This comprehensive skills training workshop will equip attendees with proactive strategies to identify, address, and defuse interpersonal tensions and restore workplace relationships. Combining expert panel discussion with small-group exercises aimed at honing practical skills, the session will address issues such as:

• What early warning signs may indicate that interpersonal tension or conflict is brewing? What steps should employers and unions take upon recognizing these signs?
• What policies, collective bargaining provisions, or informal measures should be in place with respect to workplace conflict? What emerging provisions, policies, or practices can be adopted to allow for early conflict intervention?
• At what point do employers and supervisors become legally obligated to intervene in or investigate workplace conflict? Does it matter whether the conflict takes place in the workplace or in off-duty contexts?
• Can employees express political, religious, or controversial opinions in the workplace? What does recent caselaw suggest about the line between safeguarding free speech at work and an employer’s duty to ensure a safe work environment? How can employers and unions prevent these conversations from getting out of hand?
• When do interpersonal conflicts rise to the level of bullying or harassment? Do employers have a legal obligation to address incivility or personal conflict that does not rise to this level?
• What factors must be considered when dealing with conflict between an employee and supervisor, as opposed to a conflict between two employees? What is the role of the union when conflict arises between employees who are union members?
• What is meant by the term “poisoned workplace” and at what point will workplace conflict create an environment meeting this threshold?
• What steps should employers, unions, supervisors, and other employees take when individuals in the workplace are engaged in a seriously escalating conflict?
• When is it appropriate to consider moving an employee to a different department or location rather than attempting to resolve the issues in the current environment?
• With many workplaces moving to a hybrid or remote model, how can parties address workplace conflict in situations that may be more difficult to monitor, such as online chats?
• When will an employee’s behaviour with respect to a workplace conflict rise to the level of disciplinable misconduct? To what degree will the fact that the impugned conflict was in keeping with the workplace culture, or “condoned” by the employer, impact an arbitrator’s or adjudicator’s assessment as to discipline or liability?
• What organizational factors contribute to a higher incidence of workplace conflict? How should employers and unions identify whether those factors are present and what steps should be taken to improve the environment?
• What role can a trauma-informed, culturally competent approach play in addressing workplace conflict? How can such an approach aid employers and unions in understanding why conflict has developed and how to effectively respond?
• What role can mediation or other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods play in defusing conflicts and restoring workplace relationships?
• What does an effective workplace restoration plan entail? When should an employer consider retaining an external individual to assist with ongoing conflicts in the workplace? What is the union’s role in workplace restoration?