John Khastar is a specialist in conflict management, physical intervention and incident response. He delivers Bond Solon’s conflict management training.
Here, he explains what roles and environments are most likely to need conflict management training and why.
In what environments is conflict management most important?
Conflict management is important in any environment where people interact under pressure, emotion or uncertainty – and where staff must maintain safety, professionalism and control.
Health, social care and emergency services environments are particularly susceptible to conflict arising due to the high-pressure nature of the work, the public scrutiny and the vulnerable people at the heart of these settings. However, conflict can arise in a range of settings. For example:
- Public‑facing environments.
- Health, social care and emergency services.
- Education and college environments.
- Corporate and workplace settings.
- Retail, hospitality and leisure.
- Security, enforcement and high‑risk environments.
- Lone‑working environments.
To what extent can conflict be avoided completely?
Conflict can rarely be avoided completely because it is a natural part of human interaction. People have different needs, expectations, pressures and emotional triggers – and those differences will inevitably create moments of tension or disagreement.
However, while conflict cannot be eliminated, it can be significantly reduced, controlled, and prevented from escalating through the right skills, awareness and early intervention.
Why can’t conflict be avoided entirely?
Human behaviour is unpredictable. People react differently under stress, frustration, fear or confusion. In health and social care settings there is a relatively high chance that these emotions will feature in the course of the working day.
Moreover, health and social care environments create pressure. Deadlines, rules, boundaries and competing priorities naturally create friction.
Unfortunately, miscommunication happens. Tone, body language or unclear instructions can unintentionally trigger conflict.
External factors also influence behaviour. Personal issues, mental health, alcohol, drugs or crisis situations can all increase the likelihood of conflict. Because of these factors, no organisation can realistically eliminate conflict – but they can reduce its frequency and impact.
While conflict itself is unavoidable, escalation is not. With the right training, staff can recognise early warning signs and use communication to defuse tension. They can learn to maintain professionalism under pressure, make safe, proportionate decisions and prevent situations from becoming aggressive or unsafe.
This is exactly where our training adds value: we teach staff to intervene early, stay calm and use structured techniques to keep situations safe and controlled.
What is the goal of good conflict management?
A more realistic and effective aim is to reduce unnecessary conflict, recognise unavoidable conflict early and manage all conflict safely and professionally.
This approach protects health and social care staff, reduces risk, improves service quality, supports a safer working environment and ensures decisions are legally defensible.
When staff lack the skills, confidence or structure to manage conflict, the impact is immediate, wide‑ranging and often costly. Conflict doesn’t simply go away – it fills the space left by poor communication, uncertainty and fear.
What happens when conflict is unmanaged or managed poorly?
1. Situations escalate faster
Without early-intervention skills, health and social care staff can miss the subtle cues that a situation is deteriorating.
For example, a support worker notices a resident becoming withdrawn and pacing but continues with routine tasks. When the resident is later asked to return to their room, they react with shouting and begin throwing objects, having felt ignored and increasingly frustrated.
This leads to:
- raised voices
- aggressive behaviour
- loss of control
- increased risk of violence.
2. Safety risks increase
Poorly managed conflict exposes staff, service users, and bystanders to harm.
For example, during a disagreement in a hospital waiting area, a staff member responds abruptly to a distressed patient. The interaction escalates, resulting in the patient pushing furniture and another service user being accidentally injured in the process.
This can result in:
- physical injury
- psychological trauma
- unsafe decision‑making
- increased need for physical intervention.
3. Decisions become legally vulnerable
Staff who panic, freeze, or overreact are more likely to make decisions that are disproportionate or not defensible.
For example, a care worker physically restrains a service user who is verbally aggressive but not posing an immediate physical threat. The intervention is later challenged as unnecessary and disproportionate, leaving both the individual staff member and organisation exposed to legal and regulatory scrutiny.
Decisions could be:
- disproportionate
- poorly justified
- not legally defensible.
4. Staff confidence drops – and so does performance
When people don’t feel equipped to manage conflict, they may avoid or withdraw.
For example, after experiencing a confrontational incident with a family member, a staff member becomes reluctant to engage in future conversations about care plans, leading to delays and reduced quality of communication.
Staff members may:
- avoid difficult conversations
- become anxious or stressed
- lose confidence in their role
- withdraw from public‑facing duties.
5. Culture and reputation suffer
Poor conflict management creates a ripple effect across teams and services.
For example, repeated unresolved tensions between staff and service users lead to multiple complaints. Families begin to perceive the service as unresponsive and trust in the organisation declines.
This can result in:
- increased complaints
- damaged relationships
- loss of trust from service users
- negative public perception.
6. Operational and financial costs rise
Unmanaged conflict has a direct impact on service delivery and resources.
For example, a pattern of escalating incidents on a ward leads to increased staff sickness due to stress, greater reliance on agency staff and significant management time spent on incident reviews and reporting.
This can result in:
- more incidents
- more staff absence
- more time spent on investigations
- higher insurance and legal costs
- reduced productivity.
7. Staff rely on the wrong strategies
Without the right training, people default to instinctive but ineffective responses.
For example, a staff member adopts an overly authoritative tone when giving instructions to a service user who is already anxious, which heightens resistance and escalates the situation further rather than calming it.
Common unhelpful responses include:
- over‑assertiveness
- avoidance
- emotional reactions
- inconsistent boundaries
- escalating instead of calming.
Who should do Bond Solon’s conflict management training?
Our conflict management training is essential for anyone employed in the health and social care sector who interacts with people, makes decisions under pressure, or works in environments where emotions, expectations, or behaviours can become challenging.
Our training is designed to be practical, accessible and relevant across the health and social care sector, which means it benefits a wide range of roles – from frontline staff to senior leaders.
Learn more about how to recognise the first signs of conflict in the workplace and what behaviours might signal the need for intervention.
How can Bond Solon help?
Bond Solon’s conflict resolution, physical intervention and security‑focused training are designed specifically for the health and social care sector. Our courses are engaging, practical, legally defensible and tailored to the real‑world challenges faced by health and social care staff.
To find out more about our conflict management training or to enquire about booking onto a course, please email info@bondsolon.com or call 020 7549 2549 to speak a member of our team.