Understanding Workplace Conflict

No matter where you go, there’s a chance that you can run into some kind of conflict. One of the last places you want it to happen is at work. It can negatively affect the morale of employees and make work harder to get through for everyone. Without a good workplace leader conflict can occur even more frequently.

The Consequences of Conflict

Unfortunately, running into conflict in the workplace is more common than it should be. workplace conflicts only serve to damage the productivity and success of a company. Without proper team communication and management the chances of conflict are even more common. The sooner the conflict is dealt with the better. However, it’s still important to take special care to have an understanding of why these conflicts happen so they can be dealt with appropriately to prevent any future problems.

Reasons for Conflict

Conflict can occur for many different reasons. If you understand the cause of the conflict then you’ll have a better idea of how to deal with it.

Personal Reasons

Not everyone has an outgoing and friendly personality. Some people can’t accept others for who they are, whether it’s because of their race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, age, or gender, people can be quick to judge others based on these factors and more. There can also be situations where one employee or employer can be an annoyance because of distracting behavior that disrupts the workflow and efficiency of the employees.

Hierarchy and Poor Team Communication

One of the most common instances of conflict at the workplace is when an employee doesn’t accept their place in the pecking order for one reason or another. Sometimes this is because of jealousy related to income differences. When you feel like you’re doing just as much or even more work as someone else but they’re being paid more it’s easy to see how this friction can start. Being able to manage projects easily is difficult, especially when an employer isn’t managing their workers properly or guaranteeing team communication. That’s why another situation can occur when an employee is given more work than they can handle or sometimes when they’re given instructions on how to complete a task and they don’t agree that it should be done that way. It’s typical for an employee to feel animosity towards their superior because of all of the reasons previously listed.

Mismanagement

It’s important to have team communication between not only the employees but also the employers. Often that communication breaks down and causes problems. It could be that an employee doesn’t understand what task they need to complete, when to complete the task, or the appropriate way to accomplish it. Then inevitably when one of those things goes wrong it’s likely to insight conflict. Mismanagement is also a factor in why those situations can occur. For instance, an employer might assign an employee to a task that would be better suited for someone else. Or even when an employer has proper time management or implements an inefficient policy which causes the employees to be delayed in their work.

How to Manage Workplace Conflict

Regardless of who the conflict is between, it’s best if it’s brought to the attention of a manager or human resources rather than trying to solve it on your own. You could potentially make the situation worse if you try to fix things alone. It’s the employer’s job to ensure good team communication throughout the business. Building an atmosphere of respect and understanding by implementing policies that reflect that will greatly improve the relationships between employees and employers alike. It’s also important not to ignore the conflict but to gain a better understanding of why it’s occurring and make sure that everyone is accountable for their actions regardless of their position in the company.

Learn More About Navigating Your Workplace

VOC Associates has a vast wealth of information about navigating through your workplace. If you’d like to learn more then visit our website and see what we have available or call us at (216) 284-4430