okay so um today we're going to be doing tutorial two for study period two um like I said earlier this is for the SE three in animal studies and SE four in veteran nursing so today I just want to focus on um conflict that can arise in the veteran workplace um and potential techniques um to resolve these conflicts but then also trying to understand and get a better gauge or idea of why they might occur um to hopefully kind of broaden your understanding of um the other side of the coin I guess when it comes to these conflicts in in workplaces if you have any questions throughout please just let me know um you can pop something in the chat and I will try my best to monitor it throughout the presentation um so please yeah ask as many questions as you want um and we can get some discussion going um so for those of you who haven't met my name is name is Mel Bailey um feel free to email me if you have any questions following this this tutorial so conflict what is conflict it's not anything that we particularly enjoy I don't know anyone who enjoys having conflict whether that's in your home life or your work life uh or with friends or family whatever it might be this does apply to not only just your workplace um but all aspects of your life as well conflict comes up with two people or two parties have a various disagreement um and it like I said before it can occur in a workplace between colleagues or clients um and that does tend to escalate or make the situation a little bit worse depending on who those clients or colleagues might be some things that can be main causes for conflict um are things in differences in expectation um communication barriers is um which can alter people's understanding or View and and therefore miscommunication happens um motivational factors as well uh potential cultural and ethical values depending on the person's background and how they've been brought up um different personalities as well when we go into workplaces that have a very um wide range of people coming from different backgrounds with different kind of experiences or knowledge um or different hierarchies as well that can kind of all bring in um different types of personalities um which can not always gel together very well um other things like Safety and Security can come into it um organizational structure so that hierarchy that I mentioned um and especially when the hierarchy changes people don't always deal very well with change and they do find it quite hard to adapt sometimes um and then having said that if the hierarchy above you in a workplace does change and you feel like um you know maybe that's been taken advantage of people's positions are being um used not for uh the right purposes that can obviously cause um some serious conflict as well within the workplace um to add to it obviously working in the veterinary industry or Animal Care industry it's not just humans who are involved but also um animals so with that comes the natural level of stress um you know when you're talking to clients about their pets um and you know your values and ethics might be challenged slightly um or maybe clients go through an emotional state where they have to come to terms with something that they're not particularly comfortable with um that can obviously also result in um stress levels going up and conflict occurring so the veterinary industry does come with its challenges um and if you do go into workplace you might experience these or you might have already experienced them um if you have already been in a workplace um other things that can come into uh the veterinary setting that causes a bit of conflict is that like I said before that hierarchy or um experiences um and training frame of mind and skill level so even though people tend to think of the vetenary industry is vets and vet nurses there's a lot of people who don't quite understand that there's a lot more people involved to get that daily running happening so things like receptionists practice managers maybe HR um General cleaners um you know kennel assistance whatever it might be be the workplace is a lot more established than people assume um if they're not involved in it and those levels of experience and training um do pose um some kind of conflict potentially uh when you're involved in that work place so there there's five stages of conflict broadly speaking so generally how do we identify conflict when it comes up um and what would we potentially notice in others if someone is suffering some kind of conflict U but maybe not verbalizing it so the first thing is generally an uneasy feeling um this is generally something that makes someone else uncomfortable um it can come in a few different forms for example if someone makes a joke um you know it might have a little bit of a hidden connotation um or maybe they speak in a certain tone um something else that makes certain personalities feel uneasy is people invading personal space um or potentially just the way that they are engaging in in conversation so people might be quite abrupt in how they talk and that just might be their personality they might not mean anything by it but depending on the person that they're communicating with that can be potentially perceived as quite negative so the first thing is something that just makes someone feel a little bit uncomfortable a little bit uneasy um but it doesn't uh it doesn't cause um massive conflict it just Sparks that little bit of ah that wasn't particularly um enjoyable the second stage is the episode stage so this one is uh more obvious than the first stage it's more intense and it normally leaves someone feeling pretty upset or angry about a situation so if we look at the joke example um if someone makes a joke and it's just between the two of you you know you can kind of laugh it off and take it for what it is on that face value but when an episode happens it can be done more publicly um to make that person feel quite hurt um and potentially a little bit upset and angry about how that person delivered news or whatever to um to the other person while communicating so you know if that joke is made in public whether that's in front of your colleagues and makes you feel you know a bit downgraded uh or you know um maybe you feel like if it was done in