Construction work is a demanding profession. It takes years to perfect your craft and to have confidence that the decisions you make are the right ones. But what happens when the decisions you make are challenged. What if your coworkers do not agree with you or the different personalities that are always present on the job conflict during the workday? If you are not a supervisor there are some things you can do to keep a disagreement from turning into something worse.

• Keep an open mind. If the opinion of the other person is valid, consider it. While we want to think our way of doing things is best, remember there is usually more than one way to complete a task.

• Discuss the options. If each person puts their ideas out there verbally and the discussion is kept to the issue at hand a mutual agreement can normally be worked out.

• Watch your tone and your language. Keep your voice at a constant level. If you are in an area that is noisy have your discussion in an area that does not require you to yell. A lot can be misinterpreted if you must yell to be heard. Do not make derogatory remarks or use foul language while trying to settle a conflict in opinions. It only inflames the personalities and turns a discussion into an argument.

• Stay calm. If you feel that the discussion is becoming heated, stop and try and gain a different perspective. If it continues to escalate, remove yourself from the conflict and ask a supervisor to help resolve the disagreement. Make sure that both parties are present during the time the supervisor is involved.

• Accept the final decision. Even if you are convinced your way is the right way, sometimes the resolution may not be what you wanted. Move forward after the conflict is resolved and do not revisit it. The other person will have more respect for you and may be more open to your opinions in the future. The maturity you exhibit after the final decision will reflect on you and how you handle future disagreements.

If you are a supervisor, you should use all these steps as well, but you will have to make the final decision on what the resolution will be. You should be open to involving your peers and supervisors as well. You also must recognize if personalities are constantly conflicting. Consider separating them if conflicts continue as a means to deescalate the situation.

Points to Remember:

While these steps will not eliminate conflicts, they should give some very opinionated and highly trained workers some ways to remain safe and productive while dealing with each other’s personalities.