Public service employees carry out tasks in the general interest. These missions contribute to the protection of users' rights, such as justice, equality and solidarity, and therefore to living well together. Knowing how to deal with conflicts between public servants in a benevolent and objective manner not only protects their mental health, but also ensures that the general interest is served. What attitudes should be adopted to resolve them? What are the most effective conflict management methods and tools? How can we go beyond personal issues? Laurence Rochette, public service mediator, explains.
Conflict: an inescapable process in human relationships
The definition of conflict
«A process involving emotional, cognitive and behavioural reactions, which begins when one party perceives that it has been, in its view, wronged by another party or that the other party is about to do so.»
Foucher, Rolland Thomas, 1991
Typology of conflicts
[Testimonial]
Mohammed D., employee of the intercommunal social action centre
«Within the department, we have to deal with real social distress among local residents. Sometimes we have to announce a refusal of optional social assistance. This situation gives rise to conflicts of values within the structure, directly resulting from budgetary tensions at a time when demand is growing».»
The source of conflict
[Testimonial]
Marie T., Head of Local Urban Services«
«The baby boomers are retiring and only one in three jobs is being replaced. Staff numbers are shrinking at a time when residents are increasingly demanding public services. The dematerialisation of public services means they have less and less opportunity to talk directly to a member of staff. When they come to the town hall, they sometimes pour out all their dissatisfaction. As a result, staff are very reluctant to take on reception duties. Now I have to draw up very precise schedules so that everyone does the same number of hours at reception. Otherwise, there's almost constant tension between them.»
Conflicts between employees linked to the very missions of the public service
The role of public servants is to serve the public good. They must therefore satisfy the general interest: meeting society's social, economic, educational, cultural and security needs. But they must also guarantee equal access for users, ensure continuity of service and adapt to changes in society. In other words, the general aim is to ensure that society functions properly, that it is socially cohesive and that users have confidence in local and national public institutions. However, the social emergency, the dematerialisation of public services, the reduction in budgetary resources and the disaffection of candidates for public jobs are having an impact on the operation of public services and therefore on the staff responsible for running them.
[Training]
How do you manage conflict? First of all, it means taking preventive action by understanding the underlying causes and identifying the warning signs. It also means knowing how to defuse them effectively by adopting an active listening and assertive attitude. Would you like to try out clear and effective intervention strategies to re-establish dialogue and move towards a common goal? Discover the training programme Managing conflict.
How can conflicts between agents be identified?
Recognising weak signals to avoid escalation
1. Individual behaviour
Certain behaviours reflect a gradual deterioration in communication. For example :
- quieter informal moments (at the coffee machine, for example)
- ambiguous words, things left unsaid or unusual silences
2. Interpersonal signs
They appear in the way agents interact with each other:
- more formalised communication, such as the systematic use of e-mails when the colleague is in the next office, or very factual e-mail content, with no sign of friendliness
- the formation of clans or the designation of a scapegoat, often accompanied by rumours, which reflects fragmentation within the public structure (employees seek to group together to reassure themselves in the face of difficulties)
- weaker collaboration during meetings and projects (disengagement, frequent delays, reduced motivation)
3. Organisational signs
At a collective level, certain indicators should give cause for alarm. For example:
- an unbalanced workload
- negative or worsening results in psychosocial risk assessments
4. Management signals
Finally, managerial practices can exacerbate tensions. This is particularly the case when :
- the objectives are unclear
- responsibilities are poorly defined
Drawing on a wide range of HR indicators
- Le single social report enables an analysis of health at work, in particular.
- The quality of social dialogue is a good measure of the temperature within a public body. It can be seen at meetings of consultative bodies such as the territorial social committee in the local civil service.
- Le single occupational risk assessment document which assesses psychosocial risks in particular.
Conflicts between employees: impacts on their health... and on the operation of the public service
«53 % of employees in the public sector are in distress compared with 47 % in the private sector.»
12th barometer on the psychological health of French employees - Cabinet Empreinte Humaine
Dialogue and mediation: two valuable resources for managing conflicts between agents
Developing dialogue: the fruitfulness of conflict
Edgar Morin, philosopher and sociologist, insists on the fruitfulness of conflict. To shy away from conflict is to miss an opportunity for dialogue and relational growth, and therefore for improving the public service.
The greatest danger with conflict is to distance yourself from it.
