New York Lawyer
June 16, 2005

Q:
I supervise a small practice area and have a secretary and paralegal who are at each other�s throats. They just don�t get along, have a bad personality clash and they grouse to me separately about one another.

It is getting in the way of the department getting our work done. I�ve been reluctant to get involved in what I see purely as a personality clash -- I�ve told them they ought to work things out -- but now I think that perhaps I ought to step in. What can I do to help solve things without getting too involved?

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A:

You are correct that the time to consider whether to get involved is the point at which the department�s operations, and/or the ability of either or both people to get their work done, are threatened. Moreover, it is your responsibility to ensure that team members are not subject to hostile or intimidating behavior, so if anything of that nature is involved, you must step in. Additionally, a personality conflict can affect others in the office, who may not be directly involved but who are fully aware of what�s going on, whose morale suffers as a result and who are looking to you to fix things.

By the way, don�t just assume it�s a personality conflict; it could be that the workload is too heavy and the pressure is getting to people, or some other "fixable" points other than a personality clash. If so, that probably will be more your responsibility than theirs.

If you do have a true personality conflict, though, first, give each of them coaching separately about how to resolve this issue on their own. This will allow you not to step in but will give them some tools and techniques to resolve the situation.

If that doesn�t work, have a meeting with the two of them, letting them know in advance the point of the meeting. Say the following: that you�re aware of the conflict; that you are not going to try to turn them into best friends; but that they have a responsibility to the workplace to figure out a way to get along civilly so that work gets done. Point out the detriment to themselves individually and the workplace as a whole as a result of their clash, and point out the benefits if they can resolve the situation. Ask them to participate in coming up with goals for their relationship and for the department, and to describe guidelines for how they can communicate and interact. Figure out a plan; agree on a date to check progress so that they know they have to be accountable.

If you feel it�s inappropriate or unhelpful for you to step in, you can consider getting help from a third party, perhaps someone from human resources or another attorney whom the two people respect and like. This can allow a dispassionate observer to mediate a talk between the two people.

Ultimately, if the personality conflict seems intractable, you can considerably shifting one or the other to another department, or have them work on different matters so their interaction is decreased or eliminated.

At the end of the day, this can get pretty serious. Both employees need to understand that if they push it too far, either or both run the risk of being fired. You should make very clear that this is a real possibility, so they don�t think that they can indulge their anger with one another at no risk.

Sincerely,
Holly English