✅ Conflict in the workplace: Trends to watch

The US job market remained steady despite a slight increase in layoffs, according to the Labor Department's latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Job openings increased by more than 400,000 to 7.67 million in October, the highest in five months. Hiring declined by 218,000, and layoffs increased to 1.85 million, the most since early 2023. The layoff rate rose to 1.2% in October, up from 1.1% in August, while the quit rate dropped to 1.8%, indicating cautious worker sentiment.

As workplace conflict continues to evolve, three key trends are emerging for 2026: increased use of AI to manage conflict, more management time spent on conflict resolution and expanding employee rights and expectations. According to PwC, 54% of workers have used AI in the past year, leading to more complex grievances. Managers are spending more than four hours a week on conflict, and HR teams are feeling overwhelmed. Additionally, employee rights are expanding, with the UK Employment Rights Bill proposing 'day-one' rights to claim unfair dismissal.

Employers are prioritizing cost containment over talent attraction and retention as rising medical and pharmacy costs reshape the benefit landscape, according to Brown & Brown's Employer Health and Benefits Strategy Survey 2026. Employers are implementing tactics such as reviewing stop-loss plan structures and working with digital health companies to manage performance and costs. Despite budget-related pressures, employers are maintaining investments in employee well-being programs and parental leave.

Age, health, politics, and money are often considered off-limits in the workplace, yet avoiding such conversations may hinder authenticity and empathy among leaders and teams. Addressing taboo topics directly can help foster a more open and supportive workplace environment, says Christina Wing, senior lecturer of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

Matt's take. I fully understand the instinct to avoid politics, health and other taboo topics in the workplace, but if all we're talking about is work, weather and what's for lunch, then we're probably not really connecting with one another. It's probably best we learn to deal with some of these subjects and build human connections with our coworkers. This all goes back to culture, though. Superficial discussions about the weather and sports (for the record, I am totally a weather and sports person, so no judgment) are probably the best you can hope for if your culture is less than ideal. 

Leaders who disregard workplace culture issues could put their organizations at serious legal and financial risk, as the HR industry discovered last week when a Colorado jury awarded $11.5 million dollars to an ex-employee of the Society for Human Resource Management. The Egyptian-Arab woman sued the organization for racial discrimination. The ruling sparked discussion among HR experts about the impact of culture problems in a workplace. “The recent SHRM lawsuit sheds light on a deeper issue within traditional HR organizations: a tendency to prioritize compliance and cost management over culture and accountability," wrote an HR director on LinkedIn.

Two stories today about managing conflict and not ignoring culture really stand out. Managing people can be super rewarding -- and also exhausting when it involves constantly managing conflict. Culture is a critical piece here, and a positive culture vastly reduces conflict, at least in my experience.

When the workplace culture is good, conflict is minimal and typically not significant or disruptive. However, when the culture isn't so great, conflict is frequent and disruptive, and efforts to manage it are typically futile without the proper organizational supports (and commitment to improving culture). -- Matt

What's your experience? And what are your tricks of the trade when it comes to managing conflict or building culture? Let us know.