Vocations · Professional Development

Practice the hard
conversation first.

Six short workplace scenarios where your first move decides how the next scene goes. See what each choice does to the working relationship and to the problem, then get a debrief on the approach you used and a stronger move.

Start a scenarioWhat you get

The simulator

Pick who you are practicing for, then a scenario. Each takes about three minutes.

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Five ways people handle conflict

Every choice in the simulator is one of these. None is always wrong; the debrief shows when each one fits.

  1. Solving it together (collaborating)

    Both sides say what they need, then build an answer that meets both. Best when the relationship and the result both matter and there is time to talk.

  2. Splitting the difference (compromising)

    Each side gives up part of what it wants. Useful when time is short and the stakes are even; weak when facts or safety are the issue.

  3. Giving way (accommodating)

    You set your need aside for the other person. Right when you were wrong or the issue matters far more to them; costly when it becomes a habit.

  4. Pushing your position (competing)

    You argue for your side to win. Needed for safety and ethics; on everyday issues it usually wins the point and loses the relationship.

  5. Stepping away (avoiding)

    You leave the issue alone. Fine for small things or to cool down first; when the problem keeps coming back, it grows.

Three modes, six scenarios

  • Starting out

    First and part-time jobs: cafes, stores, camps. For students and anyone new to work.

    Scenarios: Closing time; The schedule mix-up.

  • Workforce

    Warehouse, care and service jobs, for adults building or returning to a career.

    Scenarios: The dead battery; Corrected in front of a family.

  • Professional

    Office and project teams: handoffs, meetings and deadlines, for early-career professionals.

    Scenarios: The late handoff; Caught in the middle.

What you get

Vocations · Professional DevelopmentAlso for Vocations · Job SkillsFreeThree audience modes

What you finish with
Practice with six realistic workplace conflicts, a debrief after each run naming the approach you used at every step and a stronger move where there was one, your own reflection notes, and a printable debrief.
Who it is for
Three modes: students and teens in first and part-time jobs; adult learners in workforce readiness programs; early-career professionals on office and project teams. Also for career and workforce instructors running a class discussion.
Format
Browser simulator. Works on a phone or computer, by mouse, touch or keyboard (keys 1 to 3). Print a debrief; export your runs and notes to a file.
Access
Free. No account and no sign-in. Your runs and notes stay in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Professional Development space in Caveat Vocations; also listed for Job Skills (the Workforce mode, for adult learners).
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Choose the mode closest to your work: Starting out, Workforce or Professional.
  2. Read the situation and choose what you would actually do, not what you think you should.
  3. Read the consequence, then the next scene. A rough first move makes the second scene harder.
  4. At the end, read the debrief and answer the two reflection questions.
  5. Play it again with a different first move and compare the endings. In a class, run one scenario together and stop to discuss each choice.

Start a scenario

Where the approaches come from

The ideas below are widely taught in workplace training. The scenarios and the wording are Caveat's own.

How choices are scored

  • Every choice moves two meters: the working relationship and whether the problem gets solved. Both matter at work; most bad endings come from protecting one and ignoring the other.
  • A first move that helps on balance leads to a calmer second scene. A first move that hurts leads to a tense one, and from there the best ending is out of reach. That is how real conflicts tend to go.
  • Scores are a teaching device, not a test. There is no grade and nothing is sent anywhere.

Skills the stronger moves use

  • Pick the moment. Private and soon beats public and right now.
  • Describe the effect on you instead of labeling the other person: "I missed my bus" lands; "you always" does not.
  • Look for the need behind the position. Tyler is not lazy; he has a class at 9.
  • Propose something specific the other person can say yes to.
  • Talk to the person before their boss, except for safety, harassment or discrimination, which go straight to a supervisor or human resources.

Sources

  1. Thomas, K. W., and Kilmann, R. H. Their model of five conflict-handling modes (competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, accommodating), building on Blake and Mouton's managerial grid (1964). The simulator uses the five modes as widely taught ideas; it does not reproduce or score the Thomas-Kilmann instrument.
  2. Fisher, R., Ury, W., and Patton, B. (2011). Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In (3rd ed.). Penguin. Separating the people from the problem and focusing on interests rather than positions.
  3. Gordon, T. (1970). Parent Effectiveness Training. The "I-message": describing the behavior, its effect on you and how you feel, instead of blaming.
  4. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, guidance on harassment in the workplace, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on reporting hazards: issues to report, not to settle between coworkers.

Practice scenarios for learning, not legal or human resources advice. Workplace policies differ; follow your employer's. People, employers and events in the scenarios are made up. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.