The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 15: Spring 2020 | Page 34
BUSINESS ADVICE
Managing with the brain in mind:
The neuroscience behind workplace conflict
“We all have to put up with the general rough and tumble of worklife, don’t we? How could
she accuse me of bullying her?!” Victoria, a manager in a software company, couldn’t
believe that a member of her team, Sarah, had lodged a bullying complaint against her.
But for Sarah, the picture was a
different one. “It’s like Victoria
wants to make me feel bad the
whole time. She purposely belittles
me; she changes the goal posts
constantly; she micro-manages
my work; she keeps herself aloof
from me; and then she treats my
colleagues better than me!”
Describing this scene from her
work as an accredited Workplace
Mediator, Arabella Tresilian
reflects that the situation is not
uncommon, and arises partly
from our not understanding the
brain-based factors that make
employees feel safe and valued in
the workplace.
According to neuroscientist, Paul
Gilbert, our brains have three
emotional regulation systems which
need to remain in a healthy balance
for us to stay productive:
• Drive: motivates us to seek
fulfillment and reward
• Soothing manages distress;
promotes bonding and trust
• Threat: alerts us to danger;
activates fight-or-flight
Sarah’s ‘Threat system’ had gone
through the roof. Why? According
to business consultant and author,
David Rock, the brain needs five
factors to feel safe and productive in
work - and Victoria had inadvertently
gone against these factors, leading
Sarah to feel highly threatened. The
five brain-friendly factors have the
acronym SCARF:
• Status: “She purposely belittles
me.”
• Certainty: “She changes the goal
posts constantly.”
• Autonomy: “She micro-manages
my work.”
• Relatedness: “She keeps herself
aloof from me.”
• Fairness: “She treats my
colleagues better than me.”
Working through a mediation
process, Victoria shared her shock at
the bullying complaint, and was able
to learn how Sarah experiences the
SCARF factors. As a result, Victoria
offered in future:
• to acknowledge Sarah’s
contributions to the team (Status)
• to give a clear brief and stick to it
(Certainty)
• to respect Sarah’s ability to make
decisions (Autonomy)
• to be more open with Sarah
about her own frustrations
(Relatedness)
• to ensure she explained if
it seemed she was giving
preferential treatment to a
colleague (Fairness)
Sarah’s contributed to the mediation
agreement by deciding to work on
maintaining a healthier ‘Soothing
system’ by taking regular breaks
and more readily accepting help
on projects from colleagues. Sarah
dropped the bullying complaint and
the two colleagues later reported
a much more fulfilling working
relationship.
[email protected]
Arabella Tresilian
Arabella Tresilian
is fully accredited
as an independent
workplace mediator
by the Centre for
Effective Dispute
Resolution.
For more info:
www.arabellatresilian.com
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