Your workplace needs to be peaceful so every employee can be productive. However, disputes, dysfunction, and disharmony between employees can make the office anything but unified. If your workplace is feeling stressful, or if there is growing tension and division between co-workers, you need to implement these strategies to encourage unity.
Ensure Equal and Fair Treatment
Unfair treatment of employees can create division and ruin unity. If one employee is getting more pay for the same amount of work, or someone never gets reprimanded for being late while the other gets written up, this shows favoritism and will create resentment within the team. Eliminate any unfairness to create a team that is more unified.
Schedule a Team Meeting
If your office environment is getting very tense, it is time to hold an emergency team meeting with mandatory attendance. At this meeting, each employee should have the chance to voice their concerns and offer suggestions about how to eliminate division among team members. Team-building exercises can also be helpful for creating unity. If your team needs extra help getting along, you can bring in a synthesis leader.
Weed Out the Bad Apples
Sometimes all it takes is one or two bad apples to spoil the entire basket. Unfortunately, some people just love to create drama and have no qualms about bringing their bad habits into the workplace. If your long-time employees have complaints about the new guy starting trouble, or you are constantly having to write someone up, it may be time to give them the boot so unity and peace can be restored. You will be surprised at how quickly the office returns to a balanced state once problematic individuals are removed from the picture.
Monitor Individual Satisfaction
If your co-workers are overworked, burnt-out, and unhappy, it will be very hard to foster unity between them. Individuals who are satisfied at work will be more open to team-building, more receptive to feedback, and easier to work with. Employees need enough time off to feel rested and productive. They need to have their voices heard when they have concerns. When each individual feels happy at work, there will be fewer problems and less division within the company.
Unified co-workers work better as a team and are more productive. When you use these strategies, you will foster an environment of unity and safety that allows your co-workers to thrive individually and as a company.
