Dealing with hostility and conflict ranks right up there as an anxiety experience.

However, organisations should respond proactively to the challenge because helping people to respond competently to challenges is far more effective than the common response of turning a blind eye to difficulties.

Conflict, and its many consequences, will inevitably occur. The real question is how can organisations constructively deal with it. Costs of poorly managing people problems include not only the out-of-pocket expenses such as absenteeism, staff turn-over, grievances and loss of customers, but also the downsides of low morale, distraction of management resources, lost opportunities and diminished quality of working relationships.

The poverty of good communication skills means that anyone who demonstrates some actual communication conflict competence is heralded as a standout performer. A workplace's competence in managing challenging situations directly affects its internal and external communication – for example negotiating everyday tasks, working with differences or, more generally, managing any relationship issues.