front of colleagues that your knowledge was challenged um or your your kind of yeah position was challenged so depending on how that's done um can definitely increase the intensity um of that joke for example the third stage is the misunderstanding stage so this is where both parties find it quite hard to keep their emotions aside um and they start to project their feelings or thoughts um onto the other person so like I said before the veterinary industry is very stressful emotions are pretty high not all the time um but yeah it's a pretty full-on environment your emotions are pretty high and some days if you're just having a bad day um it's not like you can go and shut the office door and just in front of your computer and kind of you know zone out from the world those interactions with clients will still happen the interactions with your colleagues will still happen um and it is sometimes hard to keep your feelings under control so this misunderstanding um phase happens when these thoughts and feelings and emotives or motives I should say um are projected onto the other person the stress stage um it's when conflict goes unresolved so this is when you go home and you think about things and you you get stuck in your mind a little bit um and the escalation in this uh what might have been just a bit of a you know uncomfortable situation it's now escalated to the point where you're going home and you're thinking about it and you're trying to analyze it in your head and and maybe you're talking to your friends about it who are outside of the workplace and trying to get some kind of validation to your feelings so if it's unresolved this is when anxiety can creep in you worry about it negative feelings can be generated um and physically and mental sorry physical and mental stress um can occur and then the worst stage is the crisis phase so this is when not only are the two individuals who are involved in the conflict are affected it's when this leeches out into your team members as well so the functionality of teams is at risk um maybe their efficiency or the communication is broken down um and your the productivity of your team is just not up to scratch as we all know working in a Veterinary environment it is never ever ever a oneman band so your vets will rely very heavily on your vet nurses and your vet nurses will rely on your vets to give some direction um you know uh the nurses might rely on the receptionists to make sure you know paperwork's done or commun communication's done clients are put in rooms uh Hospital charts or admission charts are filled out before they come in whatever it might be um people always rely on each other when we're in this work environment so when a team gets um broken apart I guess by conflict that might have only initially happened between two people it does very quickly escalate into a team problem and if your results aren't showing uh and your productivity is reduced uh then this can have some serious um I guess KnockOn effect to your other team members so this is where it's pretty hard to break that cycle and some intervention is definitely needed from management um any questions so far is everyone happy okay so conflict management and resolution techniqu te how do we deal with these things that pop up when they make someone feel uncomfortable um you know how do we kind of go about trying to sort it out and nip it in the butt before it does get to that crisis phase where everyone's kind of getting affected and pulled into this what might have been quite a petty thing to start with has not you know um been made into this big um issue so resolving conflict it's easier made known and acknowledged um by appropriate team members so it's easier when they identify what's going on if the two people who are involved in the issue can kind of um acknowledge it between the two of them and come to some kind of agreement or compromise or collaboration and that's the The best scenario um that doesn't always happen um and it can't always be expected to happen so when it comes to resolving Conflict at the LA latest stages uh where you know crisis has kind of crept in it does kind of fall uh onto people in management and in your workplace you might have certain HR you know department or maybe that falls with the practice manager who looks after HR um matters as well um but getting someone else involved as a third party um to kind of show no bias um is definitely um probably the most professional and um policy abiding way so things like mediation or counseling can be done uh mediation it involves that third party um they don't take sides they don't pass judgment um and the mediator allows each side to speak what they feel so that each party can hear how the other person is feeling and hopefully gauge a better understanding of the other side of the coin um that mediator then might put forward suggestions or Solutions um to progress through this conflict um and hopefully try and resolve it so there's a few main things that need to come into it when we're talking about managing and resolving um sticky situations like um workplace conflicts or confrontation so the first thing is compromising um each party needs to try and find a middle ground um between conflicting parties so they both may have uh a few wins and a few losses so when they meet in the middle ground and they've compromised they you know they might have been able to um agree on 50% of the things and disagree on the other 50 but both parties are willing to um take what they need and then compromise and I guess miss out on others but when we look at someone or a party that's compromising there's few wins involved and there's few losses for both both parties so they're both on an even playing field um when we talk about accommodating um this is generally where one party will neglect their own concerns to satisfy the other party so one party kind of accepts or um comes to terms of the fact that you know they might miss out on something or whatever it might be and then the other party feels like they've obviously had a few wins um and they haven't had to sacrifice anything so one party has accommodated um and the other party um has obviously I guess for lack of better terms gotten their own way when we talk about um