Of the many kinds of people in the workplace, one stands out to Shizu Okusa as a major red flag.

It's someone who communicates poorly, especially during a conflict or disagreement, says Okusa, founder and CEO of New York-based wellness company Apothékary. She particularly dislikes when people publicly criticize their peers at work, because it rarely fosters constructive dialogue and can often lead to conflict, she says.

"When something bad happens, it could be really easy to hop on a meeting with many other people and [call someone out]," says Okusa, whose company brought in $20 million in revenue over nine months last year, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. Doing so "never goes well."

You've probably seen this scenario play out before in a movie or in real life. A boss, dissatisfied with an employee's work, makes an example out of them during the next team meeting. Your colleague calls out another employee for not contributing to a big project, right in the middle of the office.

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Those situations can alienate employees — including non-participants who are simply uncomfortable witnessing the conflict — and potentially become an HR issue for creating a hostile work environment.

Instead, try "calling people in," Okusa says: Invite them to talk more privately and address your concerns with them directly, so the two of you can discuss without fear of embarrassment or judgment from others.

"I think that most things fail because of poor communication," says Okusa, adding that managers especially need to set a positive standard for culture and communication. "Either things could have been said better, things could have been shared better, or the context was off."

How to constructively solve work conflicts

The next time you and a coworker have a disagreement, don't blow up at them in your next meeting or online. Take a step back and assess the situation, Carolyn Kleiman, a career expert at ResumeBuilder.com, told CNBC Make It in 2022. 

If you prefer to get things done in advance and your colleague waits until the last minute, for example, you can probably address your concern with a short one-on-one meeting, said Kleiman. If your issue is with a person's character or personality, you may "want to try to limit your interactions," said Kleiman. "Keep things brief, keep things surface, keep things professional."

If your problem is with your boss, document it and bring it up in your next one-on-one, Kleiman said. Say something like: "I've noticed that you tend to [example of poor communication.] It would be helpful if you did this instead."

Having a boss who lacks communication skills is difficult. Try to assume positive intent, and if their behavior still doesn't change, consider escalating the issue to HR, especially if your colleagues have similar experiences, Harvard career advisor Gorick Ng told CNBC Make It in 2022.

"No manager wakes up in the morning thinking, 'How can I make my team's life as miserable as possible,'" said Ng. "It's, 'How can we get this work done and live a happy life?'"

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