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CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

As a matter of Safety at WorkRed Cross Asylum Department

Denmark

RED CROSS/ 27.09.13 / CONFLICT MANAGEMENT 1

The purpose of the presentation

How we handle conflict management in the Red Cross Asylum Department in Denmark

• The challenges we have in the field of conflict management

• How we see conflict management as a very important issue in the working environment

• How we work preventively with conflict management – What we are doing today and what we're working to make in the future


The working environment consultant

• Ensure consolidation and development of the Asylum Department’s work environment

• Provide guidance, advise and information about health and safety issues for managers, safety representatives and all staff at the different centers

• Ensure that we comply with health and safety legislation


Facts about the organization

The gender distribution of the staff


We have about 825 employees

We have about 3.500 asylum seekers accommodated

Facts about the organization


Each employee has an average of 12 days of sickness a year

Facts about the organizationManagement

Administration

Region 1 Centers

Region 2 Centers

Region 3 Centers

Region 4 Centers

Region 5 Centers


Conflicts with threats and violence described in the quantitative data

• From the annual workplace risk assessment, we know that 35 percent of employees have been subjected to threats through the past year

• From the annual workplace risk assessment, we know that 7percent of the employees have been subjected to physical violence through the past year

• From the annual workplace risk assessment, we know that 8procent of the employees have been subjected to sexual harassment through the past year


Conflicts with and without threats and violence from january to june 2013

Data from the electronic reporting of conflicts shows:

• 73 incidents of threats against staff

• 16 cases of violence against staff

• 184 reports of inappropriate behavior

• 20 reports of self harming among asylum seekers

• 21 cases of threats among asylum seekers

• 73 cases of violent incidents among asylum seekers

• 95 cases of vandalism and damage to the inventory


Typical conflict situations

• We manage desirable values

• We perform a control or power function

• We are in contact with potentially outward responding asylum seekers (mentally vulnerable)


Reactions to seriously conflict situationsThe three double experience

Own sense of guilt

Others reactions

The conflict itself


The reactions strength and duration depends on

1. Who we are as people

2. Our private circumstances

3. The nature and severity of the episode

4. About the episode could be predicted

5. The surroundings way to handle the incident (help/support)

6. Previous experience with similar episodes

7. Whether we experienced to have control of the situation


The Working Environment Legislation

• The employer has the overall responsibility for a safe and healthy working environment

• Jobs with the risk of violence and threats must keep a special and intensified preventive safety work

• Have to work preventive and systematically with violence and threats

• The partners of the labor market work together to prepare the exact rules of the Danish working environment

• Danish Working Environment Authority supervises compliance with the legislation


The local work environment organization – who are the actors?


The Works Council where each local committee sends a representative

Local center committee of approximately 5 persons with

representation of at least one safety representative

A number of local working environment groups at the center

1 safety representative1 safety leader

The different tools to prevent and handle conflict situations• Policies that describe the conduct as all employees must

comply in order to ensure a safe and healthy working environment – for example:

- Health and safety

- Threats and violence

• The workplace risk assessment takes the temperature of the number of conflict situations with threats and violence directed at the staff

- We can keep an eye on whether the number of conflicts rises or falls year by year - do we prevent good enough?


The different tools to prevent and handle conflict situations•Training and skills development for all members of the working environment groups

-Health and safety training required by legislation

-Conflict Management Courses hosted by the Asylum Department

-Psychological first aid Courses hosted by the Asylum Department

-To use the electronic reporting to obtain systematic and organizational learning - can we prevent the conflicts different or in a better way? Did we get together well enough after the conflict situation?

-To put all aspects of conflict management on top of the local agenda in the center – to motivate and educate the colleagues


The different tools to prevent and handle conflict situations• The psychological working environment must be on top at the

agenda in the organization

- We need to work more intensively and targeted with psychosocial factors that are known as foundation for a strong employee satisfaction

- Trust and fairness, control and influence, meaningful work, social support, customized job requirements, reward, predictability, constructive conflict management, competent management

- To combine working environment and management


The different tools to prevent and handle conflict situations• Training of special conflict mentors among the Working

Environment Groups

- Knowledge and practical training to deal with different types of conflicts

- knowledge of how to teach other colleagues in conflict management

- knowledge about what psychological first aid entails, and how it is translated into local practice

- Knowledge of the legal requirements in which a local action plan for threats and violence must include - and how colleagues must be involved in the learning process


The different tools to prevent and handle conflict situations

• Local action plans for dealing with conflicts of threats and violence

-The prevention of threats and violence involves a continuous and focused effort on three different levels:

• To avoid episodes of violence and threats arising• To handle conflicts when they occur• To follow up once the damage is done, and prevent harmful effects upon the affected


The conclusion of the challenges with conflict management• The number of conflicts must be reduced

• Interventions to reduce the conflicts must be implemented both at central and local level in the organization

• To avoid – to handle – to follow up at the conflicts. It is the three-legged effort

• We have the kvowledge and the legislation according to conflict management – so what’s the challenges?


The conclusion of the challenges with conflict management• To train the working environment groups to work

systematically with violence and threats

• To train the “Conflict Mentors” to teach the colleagues in the everyday life

• To train the managers in considering working environment as a management area and responsibility

• To train all employees to take responsibility for the psychological working environment


Documents

Titel og dato i sidefod: 1. Vælg ’Indsæt’ i topmenuen 2. Vælg ’Sidehoved og Sidefod’ 3. Skriv dato / titel på præsentation ind i sidefodfeltet 4. Tryk