competing this is usually when there's an obvious um clear winner or a clear loser um so it generally kind of comes into management and Authority so if you know your practice manager decides that they want to change a policy and procedure um and it might be in regards to admissions in the morning at the end of the day if that's what the practice manager wants to do it's their business that's how they see moving forward as a positive thing to do so potentially as a say kenel assistant or receptionist you um aren't going to put up much of a fight because um they're your Superior that's their business um and so that's where it's a clear kind of cut black and white situation um there's no compet eating um to try and resolve that conflict um avoidance so not dealing with the problem there are people or personalities that would rather just avoid conflict um and be a little bit more submissive and just let things happen um I think we probably all have experienced that in one form or another depending on you know where we're at in our lives um but not dealing with the problem will only result in everybody losing out so the only time it's really valid um is when the timing to address certain conflicts might not be appropriate so people might need to take some time to cool off to go home after potentially they've had a bit of a r um and think about things a bit more logically outside of the workplace away from potential influences or other work colleagues that might share their opinion that might not help so the only time avoidance is really um valid is when things like cooling off is needed and then you come back the next day everyone's fresh they've had time to sleep on it they've had time to think about it or maybe talk to their Partners about it or their family or whatever um to get different outside perspectives that aren't biased then they come back the next day and hopefully that's when they can you know compromise or accommodate um the other person's feelings collaborating so this is the most effective to get a win-win outcome so when we collaborate together both parties feel like they have a say in something and they both feel like they've been heard and that um what their opinion was um has been put into motion so they also recognize that uh something is wrong um and can constructively work towards a mutual um beneficial solution so this is the one that we want to kind of use the most um but is very kind of situational dependent but collaborating especially when you're working in a big team um and you know you might have say seven or eight other nurses that you work with um in order to work efficiently together effectively and enjoy going to work and working with your teammates um collaborating is probably the best way to manage um any kind of conflicts that might um crop up when we think about um how we respond to conflict I briefly mentioned before that you know sometimes people would just avoid conflict Alto together um like I said no one really enjoys um having an argument or or making someone else feel uncomfortable but sometimes it just happens um and sometimes people aren't aware of how they're affecting other people whether that's through their actions or words um people don't always quite understand how other people are taking on um their actions so understanding how people will respond to conflict um will help you take that step further and potentially avoiding um any kind of like confrontation but also understanding personalities and how they might deal with stuff themselves so assertiveness is the first way that someone can respond so assertiveness is the ability uh to express your own concerns and needs in a very direct but honest and tactful manner so this is where someone um has concern for the other person's feelings um if they're assertive they tend to respect others points of view um and they they have strong defined values um that are expressed quite clearly but they do tend to be flexible um and open to constructive feedback um they tend to have open body language um and they do take responsibility for or their own actions or or words so being quite assertive that's quite a strong personality um they tend to own what they do but they're also open-minded enough to try and um take on other people's opinions um and you know they're probably the people that you want to kind of come up against if there is a conflict to occur because you know that they'll potentially um be able to understand and listen to what you have to say aggressive people uh we tend to see this I think more so when um clients are put in situations uh that might be involving euthanasia or uh a bill that they need to pay um and they feel uncomfortable and potentially you know this is where people do become a bit more aggressive uh they tend to be quite forceful in their opinions um and they do impose their point of view on others so they fail to respect um other people's views and when it is a paying customer and someone behind the reception desk it's awkward because you know your customers you're kind of brought up to think that your customer is always right um and that you know you should respect them and listen to what they have to say uh but there is a line um um and unfortunately clients do tend to kind of cross that line every now and then and it's it is awkward for everyone involved um but that's where if you have a clear supervisor or manager that's where you get them involved because those aggressive people aren't enjoyable to work with um and if they're a supervisor or manager they've probably dealt with those personalities before and those kind of conflict um situations so they'll know how to handle them properly um so they do tend to be yeah like I said quite dominating and demanding um they put their needs ahead of others um so that's kind of the one that you don't that's the personality that you don't want to come up against um if there is some kind of head butting uh in the workplace passive people are submissive people so this is what I mentioned before they'd rather just kind of avoid the whole situation um you know they're the dog in the corner of the cage that's avoiding eye contact um they kind of stooped low the back of the cage trying to avoid and pretend that they're not there our passive