How to Manage Conflict at Work

By: Sandra Siemens L.I.S.W.

Kinds of Workplace Conflicts

Let’s start by identifying where conflicts happen. Think about the kinds of conflicts that happen around your workplace.

  • Disagreements over the turf (who should do what)
  • Disagreements over the policy (how things should be done)
  • Conflicts of personalitiy and style

Common Ways of Dealing with Conflict

These are some of the ways we typically deal with conflict. Do you see yourself in any of them?

  • Avoid the conflict
  • Deny the conflict; wait until it goes away
  • Change the subject
  • React emotionally; become aggressive, abusive, hysterical, or frightening
  • Find someone else to blame
  • Make excuses
  • Delegate the situation to someone else

All of these responses are nonproductive. Some of them are actually destructive. This is why learning to manage conflict is so important.

Effect on Work Relationships

The workplace is a system of relationships. Relationships have many different aspects; here are several examples:

  • Trust
  • Teamwork
  • Quality
  • Morale
  • Self-esteem
  • Loyalty
  • Respect for boss

When conflicts are handled well, there’s a positive effect on work relationships. When they are not, these factors can deteriorate. Productivity and the free expression of ideas are also impacted.

Factors That Affect How People Manage Conflict

The skills involved in managing conflict are learned behaviors. None of us is born knowing how to deal with differences of opinion, arguments, or turf wars. Some of the factors that affect how we behave in the face of conflict are:

  1. Status: People in higher-status positions usually feel freer to engage in conflict and are less likely to avoid confrontation.
  2. Company style or unwritten rules: Some companies encourage conflict; others have unwritten rules that it is to be contained or avoided.
  3. Gender differences: Males are generally encouraged to be more confrontational than females.
  4. Behavior learned in families: In some families, conflict and confrontation are a communication style. In others, conflict always remains hidden.
  5. Behavior learned from role models: People who have had a teacher or boss who modeled effective conflict-resolution skills are more likely to develop these skills themselves.

Conflict Resolution Skills