However, favouring dialogue in conflict presupposes that the parties involved are capable of abandoning the «I'm right» and therefore «the other is wrong» attitude. In other words, they must be able to abandon a position of domination in order to allow constructive dialogue. It is then possible to listen to each other and think together about possible solutions.
Tools for dialogue
«The most difficult part of dialogue is not learning to speak, but learning to listen.»
Active, empathetic listening to promote mutual understanding
NVC* and assertiveness to respect everyone's needs
Authentic expression to create a climate of trust
Emotional intelligence to stabilise interactions
*Non-Violent Communication
[Testimonial]
Clémence V., Project Manager
«I was faced with a conflict with a colleague as part of the management of a departmental project. Our disagreements mainly concerned work organisation and decision-making. The lack of communication gradually created tensions. This slowed down the progress of the project and worsened the professional climate. I was able to benefit from a NVC and listening training. I learned that I didn't know how to listen! This experience enabled me to appreciate the importance of dialogue in preventing and resolving conflicts in the public service.»
Developing mediation: «agreeing to disagree».»
Mediation presupposes a neutral stance in order to offer a space for listening and then dialogue to the parties in conflict. Each party will listen to the other about what they are experiencing in the conflict. You don't have to agree, you just have to find out what is going on and then come up with possible solutions together.
The 4 stages of mediation
1/ Setting up the process framework
2/ Presenting the facts and identifying needs
3/ Finding a joint solution
4/ Drawing up the final agreement and closing the deal
👍 Mediation is :
- An amicable dispute resolution process
- A voluntary approach
- A cooperative process
- Stakeholder co-responsibility
👎 Mediation is not :
- Group therapy
- A review of the situation
- A search for the origins of the conflict
- The mediator looking for solutions
🤝 Mediation makes it possible to :
- Restoring professional links
- Restoring confidence
- Restoring the keys to dialogue within the organisation
When can mediation be used?
- When agents come into contact with each other in the course of their duties
- When dialogue breaks down
- From the start of the conflict
When can mediation not be used?
- If a legal solution is required, for example for acts of sexual and gender-based violence
- If one of the parties does not volunteer
- When an appeal is lodged
[Testimonial]
Florian D., reception agent
«I'd been in conflict with a colleague for several months. I felt that at reception he was getting me into trouble because he was always referring difficult situations to me. I didn't think that was fair. It got to the point where we weren't speaking to each other. It was very tense in the department. So my employer set up mediation. At first, it was difficult to let go of the idea that “I'm right”, to give up the idea of having the last word and to stop trying to bend the other person to my will. In the end, I realised that my colleague was suffering in this job because he was afraid of being attacked. The mediation process enabled the department to be reorganised, taking into account what everyone had said. Our relations are now calmer».»
How can the effects of mediation be sustained over time?
Acculturating the work group
Drawing up the agreement
The agreement is formalised and signed by the parties involved. It indicates who does what and how. It is therefore clear and precise and must leave no room for interpretation. The commitments are broken down into small steps. They have been chosen by the stakeholders to give them a sense of responsibility: ownership creates commitment.
Supporting the process
The agreement is accompanied by’follow-up indicators implemented over approximately 12 months. For example, it may mention regular meetings to check that the planned solution is being implemented. It's a document that lives on a daily basis.
Teaching staff to listen and manage their emotions
In mediation, you don't just resolve a single conflict, you also prevent future ones. This means training managers in the tools. Mediation can be integrated into management culture thanks to a management charter.
Strengthening mutual recognition
The manager must encourage discussion and the expression of needs within his team. The best guarantee of a good relationship is trust.
Mediation can have long-term effects if the practice becomes systemic, i.e. rooted in the culture of the public structure. This allows agents to regain their autonomy in order to normalise conflict management.
Conflicts between employees within their organisation: what rights do employees have?
Carrying out public service missions also offers rights, in particular the right to functional protection. If a civil servant is the victim of verbal or physical aggression from one of his colleagues, the employer must protect and assist.
💡 Please note: in the event of personal misconduct on the part of the employee, functional protection is not payable.
Finally, disciplinary sanctions must remain the last resort.
Conflicts between public service employees must be interpreted in the light of France's economic, social and political context. Preventing and managing conflict requires the implementation of appropriate regulatory mechanisms, a culture of dialogue and the promotion of shared responsibility. The commitment of managers alongside their staff will enable tensions to be transformed into opportunities for improvement.
