Strategies for Preventing Common Workplace Grievances

A workplace grievance refers to any concerns, complaints or issues that employees raise with their employer. At work we have to spend hours of our day with people that we may not usually choose to. The workplace can also be a stressful, tiring and highly pressured environment; therefore, it is inevitable that sometimes people may feel unhappy and want to raise a grievance. 

A grievance is usually a more official version of a complaint. You can raise a grievance about a co-worker, your employer or your working conditions and this can be done informally (verbally) or formally (in writing). Common workplace grievances include issues around unfair pay, poor staff welfare or harassment. 

Employers have a duty to investigate workplace grievances and take steps to resolve problems that have arisen. This takes up valuable time and moves focus away from other management tasks, therefore it makes sense to prevent workplace grievances before they arise. 

Taking proactive steps to avoid grievances can also create a happier and more productive work environment, increase staff retention and improve a business’s reputation.

Promoting Clear Communication

Many workplace grievances occur due to a breakdown in communication. Clear and transparent communication plays an important role in preventing misunderstandings and conflicts that could lead to a workplace grievance. Good communication can also stop issues from escalating so that things can be sorted out before they go too far.

Some strategies for supporting clear communication in the workplace include:

• Hosting regular meetings (both team meetings and individual meetings between employees and their managers)
• Having open-door policies
• Using effective channels for collecting feedback so employees feel engaged, heard and supported
• Using active listening techniques
• Using simple and appropriate communication methods
• Learning to collect and act on feedback

It is also important that staff know how to raise a problem should it arise.

Establishing Clear Policies and Procedures

A grievance procedure is a formal way for an employee to raise concerns with their employer. Any policies or procedures at work need to be written in a clear and understandable way and be accessible to all staff. Minimally, your grievance procedure should include information about:

• How to set out the details of your grievance in writing
• Who to send your written grievance to
• Who to write to if the normal contact person is involved in the grievance (for example if the grievance is about your line manager)
• The next steps (such as a meeting with your employer to discuss the issue)
• How to appeal your employer’s decision
• How long each stage should take

Having a clear grievance procedure in place provides guidelines on how to handle grievances at work. This means that everyone involved has an idea of what the steps are that will be taken. A grievance procedure also establishes a timeframe for investigating and resolving the problem. 

It is also important to have a clear anti-bullying policy in place to address bullying and harassment at work. Bullying is an unfortunately an all too common workplace grievance that requires disciplinary action if it is found to be true. There is no legal definition of bullying in the UK; however, it is defined by Acas as:

• Offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting
• An abuse or misuse of power that undermines, humiliates, or causes physical or emotional harm to someone

Bullying at work can include spreading rumours about a colleague, being overly critical of their work, freezing them out or isolating them (both at work or by leaving them out of social events) or deliberately giving one worker a heavier workload than others.

The Equality Act 2010 covers UK citizens and contains legislation designed to protect them from:

• Discrimination
• Harassment
• Victimisation

The Act outlines the nine ‘protected characteristics’ as follows:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

This means that if a worker raises concerns about being treated poorly in relation to a protected characteristic, they have additional legal protection. It is important that everyone has an understanding of what bullying, harassment and discrimination are and what behaviour is and isn’t acceptable in order to help prevent grievances at work.

Providing Training and Development

Providing training and development opportunities to staff can help them to improve their skills and also makes them feel valued by the company.

By providing ongoing training and development to your staff you can help to:

• Enhance communication skills
• Learn conflict resolution skills
• Promote diversity awareness

When workplaces take the time to train their staff, they will empower them with the tools and knowledge to identify potential issues early and address them proactively.

Staff training can be done on site or through an external provider, or through a mix of both. 

When employees are encouraged to learn new skills and improve themselves, they are more likely to feel valued and supported at work. This can promote a more positive working environment where staff feel satisfied and talented individuals will thrive.

Encouraging a Respectful Workplace Culture

Encouraging a respectful workplace culture where people communicate with respect and kindness is a useful strategy for preventing workplace grievances. This should go both ways, with both employers and employees having a mutual duty to treat one another honestly and with respect. 

Employees have the right to:

• Have trust and confidence in their employer
• Feel safe and protected at work (from bullying, harassment, unfair treatment)

Employers have the right to:

• Expect their employees to behave properly and not bully anyone
• Receive respect from their employees and expect them to follow ‘reasonable’ requests or instructions from their managers

To improve the workplace culture and promote respect between everyone in the workplace, consider implementing the following strategies:

• Promote equity and equality
• Implement a zero-tolerance approach to bullying, harassment or discrimination
• Take steps to create and maintain a safe and supportive work environment
• Take complaints and grievances seriously and take all steps to resolve them
• Ensure everyone has access to adequate resources and support
• Allow workers to have a work/life balance (for example not contacting them on their days off unless it is urgent)

Clear expectations at work can also increase respect because everyone understands what standards are expected of them and can easily identify when these standards start to slip.

Setting Clear Expectations

Many grievances arise because people do not understand exactly what is expected of them or their colleagues. Mismanaged teams that lack clear roles and responsibilities can lead to feelings of confusion, mistrust and resentment within the workforce. 

