[Excerpt] It is a cornerstone of industrial relations (IR) theory that the potential for conflict is inherent to the employment relationship. Across countries, forms of workplace conflict and methods of conflict resolution take a range of different forms. Yet aside from attempts to understand cross-national variation in strikes, there is little research examining systemic differences in the manifestation and management of workplace conflict (a notable exception is Roche et al. 2014). The following analysis seeks to fill this void by analyzing through a comparative lens practices for addressing employment related conflict in four countries: Germany, Italy, the US and Australia.