT
- 22. 22 After fight or flight Once the situation ends, whether that is by us having halted or fought off the threat, or whether we have been able to get away from it, then our brains and bodies begin to calm down again, in an attempt to get back to normal. Our bodies slowly return to their natural relaxed states, and as we calm down our brains return to thinking with the rational side again. NEXT
- 23. 23 Shock If our brains and bodies DO NOT return to their natural conditions as they should following a conflict situation, then we can go into a state known as SHOCK. This normally only happens after a particularly threatening or frightening situation though. NEXT
- 24. 24 Triggers Triggers: A trigger is an action towards you that can cause you to completely lose your temper, and causes you to resort to aggression or even violence. It is important that security operatives are aware of this, and do not allow themselves to be triggered by another person into using unnecessary aggression themselves. KEY POINT NEXT
- 25. 25 Triggers It is also important that security operatives do not accidentally trigger the person they are dealing with, causing them to lose their temper and react with violence towards them. Bear in mind that people are often easier to trigger if they are: Under the influence of alcohol or drugs Emotional for other reasons. NEXT
- 26. 26 Triggers What might you do to someone that may trigger them into using aggression towards you? NEXT
- 27. 27 Common triggers ● Ignored ● Rejected ● Disrespected ● Patronised ● Embarrassed ● Ridiculed ● Insulted ● Threatened People can be triggered if they feel that they are being: ● Sworn at ● Blocked in ● Confused ● Let down or being hard done by. NEXT
- 28. 28 Inhibitors If during a conflict situation we are unable to calm the other person down, we may need to use an inhibitor to stop the person from being triggered into reacting aggressively or violently towards us. Inhibitors: An inhibitor is something that PREVENTS someone from acting in an unnecessary, unreasonable and negative way because they are in an emotional state. An inhibitor is basically the opposite of a trigger. NEXT
- 29. 29 Triggers vs inhibitors Negative actions … unhelpful in conflict situations. TRIGGERS Positive actions … helpful in conflict situations. INHIBITORS NEXT
- 30. 30 Inhibitors When people are under the influence of drink or drugs, they often ‘lose their inhibitions’. This means that they may try to do something that they wouldn’t normally do if they were thinking rationally and calmly. If you give an emotional, angry or aggressive person an INHIBITOR, it may cause them to think about the consequences of their actions, and PREVENT them doing something that they may later regret. NEXT
- 31. 31 Common inhibitors ● Personal values ● Self-control ● Fear of loss or damage ● Fear of retaliation ● Social consequences ● Legal consequences. The next slides explain each. Common inhibitors include: NEXT
- 32. 32 Common inhibitors Most people know deep down that it is unnecessary and wrong to use aggression and violence towards others. Personal values ‘Now I know you don’t want to do anything you’ll feel bad about later, so …’. NEXT
- 33. 33 Common inhibitors Most people, when they think about it, can usually calm themselves down if they want to in a conflict situation. Self-control ‘Let’s just both calm down and see if we can sort this out together’. NEXT
- 34. 34 Common inhibitors People do not generally want to run the risk of damaging their clothes or losing personal items of property during a violent incident. Fear of loss or damage ‘Now neither of us want to ruin our clothes or break anything by fighting, do we’? NEXT
- 35. 35 Common inhibitors There is always the chance that if we fight with someone, we may come off second best. Fear of retaliation ‘We don’t want anyone getting hurt here, do we, so…’. NEXT
- 36. 36 Common inhibitors People all worry about any risks to their personal reputations and their lifestyles. Social consequences ‘I know you don’t want people to think badly of you, so …’. NEXT
- 37. 37 Common inhibitors People do not normally relish the idea of being arrested and going to court over something bad they have done. Neither do they like the idea of being fined or imprisoned. Legal consequences NEXT
- 38. 38 Using inhibitors The timely and appropriate use of inhibitors can greatly reduce the chances of someone being triggered into using aggression or violence towards us. By the same token, we also need to consider the consequences of our own actions in heated, frightening or threatening situations too, so that we don’t do something that we later regret or get ourselves into trouble over. NEXT
Editor's Notes
- Title slide.
- Work related violence It is vital that both employers and employees understand the importance of the policies, guidance and procedures in place to help keep everyone safe at work.
- The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides a definition of workplace violence. It defines it as ……. ‘any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work’.
- Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act of 1974 (Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978) places a legal responsibility on employers to… ‘ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees’.