When expectations are unclear, employees may begin to:

• Feel stifled, overworked or undervalued
• Judge other colleagues, deeming them to be underperforming, unproductive or lazy
• Start to feel that they are ‘carrying the whole team’
• Feel stressed and anxious and experience low morale
• Prioritise the wrong tasks, miss deadlines or make mistakes

When expectations are unclear in a workplace, employees can start to become demotivated and disengaged. This can have a knock-on effect on output, productivity and customer satisfaction. Without clear expectations, job roles can overlap which wastes valuable time and can cause tension and disputes.

For teams to work together seamlessly, clarity is key. This starts during the hiring process by matching the right person, with the correct skills, to the right job. Any advertisements and interview questions should be clear and without ambiguous or vague language and interviewees should be encouraged to ask questions. 

When workers start their new job, they should receive a contract that clearly communicates information about their role, preferably in writing, that sets out:

• Their role and job title
• Their responsibilities
• Employer’s expectations
• Rate of pay
• Any entitlement to company benefits or holiday pay
• Length of any probationary period

As well as any company policies such as:

• Anti-bullying and harassment policy
• Grievance procedure
• Disciplinary action procedure

You may want to try some of the following strategies for preventing common workplace grievances and setting clear expectations:

• Ensure all team members know what is expected of them at all times in terms of both their work and their behaviour
• Be clear in job advertisements and interviews and avoid ambiguous or vague language
• Be realistic in the expectations that are set
• Make sure roles and responsibilities are clearly defined to avoid misunderstandings or workers feeling unfairly put upon
• Promote a culture of continuous learning and improvement
• Recognise and reward hard work and great results
• Offer support or additional training to colleagues who are struggling before considering disciplining them
• Be flexible and understand individual circumstances, strengths and weaknesses, changing market conditions or new legislation
• Plan in advance and be organised – unexpected or last minute changes to rotas, projects or pay dates are likely to cause annoyance to staff and put them in a negative mindset

It is also important that employees understand exactly what powers their managers have so they do not develop unrealistic expectations of them. Supervisors and managers should avoid overpromising rewards that they cannot deliver, as this can result in unrest and resentment.

Implementing Effective Leadership and Management Practices

When there is a lot of internal conflict within a team it is often indicative of poor or weak management. By implementing effective leadership and management practices in the workplace, instances of workplace grievances should be reduced. 

Tips to be an effective leader at work:

• Lead by example
• Take responsibility and accept feedback
• Show that you are following procedures and understand legislation
• Encourage a growth mindset in your staff
• Nip problems in the bud rather than allowing them to escalate
• Be consistent in how you behave towards your staff
• Ensure you are seen to treat staff fairly
• Improve your conflict/resolution skills
• Learn to listen without judgement
• Learn to be assertive but not aggressive

Strong and effective leaders need to be able to be assertive, compliant with policy and able to make hard decisions but the best leaders are also high in empathy and emotional intelligence. Being empathetic and emotionally intelligent enhances our interactions with others which can help us to:

• Build better relationships at work
• Communicate more clearly
• Improve feelings of wellbeing

If a grievance is especially complex or you are not sure what to do, you should always reach out to get support from a third party or professional organisation such as Acas. If you handle a grievance poorly and the employee has grounds to escalate their grievance you could find yourself at an employment tribunal. This can cause stress and reputational damage and may also result in you having to pay court fees and compensation.

Regularly Monitoring and Addressing Concerns

It is also important that you monitor and review the policies that you have in place for dealing with grievances and make changes when needed.

• Be proactive
• Have an open-door policy
• Check in with your employees
• Be present, especially if you manage a large organisation – be sure to spend time in all areas rather than hiding out in your office

Consider ways to measure employee satisfaction such as in one-to-one meetings, surveys, anonymous feedback forms, suggestion boxes or by planning out some teambuilding activities. By requesting and assessing feedback, employers will be able to:

• Gauge employee satisfaction
• Measure engagement levels
• Better understand workplace dynamics

When people feel stressed at work, are experiencing poor mental health or suffering difficulty outside of the workplace, their behaviour at work may be impacted. This can lead to complaints, conflicts and grievances. Part of being a good manager or supervisor is being intuitive and recognising staff who are struggling and addressing these issues before they spiral out of control:

• Don’t stigmatise mental health at work – speak openly and encourage staff to share stories and support one another
• Avoid normalising ‘burnout’ – you want employees to be working hard, not overworking
• Offer wellbeing tips, such as using mindfulness apps, healthy eating or getting enough sleep
• Offer the option for staff to take time off or move to a new role if they appear to be genuinely struggling
• Check in with staff who are returning from periods of absence due to stress, ill health or grief

Conclusion

We all want to work in a healthy and happy workplace where we feel supported and valued. We can strive to achieve this by using clear communication methods, being compliant with policies, providing regular training and development, building a respectful workplace culture, establishing effective leadership and setting clear expectations. When any worker voices a concern or issue, it should be addressed swiftly and the situation routinely monitored.  

Employers should never underestimate the value of investing in preventative measures to create a positive working environment where a grievance being raised is the exception, rather than the norm.