How to Stop Office Fighting

A couple with whom my wife and I are friends came over for dinner the other evening. Shelby, my best friend's wife, was telling us about her new promotion at work and how she'd been given two assistants to work under her. Shelby had never been placed in a managerial setting before and her two assistants -- who were supposed to lighten her workload -- were making her life miserable. They were each coming into her office on a regular basis to complain about the other. They were nice to one another until they got Shelby behind closed doors. This is a prime case of office fighting, so how do you nip it in the bud?

A recent article by Chris Penttila at Entrepreneur.com identifies competition as the main culprit for office fighting. When two or more employees are fighting for the attention and the eventual promotion from a boss, they are more likely to engage in minor (or even major) disputes. It seems that when it comes to office fighting, a normally productive company becomes a hotbed for gossip, insults and scheming.

If you have noticed an increase in office fighting at your job, it's up to you to take control. If you're the manager in charge or the business owner, you can take steps to remedy the situation; if you aren't in an authoritarian position, you need to bring it to the attention of your superior. The longer office fighting goes on, the less likely it will stop until someone is fired, demoted or sued. Office fighting can become something like junior high students on a bus going home from school; things get out of hand and there's really nobody there to referee.

In most cases, office fighting can be cured by creating a level playing field. Promotion and achievement should not be based on a rapport with the boss, but on sound work and positive attitudes. When office fighting results in nothing more than disciplinary action, it tends to stop. It is when office fighting is unknowingly rewarded by the boss that things can turn ugly.

Further, there should be rewards in a workplace for teamwork rather than for solitary achievements. When employees are pitted against their coworkers, the goal of the company is lost in the red tape. Employees aren't usually working for the good of the company, but for the lining of their bank accounts. They know that the corporate world can be vicious and many employees are deciding to join in on the games rather than fight to stay above them. Office fighting can often be a result of misplaced anger and resentment toward those who seem to overachieve.

The first step in putting a lid on office fighting is to directly address the situation. In the interest of remaining objective, some bosses and managers will ignore the fighting and hope it will go away, much the same as the parents of two particularly rambunctious teenagers will ignore bickering. If the issue is properly addressed, however, the juvenile behavior is thrust into the limelight and employees who have spent billable hours fighting will be embarrassed of their behavior.

The next step is to develop a zero tolerance policy for office fighting. While it might not have escalated into punching and biting, nasty schemes and juvenile "tattle-telling" can develop well enough on its own. Simply lay out the rules for employees and encourage everyone to operate like a team.