Conflict, Stress on the Rise; Consultant Steven Reuter Helps Us Deal with It

A horrible internship changed Steven Reuter’s career plans. Once he experienced the injustice of how people were treated in the corporation where he worked, Steven knew he’d never be a marriage and family therapist.

Instead, he embarked on a career to improve workplaces. As a Resolve at Work consultant in the state’s Employee Assistance Program, Steven helps ensure people feel seen, heard, recognized, safe, and proud of the work they do.

Conflict arises when those needs aren’t met. How we handle the stress brought about by that conflict often determines how good or horrible we feel. Steven and his Resolve colleagues have seen such an increase in the Stress of Conflict he’s put together a three-part webinar to help employees better navigate both unhealthy and healthy stress in their lives. The series begins at Noon, Wednesday, June 14, on WebEx, and continues July 19 and Aug. 16.

The sessions are part of the Wednesday WorkLife Webinar series for all employees. June webinars also address the topics of Strategies for Balanced Communication (June 7) and Conflict Management Styles (June 21.) All session are recorded and available online if you miss the live presentation.

What’s stressing us out

It’s no surprise to anyone in the workforce that maintaining work/life balance is stressful. It’s a different feeling these days as workplaces transform from a 1980s style management where employees felt lucky they had a job to the mutually beneficial environment people seek today. Leaders are learning how participatory leadership works as team members learn how to actively participate.

The move to working both at the office and at home has given many employees flexibility they enjoy, and new challenges as entire teams relearn how to work together. Resolve and LifeMatters counselors note an increase in what they call micro conflicts. It could be someone’s tone in a Teams chat or distractions during a video call that goes against an individual’s core needs to feel seen, heard, recognized, safe, and proud of the work they do.

And finally, although it’s hard to talk about, the country’s political divisions seep into our personal lives and the work of public employees. While politics have always been around, Steven said, the fact that things are so much more polarized than before means we experience that stress differently.

Hop online at noon June 14, July 19, and Aug. 16. You’ll learn how to how to better handle conflict in your work and home lives. Steven’s hope is that you leave the sessions with a sense of hope for yourself and knowing that the smallest things bring the longest lasting results.