Imagine sitting in a team meeting when your manager publicly criticizes a co-worker. Rather than helping them understand what went wrong, the manager questions their abilities and compares them unfavorably with other employees.
Nobody says anything.
The meeting ends, everyone returns to work, and the manager assumes the issue has been addressed.
But has it?
For the employee who was singled out, the experience may affect how comfortable they feel speaking up in future meetings. For their co-workers, it may reinforce an unspoken message about whose opinions matter and whose don’t.
And for HR leaders, it raises an important question: How much workplace conflict goes unnoticed because employees don’t feel comfortable challenging the behavior that causes it?
According to employee sentiment data informing Emtrain’s upcoming 2027 Workplace Culture Report, managers generally receive positive marks for handling conflict. But the picture changes when employees are asked about the relationships and group dynamics within their teams.
Why Workplace Exclusion Is Still a Problem
One finding from Emtrain’s 2026 employee sentiment data stands out:
Only 53.8% of responses were healthy when employees were asked whether in-group and out-group dynamics cause conflict within their teams.
That means a substantial share of responses fell into neutral or unhealthy categories, suggesting that not everyone experiences the same level of confidence in their team’s relationships.
In-groups and out-groups can form naturally in the workplace. Employees develop friendships, share interests, and build stronger relationships with certain colleagues.
The problem begins when those relationships influence who gets included in conversations, whose opinions are valued, or who receives support from others.
Think about the employee who isn’t invited to informal team discussions. Or the person whose ideas are regularly dismissed while similar suggestions from another colleague receive praise.
These interactions may seem small individually. But over time, they can create divisions that affect trust, collaboration, and employees’ sense of belonging.
And workplace exclusion doesn’t always look like an obvious act of bullying. Sometimes it develops through everyday behaviors that nobody stops to question.
When Managers Unintentionally Reinforce Team Divisions
In one Emtrain workplace scenario, Julie is discussing disappointing client retention numbers with her manager, Gary, and two male colleagues.
Julie explains that her team is navigating a difficult technology transition, making it harder to maintain normal performance levels.
Instead of discussing the business challenges, Gary questions her experience and accuses her of becoming emotional.
He then points to her male colleagues as examples of employees who remain composed and get down to business.
What should have been a discussion about solving a business problem has turned into something else.
Julie is being singled out, her perspective is dismissed, and her manager is reinforcing a distinction between her and the other members of the team.
Even if Gary believes he’s simply giving performance feedback, the way he delivers it can influence how others treat Julie.
This is one reason workplace conflict can continue even when managers believe they’re handling situations appropriately.
Managers don’t just resolve conflict. Their behavior also helps establish what the rest of the team considers acceptable.
When leaders dismiss concerns, favor certain employees, or allow disrespectful comments to go unchallenged, those behaviors can become part of the team’s everyday interactions.
And employees may hesitate to speak up, particularly when the behavior comes from someone who influences their career opportunities.
Is Your Conflict Management Training Asking What Employees Experience?
Most organizations provide training that teaches employees how to recognize inappropriate behavior, communicate respectfully, and resolve disagreements.
Those are important skills.
But an employee can correctly identify inappropriate conduct in a training scenario while experiencing similar behavior on their own team.
And a manager can complete conflict resolution training without recognizing how their own actions contribute to workplace tension.
That’s why Emtrain uses training as an opportunity to listen to employees, not just test their knowledge.
For example, two of Emtrain’s employee sentiment questions ask:
“In- and out-group dynamics cause conflict within my team.”
This helps organizations understand whether employees experience divisions that interfere with collaboration and healthy working relationships.
“People on my team get away with disrespectful behavior because of their authority.”
This explores whether employees believe workplace expectations are applied consistently, regardless of someone’s position.
These questions provide a different perspective from traditional knowledge checks.
A correct answer can demonstrate that employees understand what respectful behavior looks like. Their sentiment responses can help reveal whether they experience that respect in their own workplace.
By examining response patterns across teams or departments, where appropriate privacy protections and sufficient response volumes allow, HR leaders can identify potential concerns that deserve closer attention.
It’s an important distinction: Training tells you what employees know. Listening helps you understand what they experience.
Turn Workplace Conflict Insights Into Practical Skills
Recognizing a problem is only the beginning.
Once organizations identify signs of exclusion, disrespect, or unhealthy team dynamics, the next step is helping employees and managers develop the skills to address those behaviors.
That doesn’t always require another lengthy training course.
Sometimes employees need practical guidance on how to respond when a colleague makes an inappropriate comment, how to manage frustration during a difficult conversation, or how to intervene without making the situation worse.
Emtrain’s De-Escalation & Conflict Management Learning Track combines foundational training with short, targeted Microlessons that reinforce these skills throughout the year.
Courses such as Conflict Resolution and Bystander Intervention help employees understand how to navigate disagreements and respond to inappropriate workplace behavior.
Short, scenario-based Microlessons then help employees practice specific skills, including responding instead of reacting, managing frustration, and intervening with skill.
Employees can also learn different intervention methods, such as Direct, Distract, Delay, Delegate, and Document, giving them practical options when they witness problematic behavior.
These lessons can be assigned throughout the year to reinforce healthy workplace behaviors or address specific challenges identified through employee feedback.
Rather than treating conflict management as a once-a-year requirement, organizations can take a more continuous approach:
Listen to employees. Identify where problems may be developing. Reinforce the skills that help teams work better together.
Explore the De-Escalation & Conflict Management Learning Track
A Healthy Workplace Requires More Than Resolving Disagreements
A manager may successfully resolve a disagreement while overlooking the behaviors that caused it.
A team may appear productive even when some employees feel excluded from conversations or decisions.
And employees may understand the importance of respectful communication while remaining uncomfortable challenging someone in authority.
That’s why organizations need to look beyond whether employees complete conflict resolution training.
They need to understand how employees experience everyday interactions, whether team dynamics create barriers to collaboration, and whether people feel comfortable addressing problematic behavior.
The upcoming 2027 Workplace Culture Report explores these challenges more deeply, including how social and political differences are influencing workplace relationships and what leadership behaviors may signal emerging risks.
Because managing conflict isn’t simply about resolving the next disagreement.
It’s about recognizing the behaviors that allow conflict to continue—and helping employees develop the skills to change them.
Is Workplace Conflict Becoming a Bigger Risk for Your Organization?
Workplace exclusion is only one piece of a larger culture challenge.
Emtrain’s 2027 Workplace Culture Report examines how social and political conflict can signal harassment and discrimination risk, how organizations perform across four critical leadership competencies, and what employees are saying about their workplace experiences.
Drawing on insights from up to 695,107 employees across more than 385 organizations, the report includes employee perspectives from more than 28,000 anonymous comments and five priority actions for HR and Compliance leaders in 2027.
