For many organisations, the struggles are real. We also feel it despite the work still flowing.
You’ve built the programmes, refined the service, covered every avenue.
The feedback is strong, the results are there - and yet it feels like the market has gone quiet.
Right now, many workplaces are in limbo. Budgets are tight, and people are fatigued
Yet, beneath that, there’s something else going on.
Aggression is rising, tension is building, and leaders are under pressure.
Many staff members are unintentionally escalating situations rather than calming them. When under pressure, the brain reverts.
After 22 years as a crisis negotiator, dealing with people at their absolute lowest, I’ve learned the behaviour we are now seeing in workplaces is the early version of what I used to deal with at the extreme end.
It’s happening every day in customer interactions and in team conversations when people are stressed and fatigued.
But the shift I’ve had to make myself is to stop trying to show everything I can offer and start talking about the one problem that matters right now?
Difficult people do not cause most workplace conflict. It’s caused by how we respond in the first 30 seconds.
When that response goes wrong, it costs:
👉 Complaints
👉 Stress
👉 Damaged relationships
👉 Safety
It’s about understanding behaviour under pressure, and knowing what to do in the moment that matters.
I’m still learning, still adjusting, still sharpening like everyone else.
What are you seeing right now in your workplace? More pressure? More tension? More difficult conversations? Or something else entirely?
Let’s compare notes 👇
Importantly, let’s talk!
Tension Is Rising.