How to develop a strategy to overcome and resolve workplace challenges

Workplace challenges can prevent you from achieving your goals, but they are also great opportunities to learn from.

A challenge in the workplace is anything that is preventing you from succeeding in your role. They can be caused by many different factors, including changes at work, lack of expertise, conflicting management styles, or contrasting personalities in the workplace.

Every role involves its own challenges, and they are a normal part of working that can occur at any stage in your career. The way that you deal with challenges in the workplace can leave an impression on how your colleagues and managers view you, so it is important to develop a strategy to effectively deal with workplace challenges as they come up.

Here are our tips for dealing with challenges in the workplace.

Where possible, predict challenges

Some workplace challenges can be quite predictable, for example introducing new technology, or a change in leadership. When something is changing in the workplace and you anticipate there to be a challenge involved with it, don’t wait for it to come up! Setting plans to deal with small challenges can prevent them from growing larger, which can consequently have a larger impact on your business.

If you’re introducing new technology, some ways you could prepare for the challenge include setting up additional workshops to offer extra support to staff who are struggling with the new software, or compiling comprehensive guides to the new technology that staff can refer to when they need help.

If there is a change in leadership, preparing for the challenge could involve scheduling private meetings with staff to see how they are adjusting and to identify and resolve any concerns they have.

Some challenges in the workplace are of course unprecedented, but it is still important to have broader strategies in place to deal with them as they come up. Our tips below can help you with these.

Take a break

When you’re first confronted with a challenge, it can feel overwhelming and daunting. Even if you feel like you don’t have the time, take a short break to reset and then you can come back with a fresh mindset, ready to address the challenge.

Some ways to do this include going for a walk around the block, grabbing something to eat or having a casual, non-work-related chat with a colleague. This helps to take away the initial stress that comes when you are first presented with a challenge and gives you time to think more rationally about it.

Break the challenge up

Divide the workplace challenge into several smaller challenges and address them one by one. This can help the larger challenge to feel much more manageable and means you don’t have to resolve it all at once.

Ask people for help

Approach people that you feel comfortable talking about the challenge, and ask them if they can help you with it. Even if they can’t offer much assistance, it can be helpful to just talk about it. This can include people within your organisation such as managers, colleagues and mentors, as well as people outside of your organisation including family and friends.

Speaking with people from work is more helpful in certain situations as they understand the workplace best and have more insight into what potential solutions there are, but family and friends can be good support too. If you are having any issues with people at work, it’s important to bring this up with your manager, who should be able to help you out.

Remember that helping others with workplace challenges goes both ways. If you notice a colleague or employee struggling with something, reach out to them and see if you can help. This makes you more approachable and means they will be more than happy to help you out in the future when you encounter a challenge!

Use the challenge to your advantage.

Challenges at work can be a good thing, as they allow you to grow within your role and better yourself. They’re a great opportunity to build upon your problem-solving skills, and you can later use the challenge as a good example of how you have overcome a problem in the workplace in an interview!

Challenges are also good opportunities to learn something new, whether this is a new skill or a new way to interact with others.

What if you’re not being challenged at work?

Not being challenged at work can be a challenge in itself. It can make you feel as if you’ve outgrown your role, or if there is no room to grow within your role.

When you find that you’re not being challenged anymore, it might be time for a change! If you’re interested in new job opportunities, fill out the form on this page, and one of our recruitment consultants will be in touch.