Deescalation & Conflict Resolution: Strategies for a Secure Workplace

Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

Ensuring a secure and harmonious workplace involves effectively managing conflicts and potential violence. This is where the concepts of de-escalation and conflict intervention become essential tools for promoting safety and preventing workplace violence.

Focus is on the identification and management of aggressive behaviors and empowering employees to respond to those behaviors in a way that minimizes the risk of injury—whether psychological, social, or physical—to the person in crisis or the staff.

 

Utilize these three non-content elements to create comfort in a stressful situation – 

Tone of voice. 

If what you say doesn’t match how you say it, trust is lost. Adopting a soft, quiet tone of voice helps quiet people down to ensure they can hear you. 

Proximity. 

During de-escalation, responders tend to come closer to the individual in distress to try and influence them. Give the individual in crisis the space they need to feel safe. Sometimes even miming touching the person on the upper arm can signal support and safety.

Space to vent. 

Although safety must always come first, the best conversations take place with comfort for both parties, and if someone is not comfortable, it is important that we give them some room to get that discomfort out of the way.

SOURCE: 

Meyer, C. Breaking Through to Better Communication During De-Escalation, 11/1/2024.
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