- Employers must provide: Policy statements; Risk assessments; Procedures detailing what to do in conflict situations; Procedures to check and review safety precautions; Appropriate training; A safe environment; Safe working practices; Support for concerns about abuse and aggression; and Support following violent incidents.
- Employees, including security operatives, also have responsibilities under the legislation. Section 7 of the act says that an employee must ……. ‘take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work’.
- Employees must: Familiarise themselves with their organisation’s policies and procedures; Follow those policies and procedures; Be aware of what might trigger a risk situation; Be prepared to gather, share and discuss information on risk situations; Attend appropriate training; Use risk assessment systems; Plan, with others, what to do in risk situations; and Report violent incidents in the workplace correctly.
- It is best practice to report all incidents of violence in the workplace, even where only abuse or threats are involved. Appropriate reporting helps to pick up trends or particular triggers for aggression in the workplace, which will allow employers to ensure that their policies and procedures are up to date and effective. When incidents of actual violence occur, proper records may also be required for insurance and/or investigative purposes. How such incidents should be reported will be detailed in the organisation’s policies and procedures relating to the workplace. They will also help set the expectations for both staff and customers as to what behaviour is and is not acceptable.
- Conflict is often defined as a serious difference between two or more opinions, principles or interests.
- Conflict management is the practice of recognising and dealing with such conflict in a rational, balanced and effective way.
- It is a fact of life that those working within the private security industry will come across conflict as they carry out their roles. Security staff often have to enforce rules and regulations, and sometimes have to control the behaviour of others. This will, unfortunately, sometimes result in conflict. It is important therefore that all security operatives understand how conflict arises, how to recognise it and most importantly, how to deal with it. Preventing or reducing conflict in the workplace will go a long way towards making our working lives safer and easier.
- Using communication to avoid conflict The effective use of communication skills can greatly reduce the chances of conflict arising in the first place, and can help us to deal with difficult situations when they occur.
- As professional security operatives, it is vital that we always act in a positive way. We can do this by being: Approachable; Positive; Professional; Calm; Clear; Polite; Smart; Helpful; Fair; and Honest.
- Communication skills are all to do with the effectiveness with which we communicate meaning, guidance and intention to others, and about how we can influence behaviour.
- Each time that security operatives deal with a customer or a member of the public, it is called an encounter. We need to be aware of the appropriate attitude to adopt when dealing with various types of people, and should take care in how we talk to them in different situations. Each encounter will demand and should achieve a reasonable response, and should reach a conclusion that is satisfactory to all parties concerned. Whilst we must accept that not all encounters will end happily, the correct and conscious use of effective communication skills should keep incidents of conflict and aggression towards you to a minimum.
- We all have two sides to our brain. The rational side, and the emotional side.
- The rational side is the side of the brain that we use most of the day as we go about our daily lives. It helps us to think things through, to plan what we are doing, and helps us to sensibly consider options before we make decisions. It is the thinking side of our brain. The emotional side of the brain is what we use to help us feel things like affection, love, sadness and anger. When things are normal, the brain is pretty evenly balanced. We use both sides at the same time, as we are normally both feeling and thinking things at the same time.
- If we become involved in a conflict situation, however, where we might get upset, angry or even frightened, then the balance in our brain is disturbed, and we start to use the emotional side more than the rational side. This is a perfectly natural response to the situation, but it can be controlled. If we ourselves become too emotional in a situation it will reduce our ability to think rationally, which may cloud our judgement and cause us to make unhelpful decisions.
- If we can calm ourselves down, though, then the rational side of the brain can pick up, and we can start to deal with the situation more effectively. Likewise, if someone we are dealing with at work becomes too emotional in a situation, then they may become very difficult to deal with unless we can calm them down first.
- Fight or Flight It is important that we understand what happens to ourselves and others when we are confronted by either conflict, or by frightening or threatening situations. Only then can we plan what is the best way to react ourselves, and how to treat others when conflict arises. If someone we are dealing with becomes angry, and starts to threaten us, then our brains will automatically start to use the emotional side of our brain more than the rational side. It is the natural human response to a threat or potential threat to our wellbeing and safety. If we did not get frightened in such situations, our brains and bodies might not be prepared to be able to react quickly enough or in the proper way if we did actually need to protect ourselves. When we become frightened our bodies will automatically go into what is called fight or flight mode. This is because of the basic natural animal instinct in us all to help us to survive potentially dangerous situations. Fight or flight prepares our brains and bodies to: Stand and physically fight off an attack - FIGHT or to run away from the situation to keep ourselves safe - FLIGHT
- The body releases the hormone adrenaline into our system to increase our physical ability to fight or run away. This adrenaline rush increases our heart rate, pumping extra blood and oxygen to the muscles we need to use. Our eyes widen to take in as much of the situation as possible, although sometimes we do centre our attention directly onto the threat itself, causing what is often called tunnel vision. Our sense of hearing intensifies, again to try to allow us to take in as much information about the threat as possible.
- Once the situation ends, whether that is by us having halted or fought off the threat, or whether we have been able to get away from it, then our brains and bodies begin to calm down again, in an attempt to get back to normal. Our bodies slowly return to their natural relaxed states, and as we calm down our brains return to thinking with the rational side again.
- However, if our brains and bodies do not return to their natural conditions as they should, then we can go into a state known as shock. This normally only happens after a particularly threatening or frightening situation though.
- Triggers As we have said, if a security operative or someone they are dealing with becomes emotional, then they are more difficult to deal with. They are not thinking rationally as they normally would be. If they start to feel frustrated, upset or angry, then they are less able to make appropriate decisions. Particularly as their brains and bodies start to automatically move towards the fight or flight mode, in response to what they may see as a threat, then they may be triggered into reacting in a worse way, possibly using aggression to deal with the situation. A trigger is an action towards you that can cause you to completely lose your temper, and causes you to resort to aggression or even violence. It is important that security operatives are aware of this, and do not allow themselves to be triggered by the other person into using unnecessary aggression themselves.
- It is equally as important that security operatives do not accidentally trigger the person they are dealing with, causing them to lose their temper and react with violence. We must also bear in mind that people are often easier to trigger if they are under the influence of alcohol or some types of drugs, or if they are emotional for other reasons.
- Class question.
- Common triggers People can be triggered into using aggression or violence if they feel that they are being: Ignored; Rejected; Disrespected; Patronised; Embarrassed; Ridiculed; Insulted; Threatened; Sworn at; Blocked in; Confused; and Let down or hard done by.
- Inhibitors If during a conflict situation we are unable to calm the other person down, we may need to use an inhibitor to stop the person from being triggered into reacting aggressively or violently towards us. An inhibitor is something that prevents someone from acting in an unnecessary, unreasonable and negative way because they are in an emotional state. An inhibitor is basically the opposite of a trigger.
- TRIGGERS negative actions ……………. unhelpful in conflict situations. INHIBITORS positive actions …………….. helpful in conflict situations.
- It is often said that when people are under the influence of drink or drugs, that they ‘lose their inhibitions’. This means that they may try to do something that they wouldn’t normally do if they were thinking rationally and calmly. If you give an emotional, angry or aggressive person an inhibitor, it may cause them to think about the consequences of their actions, and prevent them doing something that they may later regret.
- Common inhibitors include: Personal values; Self-control; Fear of loss or damage; Fear of retaliation; Social consequences, and Legal consequences - the next slides explain each.
- Personal values – Most people know deep down that it is unnecessary and wrong to use aggression and violence towards others. ‘Now I know you don’t want to do anything you’ll feel bad about later, so ……..’.
- Self-control – Most people, when they think about it, can usually calm themselves down if they want to in a conflict situation. ‘Let’s just both calm down and see if we can sort this out together’.
- Fear of loss or damage – People do not generally want to run the risk of damaging their clothes or losing personal items of property during a violent incident. ‘Now neither of us want to ruin our clothes or break anything by fighting, do we’?
- Fear of retaliation – There is always the chance that if we fight with someone, we may come off second best. ‘We don’t want anyone getting hurt here, do we, so…….’.
- Social consequences – People all worry about any risks to their personal reputations and their lifestyles. ‘I know you don’t want people to think badly of you, so ……..’.
- Legal consequences – People do not normally relish the idea of being arrested and going to court over something bad they have done. Neither do they like the idea of being fined or imprisoned. ‘This is all on CCTV, and I know you don’t want to get yourself arrested, so ….’.
- The timely and appropriate use of inhibitors can greatly reduce the chances of someone being triggered into using aggression or violence towards us. By the same token, we also need to consider the consequences of our own actions in heated, frightening or threatening situations too, so that we don’t do some something that we later regret or get ourselves into trouble over