Like many, I devote more hours of my day to work than anything else in my life. From a young age work offered financial independence, unique experiences, and skill development. Work took me around the world, colleagues became close friends, and it significantly shaped my world view. I became curious about the power of work to offer some stability and resources for communities experiencing armed conflict, so I moved to the Thailand-Burma border to work with refugee and migrant communities creating small businesses. While some of these groups were fighting politically, they found common ground in the need for resources to support their families and we were able to develop a successful collective that is still going strong.

However, I have also been in multiple organizations with important missions where staff and leaders did not have the skills to address conflict. As workplace tensions grew, people blamed each other and labor-management trust was eroded. Silos were created and the organizational culture suffered. People lost sight of our shared goals and left. Conflict can interfere with the openness and collaboration that is necessary for our organizations and companies to be successful. This is why workplace conflict deserves our attention.