Idea Box: Avoiding Division and Promoting Unity in the Workplace

You know the feeling: tension, walking on eggshells, hushed voices, and avoiding conflict. These behaviors don’t create a healthy environment anywhere, especially in the workplace. Depending on the size of your company, it’s nearly impossible for everyone to see eye-to-eye. Agreeing on all aspects of politics, religion, life choices, and even sports teams is not a practical company goal.

The success of a business depends on the unity within. Division causes stress, power struggles, and a toxic environment for everyone in the workplace. What actually causes company-wide division, and how can a place of unity be established?

As with any company vision, if unity is a company-wide goal, it must start with leadership. Knowing the leadership within the company is unified, this trickles down to the rest of the workforce. Whatever the leadership lacks can also affect the rest of the employees as well.

 

  1. Clear Communication:

The number one factor when guarding against division and promoting unity is communication. Effective communication sets clear expectations. Scheduled and structured meetings help the staff know what to expect and when. There is security in having sufficient and accurate information to get the job done, building trust with leadership and with one another. When communication is clear, misunderstandings are resolved and occur less frequently.

To effectively communicate, while texting or emailing is quicker, regular face-to-face conversation is necessary to hear inflections in tone as well as facial expressions. In-person communication makes it easier to ask someone to repeat themselves for clarity. Where effective communication is concerned, remember, listening is just as important.  You have two ears and one mouth. Listen twice as much as you speak.

 

  1. Common Purpose:

To build unity as a team, everyone should share a purpose. Just members of a sports team know their roles and positions; they also share a common goal. In company meetings, make sure employees know the goal and the role they play in achieving it. Not having an aligned purpose can cause chaos and an apathetic work environment. If everyone is on the same page there is unity as you strive for the same outcome.

 

  1. Positive Growth:

As everyone works toward a common purpose, encouraging growth, individually and as a team, holds all members accountable to the company standards. No one should turn a blind eye to underperforming employees that do not work towards the company goal. Just as members of a sports team are cut for underperforming, employees should work together to encourage one another to improve in performance. Whether it’s habitually arriving to work late, not making deadlines, or failing to communicate proper procedures, one incompetent team member affects the whole team. Encouraging one another to grow in these areas brings unity as you all work for the same goal.

 

  1. Conflict Resolution:

Within any company, conflict is normal; resolving it in a positive way is key. Allowing conflicts to go unresolved can create bitterness between coworkers, hindering productivity as well as unity. Encourage one-on-one, face-to-face conflict resolution initially. If the resolution seems unreachable, bring a neutral coworker or leader into the conversation to add a different perspective and mediate the conversation. If conflicts become a larger issue without productive resolutions, consider bringing in a professional for site-wide training in this area.

 

  1. Build Trust:

In order to build trust in a workforce, there are things that must be addressed, such as negativity and gossip. Speaking negatively toward or about fellow coworkers does not promote mutual respect and trust. Overall, being around someone who has a consistent negative attitude and complains brings others down with him. Consider making a no-tolerance policy regarding gossip and negative talk. Encourage sharing and recognizing positivity in the workplace just as you would identify a “job well done” in a company meeting. Praising positive and cooperative attitudes is just as vital to company unity.

As a company leader, take a look in the mirror.  How well are these unifying characteristics demonstrated among leadership? Start by choosing one aspect of company unity and discussing this with the leadership team and the company as a whole. Get feedback on how the company handles each area and discuss ways to improve.

Miscommunication, apathy, conflict, incompetence, and negativity can easily creep into and infect the unity of a company unless leadership steps in and brings awareness as soon as any of these areas are visible. The sooner the issues are addressed, the less chance they will cause lasting division. When you foster a positive, open, and trusting work environment, unity will grow.

Leah Lively

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Pallet Enterprise February 2025