The High Cost of Workplace Conflict
Conflict at work is extremely costly, both in terms of the bottom line and in employee wellness and satisfaction. Conflict costs US organizations $414 billion each year in lost paid hours, 85% of employees experience some conflict at work, and over a quarter of all employees report high levels of workplace conflict on a weekly basis. Managers spend about 4.4 hours per week (or 29 full working days per year) managing escalated conflict (Pollack Peacebuilding Systems, 2026).
The impact to the bottom line is staggering. However, impacts on employee wellbeing are equally concerning. Research shows that 77% of employees who experience ongoing conflict disengage from their work. This disengagement erodes team performance through poor collaboration, and disengaged employees are more likely to leave. Expensive repeated employee turnover can be the result with 51% of employees saying that they have wanted to quit their jobs due to conflict (and 41% report having done so). Additionally, workplace conflict is a significant source of stress for employees with 45% of employees taking sick leave to avoid conflict dynamics. Additionally, stress often leads to poorer sleep, anxiety, and burnout leading to even more absenteeism. (Passive Secrets – Workplace Conflict Statistics, 2025).
In spite of the clear cost to organizations, 60% of employees have never received conflict management training and only 30% of leaders feel confident in their ability to manage conflict. When conflict is avoided or handled poorly, minor disagreements can escalate into major, ongoing problems. Interestingly, teaching employees to handle conflict effectively and bringing in mediators early on, before disagreements escalate, is extremely effective. When employees do receive training, 95% are able to find positive resolutions to their conflict. Workplace results in full or partial resolution 74% of the time (Acas – Estimating the Costs of Workplace Conflict).
These costs are not spread out evenly over organizations. High-pressure, high-stakes workplaces (like healthcare and financial services) see more conflict. And, small and medium-sized business bear a larger portion of the financial burden (likely because they do not have conflict specialists on staff). This gap represents an important opportunity for business leaders who want to create happier, more harmonious workplaces and improve their bottom line.
Sources:
Acas. (2021). Estimating the Costs of Workplace Conflict. https://www.acas.org.uk/research-and-commentary/estimating-the-costs-of-workplace-conflict/report
Passive Secrets. (2025). Workplace Conflict Statistics: The High Cost of Tension at Work. https://passivesecrets.com/workplace-conflict-statistics/
Pollack Peacebuilding Systems. (2026). The Real Costs of Workplace Conflict https://pollackpeacebuilding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/The-Cost-of-Workplace-Conflict-Data-Analysis-Article.pdf