16. Workplace Conflicts

We work in organizations consisting of employers, employees, customers and others. People work together in organizations as our organs work together in our body. Each organ has its own set of skills and responsibilities, and they work together for the wellbeing of all the organs in the body. While the organs contribute according to their varying abilities, they all receive from the body enough energy they need to exist and function well.

The organs in our body do not have conflict with one other because they are not conscious beings. They work together unconsciously as parts of a machine. But when we, conscious beings, become organs of an organization, conflicts are inevitable.     

A research was conducted in 2008 on workplace conflicts, which questioned 5,000 full-time employees in nine countries around Europe and the Americas. The research made the following observations:

Most of the employees at all levels experience conflict to some degree. 27 percent of employees have witnessed conflict becoming a personal attack, while 25 percent say that the avoidance of conflict resulted in sickness or absence from work. On the other hand, when channeled through the right tools and expertise, conflict can lead to positive outcomes, such as a better understanding of others, improved solutions to problems or challenges, and major innovation. Roughly three quarters of workers reported positive outcomes that resulted from conflict.

Countries like the US and Brazil, who report the highest levels of conflict management training, also observe the highest amount of positive outcomes from conflict. Conversely, countries that report the lowest levels of training report the lowest amount of positive outcomes. Organizations that implement effective strategies for dealing with conflict will position themselves for tremendous gains in the years to come.

The primary causes of workplace conflict are seen as personality clashes and warring egos (49%), followed by stress (34%) and heavy workloads (33%).  

41% of employees think older people handle conflict more effectively, so life experience evidently helps people become more effective. The skill of leaders in this regard is the key determinant, however. 70% of the employees see managing conflict as a very important leadership skill, while 54% of them think managers could handle disputes better by addressing underlying tensions before things go wrong.

Common Sources of Conflict

1.Unclear definition of responsibility. Just like each organ in our body has its own assigned responsibilities, each person in an organization must have clearly defined responsibilities. Overlapping of responsibilities or those that are not clearly defined can be a cause of conflicts.   

2. Competition for limited resources. Time, money, space, materials, supplies, and equipment are all valuable resources. Competition for any of these resources can lead to interpersonal and interdepartmental conflict.

3.Conflict of interest. There is a possibility for individuals to fight for their personal goals and lose sight of organizational goals. Each individual needs to know how his or her personal goals and efforts fit within the organizational goals and efforts.

An awareness of the causes of conflicts can help us to resolve conflicts when they occur. Most of the conflicts can be resolved by being polite to each other and by open communication. Be quick to apologize for one’s own mistakes, and also to forgive the mistakes of others.  

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