We spend endless hours and days at work, doing our jobs and seeking to build careers. As part of this process, we also come into contact with a lot of different people. Many of them will be colleague and they may go on to become friends.

There's no certainty involved, however, with such situations. You may well have found yourself struggling to get along with others and cursing the fact that you have to spend so much time with them. This can certainly be something that's difficult to deal with and may have implications for productivity levels within the workplace.

You may feel that you're determined to maintain a professional approach, but the reality is that relationships do sometimes breakdown. When this happens, it can be that much more significant within a working environment. The problem is that it may be hard to avoid the other individual and that it may also have an impact on the business.

It's easy to see how a business owner might also have concerns. So what's the best way to deal with such a situation? One solution might involve looking to avoid such conflicts occurring in the first place. This is something that sounds great, in theory, but is unlikely to ever become a practical reality.

The truth is that, when human beings come into close contact with each other, there is bound to be some level of tension involved. Although this may not be obvious in all circumstances and on a daily basis, it is likely to cause a problem. It's unlikely that a manager or employer will be able to stop such problems from taking root.

What this means is that the focus must surely shift to dealing with problems when they do arise. It seems clear that there are a number of important steps involved, which must be approached in order to reach the best solution. The first thing to say is that the mentality of the individuals involved will clearly have a significant impact.

If you can maintain a positive mindset, then you'll certainly be in a better position. It can become too easy to assign blame, but the important element here is actually to get a resolution. It's important that an employer should also understand this fact.

What about the role of the employer? It may be unrealistic to expect the boss to take on a mediation role. In some cases, that individual may even be involved in the conflict. Given this background, it can make a lot of sense to find independent mediators. They are more likely to be able to calm a situation and to put everything back on track.

Think about the long-term aims of achieving better working relationships.