Is There An Actual Dollars & Cents Cost For Family Business Conflict?

Family business conflict goes beyond workplace conflict because the folks who are in conflict are also related to one another

. In other words the conflict is not just about business it's also about family. Things that happened in the past, maybe decades ago, show up in so-called business conflict.

This conflict, especially when it is obvious, like fist fights in the company warehouse or even non-violent conflict such as when supervisors or coworkers start malicious rumors about one another are seen for what it is, workplace conflict. And while this family business conflict has a very real cost, the actual easy to understand workplace conflict is rarely measured in terms of how it impacts the organization's bottom line.

Why is that? Well if management knew how much of the organization's profits were being drained away, they would be forced to take action.

Family business conflict is often subtle, such as intimidation or bullying, and that cost is never ever never measured either. In fact this type of behavior is not usually seen as conflict at all in the traditional sense, so not only is it not measured there is rarely any attempt to resolve it either. The cost of conflict from these bad behaviors no only sucks money from the bottom line, it also opens the door to what could be crippling lawsuits. Yes, even family business conflict, where people are supposed to love each other can end up in court as well as the local court of public opinion.

Management all too often waits patiently on the sidelines until it all blows over or until there is some other reason to step in and make a personnel decision. Workplace conflict resolution is applied sparingly, often as a last resort, when it should have been the very first step. There are dozens of resources that not only help you put a dollar figure to the existing conflict. They also help you manage the differences that created the workplace conflict in the first place, making the future more productive, profitable, and peaceful than the present.

And just as significantly these resources offer insights you'd otherwise have to pay a conflict resolution professional for, making you a more informed consumer of their services should you need or want them. In addition to uncomfortable feelings during Christmas dinner, unresolved family business conflict shows up in poor business decisions. We all know that the best decisions are those made jointly by employees with the good of the whole as their sole motivation. Yet when one person feels that this is the only way they can get even with one of their team members or the organization in general, they may instead sabotage these decisions, sometimes causing great harm.

And because decisions are being made every day, what is the impact of a single one of them? What about the money you lose because the decision makers have not received accurate results because the people who were supposed to do the research are squabbling or sabotaging one another? Then imagine a couple of these ongoing conflicts taking place somewhere with someone all the time. When decisions are made based on untested assumptions resulting from inadequate or purposely wrong information they are rarely the best decisions possible.

What should you do if you think there is conflict in the workplace where you are? Why don't you pick up one of the workplace conflict resources available to begin the dialogue. Then move on to the more intense issues as they become more visibly based on this new found sensitivity to the cost of conflict and the possibilities offered by family business conflict resolution?

by: Wayne Messick

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