Log in or become a subscriber

Minor workplace grievances are increasingly building to an "explosion" point because employees aren't equipped to tackle them early, and hybrid working is pouring fuel on this fire, a conflict expert says.

The move to hybrid work, paired with unresolved interpersonal issues from months of remote work, are posing a significant risk to workplace relationships, says Lindall West, the managing director and founder of Ombpoint.

On top of negotiations about what hybrid work should look like, "you've got that whole exclusionary piece coming through as well: 'I got excluded from the Zoom drinks, then I got excluded from the cool project. Jim has been going into the office and suddenly he got on the cool project'", West tells HR Daily.

"Where relationships have actually deteriorated, and there's not a high level of trust [you can] end up in a scenario where almost everything that the other person says is misinterpreted..."