Intercept conflicts

Differences of opinion, friction and conflicts are part of everyday working life. All companies have found ways to deal with them. Internationally recruited nurses will also be involved in conflict-loaded situations. How conflicts are dealt with depends not only on someone’s personality but also the culture they come from. And in Germany too, there is not always a unified and fair culture of conflict. However, it is advantageous to weigh up rules and boundaries, and to be able to see things from the perspective of mainstream society.

International migration is a controversial topic of debate in Germany. This is reflected in everyday working life. It could be that existing colleagues do not agree with the international recruitment. Those in need of care and their relatives can also be hostile to nurses from abroad and express this with derogatory comments. In the process, factual problems or easily solvable misunderstandings can be culturalised or ethnicised. For example: “That’s a colleague from the Philippines, they are simply like that ‘there’ – the situation will never change, either.” One consequence of such an assumption is that these colleagues are easily kept out of decision-making processes because they are denied a dynamic of change.

A company that recruits employees internationally must also be responsible for dealing with conflicts associated with migration, culture and religion within the company. Particularly with this issue, it becomes apparent how resilient the welcome culture in the company really is. Especially in the case of cultural misunderstandings, an integration manager can simply act as a contact person.

So as not to give way to arbitrariness here, it is a good idea to check existing requirements, also with regard to racist and xenophobic characteristics. For example, in the event of team conflicts or conflicts with people in need of care and their relatives. To whom are such incidents reported, who is involved in conflict resolution and what criteria are followed during the procedure?

These questions can be discussed within the company’s own quality management procedure and appropriate answers can be decided upon. Through this kind of proactive approach to these topics, those affected feel more encouraged to address relevant incidents – and can prepare for what will follow. This transparency offers security.

Regular training for managers on legal requirements such as the AGG is equally important.

Experience shows that language comprehension difficulties in particular are often misinterpreted as a lack of professional expertise or even a general weakness. Employers who want to empower their employees who are still relatively new to living and working in Germany should therefore consider how they can promote German language skills beyond the B2 language test, for example by financing further language courses. This also helps to strengthen employees’ confidence.

In addition to language courses, mentoring and sponsorship programs can also facilitate integration and language learning. Read more about this in the “Buddies and mentoring programmes” section:

Works councils can also play an important role in the operational, professional and social integration of internationally recruited nurses.

As an institutionalised employee representation in the company, works councils can play a role in involving the new colleagues in operational co-determination structures and inviting them to help shape work-related decisions. Works councils also represent the interests and perspectives of new colleagues recruited from abroad to their employers – both in terms of contractual terms for new hires and in conflicts between employer and employee.

In addition, the works council can act as a mediator within the workforce, for example, if conflicts arise between regular employees and newly recruited ones.

It is advisable for employers to get in touch with the works council at an early stage – when the international recruitment of specialists is first being considered as a recruitment strategy, as well as when the operational integration management concept is being developed.

Racism is a complex social problem that can quickly become overwhelming when discussed. Many people find it difficult to talk about. Those affected often have to fight for recognition of their experiences and risk being retraumatized. Meanwhile, people from the majority society or those not affected may feel forced into a “role” with which they do not identify or which they have not yet come to terms with.

This makes it all the more important to consider and address this issue transparently and sensitively. The German government has published a proposal for a working definition of “racism” that ministries, authorities, and public administrations can use to identify and counteract racist practices and structures. To the brochure.

Care and healthcare companies can also actively work with this definition, incorporating it into their corporate integration management concept or using it in training courses and workshops. It helps to understand racism as a structural problem and creates a helpful basis for dealing constructively with uncertainties or defensive attitudes.

Racism is often understood as intentional, malicious, and individual behavior. In fact, it is often unreflective patterns of thought and behavior, stereotypical attributions, unconscious prejudices, and deeply rooted structures that constitute racism in everyday life. Unfortunately, this leads to repeated incidents of racist discrimination and prejudice in the workplace, including in everyday nursing care. A patient may not want to be treated by a nurse with a migrant background if derogatory or racist comments are made among colleagues or if a person’s medical qualifications are denied because of their social, cultural, or ethnic origin.

At the same time, it is important to communicate that coming to terms with one’s own position and the privileges associated with it is an individual process that takes time. This helps to set realistic expectations and reduce pressure on individuals. Integration managers and executives in particular play a crucial role here.

They can create structures, develop preventive measures, and promote a diversity-oriented corporate culture in order to consciously manage racism in the workplace—and in doing so, lead by example.

But what if those who bear this responsibility are themselves affected by racism? They often find themselves in a particularly difficult dual role. On the one hand, they are expected to act as role models and address the issue of racism openly, but on the other hand, they may face resistance from company management or colleagues, which makes it difficult or even impossible to discuss the issue openly. In such cases, it is important that the individuals affected are not left alone. It can therefore be useful to appoint a trained contact person or set up a separate office that offers a safe space for all employees to ask questions, express concerns, and report racist incidents. This can help to reduce uncertainty and promote constructive discussion—not only reactively, but also proactively. As an employer, it is important to establish fundamental anti-discrimination structures, for example in the form of guidelines against racism or company agreements.

There should also be trustworthy points of contact for discrimination-related issues that those affected can turn to. This can be in the human resources department, the works council, or in larger companies even in the form of an anti-discrimination office. Preventive work through continuing education, such as joint company training courses to improve skills, can also be an effective method of combating racism in the workplace. The goal should always be to raise awareness of the problem among the workforce and to credibly reflect a zero-tolerance policy toward racism and xenophobia within the company. This can also be reflected in the selection of personnel. However, it is important to encourage employees to openly and directly oppose racism and to reinforce this with appropriate and noticeable (disciplinary) measures within the company.

In addition to the development of intercultural competencies in the team and at management level, an anti-discriminatory organisation culture and the structural anchoring of a process for recording complaints, it is also advisable for companies to reflect on their own processes at regular intervals and to obtain feedback on them in order to promote early recognition of conflicts and action.

Regular feedback meetings can help here. These should be well prepared for and absolutely take place on equal terms. At the same time, you should also be aware that not everyone feels comfortable expressing verbal feedback directly. In comparison, it is noticeable that in professional contexts in Germany, criticism is often expressed very directly, conflicts are openly addressed and an equally open and honest reaction to them is expected. In other countries, this may be different and the handling of criticism or feedback may be different. You should be aware of this and offer your new colleagues different ways to express themselves and give feedback.

Below there is a video clip from an interview with Grace Lugert-Jose. She is an intercultural trainer and adviser, and explains how employers can systematically gather feedback and suggestions with the help of the anonymous “ZEIP” questionnaire tool (not free-of-charge), without choosing a direct questioning approach.

You can find the full version of the interview with Ms Lugert-Jose here

For many managers, it will also be a new experience to proactively address issues related to international migration and to behave confidently and fairly. It is worth taking a look at the training and education market. Under keywords such as diversity management, intercultural openness, and intercultural competence, there are a wide range of offerings to help companies proactively adapt to an immigrant society, a globalized nursing labor market, and modern human resource management.

In addition, diversity skills and diversity-oriented organizational development should be understood as holistic cross-functional tasks. They affect all areas of the company and form the basis for equal opportunities and sustainable integration in the workplace. This creates a fair, appreciative, and discrimination-sensitive working environment. Training courses on the AGG, intercultural communication, and conflict management should also be mandatory for managers.

You can find further information about this here: