L. Therese White, Workplace Conflict Mediator & Coach

The Workplace Conflict Cost Calculator

Quantify the hidden operational tax of unresolved conflict between hard-to-replace contributors

The Problem: When two key team members reach an impasse, the financial drain rarely shows up as a line item. It quietly accumulates through delayed decisions, stalled initiatives, team hesitation, and senior leadership diverted from strategic priorities.
What This Tool Does: It delivers a clear, order-of-magnitude estimate of your costs to date and projects your exposure over the next 12 months if the situation remains unresolved.
Fast and Intuitive to Use: In under two minutes, a few straightforward observations about time and compensation become a clear financial snapshot of the situation. Rough numbers are fine. The point isn’t accounting precision; it’s order of magnitude—and that’s usually where the surprise lies.

How to use it. Work through sections A to C. Type exact figures for salaries and costs, and use the sliders for hours, which are estimates anyway. The results on the right update as you go. The starting values are examples; replace them with your own.

Add benefits, taxes, and overhead burden to base salaryAdds about 30% to salary-based costs to approximate fully loaded cost. Off by default. So figures based on base salary only will lean lower than the true cost.

A · The Two People in Conflict

Person 1 base salary$Base salary only.

Person 2 base salary$Base salary only.

What counts as productive time lostIncludes not sharing ideas or flagging problems, approvals held up, meetings avoided, work redone, handoffs stalled, and attention spent on the conflict, like building a case and recruiting/rallying allies.

Person 1: Weekly hours of productive time lostCount time spent on the conflict, plus the equivalent hours of reduced effectiveness. A 10% dip on a 40-hour week equals 4 hours. And a 20% dip equals 8 hours. Etc.hrs/wk

Person 2: Weekly hours of productive time lostCount time spent on the conflict, plus the equivalent hours of reduced effectiveness. A 10% dip on a 40-hour week equals 4 hours. And a 20% dip equals 8 hours. Etc.hrs/wk

Months the conflict has persistedmonths

B · The Ripple Effect

Colleagues and bosses pulled into the conflict.

Number of colleagues and bosses involvedpeople

Average base salary of affected colleagues and bosses$Base salary only.

Average weekly hours of productive time lost by eachCount time spent on the conflict, plus the equivalent hours of reduced effectiveness. A 10% dip on a 40-hour week equals 4 hours. And a 20% dip equals 8 hours. Etc.hrs/wk

C · Out-of-Pocket Costs So Far

Money already spent because of this conflict, beyond the salary time counted above. Include outside legal or investigative help, consultants/coaches, severance/settlements, temporary staffing, overtime work, etc. Leave at $0 if there weren’t any.

Total spent so far$

D · Lost Business (Optional)

Your own estimate of business lost or delayed so far because of this conflict, such as customers lost, deals stalled, or projects delayed. Use profit rather than revenue. Leave at $0 if you don’t know or can’t estimate it.

Estimated lost or delayed profit to date$

Total estimated bleed to dateExample values

$22,457

A · Primary pair bandwidth lost$12,708

B · Ripple colleagues and bosses drag$9,749

C · Out-of-pocket costs so far$0

D · Lost business$0

If nothing changes, total cost will be:

Total to date plus operational drag continuing at the current rate of $5,614 a month. Assumes no escalation and no turnover.

In 3 months$39,299$16,842 more

In 6 months$56,142$33,685 more

In 12 months$89,826$67,369 more

For planning purposes only. Not legal or financial advice.

NOTE: These numbers address the measurable costs of conflict. But they can’t capture the erosion of trust, morale, and culture around it. And that unquantifiable damage is often the larger loss.

I keep my active caseload small on purpose. That way, when we work together, you get my full attention, not a piece of it.

Feel free to get in touch if you’d like to talk through a situation. Just click the link below.

Schedule Your Free Confidential Assessment

For Urgent Matters Only.

If your situation is pressing, call me at 323-291-4813 or email Therese@ThereseWhite.com.

I answer my own phone and read my own email. Say it’s urgent and I’ll treat it that way.

Every diverted hour is valued at base salary, assuming 2,080 working hours per person per year and 4.333 weeks per month. Unless the benefits toggle is on, benefits and overhead (typically about 30% of salary) are excluded, as are downstream costs such as turnover (lost business is included only if you enter an estimate in D), and people in conflict still do some useful work, so treat the result as an order of magnitude, not an accounting figure. Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.

Disclaimer. This tool gives rough, order-of-magnitude estimates based only on the figures you enter and the assumptions described here. It is for general planning purposes only. It is not legal, financial, tax, or accounting advice, and it does not predict or guarantee any outcome. Using it does not create a mediator-client or other professional relationship.