DESA's STAFF SPEAK-UP: CONFLICT

F. Conflict (Summary of the issue raised by DESA Staff)

• Managers are expected to anticipate and resolve conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions.

• Staff have reported that personal conflicts or dislikes between chiefs and directors and/or heads of relevant UN agencies may seriously inhibit their staff's capacity to perform their work in the manner that would be most beneficial. This is again disappointing since - as a staff member puts it -"working at the United Nations, we have a serious responsibility to place the issues which our work addresses first and foremost".

• In the words of a staff member: "Some managers have no idea how to address conflict. I have witnessed the escalation of conflicts that could have been avoided, if staff were only allowed and encouraged to communicate. For some reason people talk about one another here, but never to one another, when there is a problem. Basic negotiation skills all start with open communication".

• Issues that need to be addressed through management and interpersonal skills are perceived as being left to fester until they create a disempowering and depressing work environment for a number of people. Staff working in unhappy environments tend to produce less and to be less effective.