personalities uh tend to be like this as well in the human world so they tend to be quite eager to please um and therefore they'll just go with uh the easiest option whether that's with the majority of people who have an opinion about something um passive people will say yep no that's cool on board with that let's just do that but that's not expressing how they feel but that's just how they're going to make themselves feel comfortable in that situation especially if there's lots of opinions um they tend to be quite reluctant to speak up um they don't want to be put on the spot um and then they don't want to be challenged that's the last thing that they want so if they you know they feel that if they do speak up and someone has um some kind of you know negative feeling towards something or they want want to challenge or get a little bit more involved in that opinion or or that procedure or whatever it might be um that's kind of worst case scenario for them so they just feel that when conflict happens they'd rather just let it kind of pass by um and avoid it all together so these are kind of the people that um don't speak up um and this is where if you ignore it um it's not it's not ever going to resolve and will become unhappy um and you don't want to lose people because they they're passive when it comes to conflict you want them to feel like they have a voice so what does this all come down to comes down to good communication so people uh who work with many different personalities with many different um hierarchies or management or colleagues whatever it might be clients we all need to have very good communication skills we need to be assertive we need to um understand and dis understand uh and display things like empathy um we need to be attuned to others needs and wants so staying openminded um and if you don't quite understand and you feel like you're but in heads with a colleague well ask them about it ask them to explain their point of view um before it gets to that awkward phase where you do need a third party to kind of you know get each other's um opinions out in the open so be open-minded ask questions you know try and be mindful of how you conduct yourself as well in terms of your body language um and how you might come across how do you respond to conflict so if we go back to this previous um slide I'm sure we've all had conflict of once at one time or another in our lives and sometimes you might have you know responded quite aggressively uh depending on what the situation was um for example did you have you know an altercation or whatever with your siblings you might have been a bit more aggressive in that manner um because they're your siblings or did you have you know a bit of a conflict with someone at work and the situation was quite different therefore you were a bit more assertive um was there a time where you were passive so trying to be mindful of how you respond to conflicts and how that might make the other person feel so if you feel like you always default to being quite aggressive um just think about well if you have a personality who's very submissive how is that going to make them feel if you're forever being a little bit more aggressive and now you know that other people don't always feel the same way you do we're not all hard wir the same so being mindful of how you act um and how you communicate as well is very very important so yeah using appropriate words and gestures demonstrating effective listening skills which will be going hand in hand with um being in tune with how other people um function and what they might kind of need or want so that's pretty much um what I had scheduled for today um is just going through the different kind of stages of conflict um and we can see how it can build up to be you know making a mountain out of a mole hill um it only becomes a problem when we aren't able to communicate properly we're not open-minded um potentially we're not looking at the situation and gauging it appropriately and then responding appropriately so very different um conflicts that can occur at home in comparison to at work but they still have the potential of occurring so working in the veterinary industry we know we've got many different colorful personalities that we have to deal with the hierarchy are quite black and white um which isn't always a good thing um depending on the workplace that you're involved in but it needs to be respected as well so being mindful that you know if you do have a practice manager or a specialist that you're working with there is there are boundaries um and if conflict and stuff does occur when do you speak up um and when do you allow that to just um pass by because of that hierarchy so so having said that if you do ever feel uncomfortable um from you know potential words that have been said or maybe someone's done something or or gossiped or whatever you do need to report that to your manager so your manager your supervisor your head nurse whatever it might be going to your colleagues is not always a good idea because they're involved in the situation as well um and if they're not in the situation as soon as you go and talk to them you're pulling them into that um kind of environment as well so who do you report to you go to your supervisor or your superiors um have a conversation with them um they would have dealt with this many times before and hopefully they can either provide some feedback or some direction on how you might try and resolve the conflict with someone um between the two of you or the two parties involved um but then at least you man manager or supervisor is aware um of what's going on in that environment so if your management is aware they can do things to try and I guess mediate without getting involved um but make things a little bit easier um on your daytoday I guess work duties and life um so yeah if there's any questions please uh feel free to pop anything in the chat or send me Anil email afterwards um but that's pretty much all I wanted to go through today um I will stop the recording uh now and then um we can have a a chat about the study period or assessment or anything that you guys are wanting um so yeah I'll hang around for another five or 10 minutes um and if you've got any questions just