Acas launches bold five‑year strategy as nearly half of workers report increasing workplace conflict
Acas has unveiled a comprehensive five‑year strategy to tackle workplace conflict amid concerning new data: 44% of workers report they have witnessed conflict within their organisations over the past three years.
This worrying trend comes alongside well‑established evidence that unresolved conflict is costly. Acas estimates workplace conflict costs the UK economy approximately £28.5 billion per year, with resignations and dismissals comprising a large portion of that burden.
To counter rising tensions, the strategy focuses on:
- Preventing conflicts before they start by targeting industries and groups at higher risk
- Equipping employers with clear guidance, training and tools to address conflict proactively
- Empowering both employers and employees with the skills and confidence to resolve issues early—especially within SMEs, where Acas aims to double its current reach
- Harnessing data and technology to deploy resources where they will have greatest impact
- Innovating dispute resolution, maintaining Acas’s existing settlement success rates—70% for individual disputes, 90% for collective disputes—and exploring AI and digital tools to make support faster and more accessible.
Left unchecked, conflict erodes job satisfaction, wellbeing, trust in leadership, and retention. Research by CIPD shows that employees who experience workplace conflict are far less satisfied—only 54% vs 77% among those not experiencing conflict—and more likely to consider leaving their job. Additionally, only around a third of employees feel conflicts are fully resolved.
Acas’s ambitious strategy aims to shift the dial—not just resolve disputes, but prevent them. With technology, training, and early intervention at its core, this could prove pivotal in re‑building trust and maintaining workplace harmony across the UK.
From: https://www.cipp.org.uk/resources/news/workplace-conflict-is-increasing-acas-strategy.html
