Prejudice and Conflict Resolution

Yesterday was a very  busy day as there were several employee conflicts that I was working on resolving with my clients. However, one such case stood out. There was a manager who was heard calling the employee a "Taliban". The manner in which the name was referenced was that the employee began to ask her manager about a training she was completing as part of her objectives. In the midst of the conversation, the manager received a personal call. During the personal call, the manager began to tell the individual on the other side of the line that she was at work, and was in the middle of speaking to the "taliban".

The employee who heard this was initially in shock, but didn't react. However the manager in her phone conversation repeated the phrase again. The employee at this point realized that she was being referenced as the "Taliban" and simply did not react. Rather, the employee continued as though she did not hear it. Now keep in mind that the personal phone conversation between the manager and other individual was conducted in Spanish. The employee however does understand Spanish. The manager assumes that she is the only employee who can be multilingual in the department. Therefore, disregards the disclosure by the employee on previous occasions that she does understand Spanish.

The fact that the manager has engaged in name calling not only illustrates her lack of professionalism, but rather calls for grounds of firing. She can be fired for discrimination. The only issue is that the employee has no proof to provide to the HR department as all of it will be perceived as hearsay.



Conflict Resolution techniques can be very useful. The employee's lack of reaction was the first step in avoiding a nasty conflict. Although the employee is still very angry, she will take a peaceful path to first bring this matter to the attention of the HR department, insist on filing a report, and the next time this occurs, to have proof. It is important to note that employees often feel that the HR department will always stand against them, and stand by the managers. In most cases, this assumption is very true!

However, the HR team must take into consideration the numerous complaints made by the employees against this manager. If the name calling does continue, then it would be in the best interest of the employee to simply begin conducting everything in writing, and creating a strong list of documentation to prove to her subordinates that there is a major issue with the manager.

The HR team in the mean time can begin training managers on how to act professional at all times, and never assume that your employees do not speak another language. The lack of professionalism in this manager can further damage the reputation of the company.

For more information on conflict resolution trainings for the workplace, please contact us today: groupwhynot@gmail.com

Posted on behalf of Group WhyNot. Please no soliciting.