Understanding the origins of conflict in the workplace
Understanding what are the most common causes of conflicts at work can help us prevent them, recognize them but above all to resolve them in the best possible way.
Unfortunately, conflicts in the workplace are more common than we think, they do not necessarily end in discussions but when there is a conflict, the work environment is not the best, the situation can demotivate the worker to the point of wanting to leave the job.
Although many people avoid conflict at work, when the situation reaches a certain level, the frustration is such that it is almost impossible not to explode. However, it is not about demonizing conflicts, these can also be positive in a work environment if they are handled properly since they allow the parties to grow individually and achieve better communication. For this to be possible we must know the root of the problem. In any case there is always some way to solve conflicts, so you have to understand the eight causes that originate it.
Eight causes of conflict
According to psychologists Art Bell and Brett Hart, there are eight causes of conflict in the workplace. These are:
1 Conflict of resources:
In order to get our work done, we all use resources ranging from a sheet of paper to a meeting room to the help of a colleague, however, conflicts can arise when other people within the team need the same resources.
In these cases, the role of leader is very important, who must ensure that all team members use resources efficiently, ensuring that if more than one person requires a certain resource, it can be discussed openly to establish priorities for the team and not personal ones. Negotiation methods such as the well-known win-win or the Cohen-Bradford persuasion-influence model can be used.
2. Conflict of styles:
We all have a different way of working that is determined both by the needs of each person and by their personality. Some people are orderly when working, others live in permanent chaos, some like to work with a lot of supervision while others prefer to work as freely as possible. But if you have to share at work with people who have different styles, conflicts can arise. This type of conflict can be prevented if when forming a work team and assigning different work roles, the different work styles of each are taken into consideration.
Some professionals consider it advisable to perform a personality test such as the Myers Briggs to better understand the characteristics that can determine the work style.
3. Conflict of perceptions
As in everyday life, at work, everyone sees situations from their point of view. When the point of view of two or more people is confronted, conflicts can arise. When this type of conflict in perceptions occurs in a workplace, it is very likely that “gossip” and “turf wars” are frequent, in addition to ending up affecting the overall performance of the team, there may also be customer complaints.
Once again, communicating openly with the team is the most appropriate, even in those cases where bad news has to be delivered, it must be done clearly, if the necessary information is provided, the members of a team will not have the need or the temptation to make your own interpretations.
4. Conflicts in goals:
This type of conflict occurs mainly when the principle of unity of command is not respected. If a boss tells his employees that the priority is to increase inventory turnover, a conflict can arise if another superior says that the priority is to lower the shipping costs of the salespeople.
It can also happen that an employee has different assigned tasks, each of them in order to achieve a goal, and not having considered whether one goal is opposed to another, either of that employee or of another.
For this reason, the goals must be very clear and if there is any conflict between them, speak openly to avoid the conflict of goals.
5. Conflict by pressure
What happens if the report you have to finish by noon depends on the data from the IT Department but they tell you that right now they are busy generating other data that your office colleague requires? Most likely, a pressure conflict will develop.
They are similar to goal conflicts with the difference that pressure conflicts usually involve situations that are urgent. In this case, the solution can be as simple as changing the deadlines if possible or setting priorities. This will ease the pressure and therefore avoid or resolve the conflict.
6. Role conflict
Sometimes, an employee has to carry out a task that does not correspond to his usual responsibilities, you have to be careful with these situations because he could be invading the territory of another person, which can generate a conflict due to a power struggle. It can also happen that the conflict arises because the person who receives a certain task considers that it should have been done by another person.
If as a leader you have to assign a task to a person, and it is considered that it could create a conflict of roles, it is best to be very clear about the reasons why that task was assigned to that person.
7. Conflict over differences in personal values
This type of conflict is quite complicated, since it involves someone's personal values that may be the opposite of those that the company has or those that it expects that employee to have in certain circumstances.
The ethics of each person must be respected, and in this sense a good selection of personnel can help to avoid this type of conflict when looking for employees who have the values that you expect as a team leader.
In addition, there must be enough trust in the team so that an employee who feels that something is being asked of him against his values can speak it openly, although it would be best if the leader knows well his own ethics and that of his team members not to even cause the stress of assigning a task against this employee's personal values.
8. Conflicts caused by unpredictable policies
The policies of a company must be very clear, but not only on paper, they must also be 100% understood by each of the employees. Lack of knowledge or clarity can lead to a lot of confusion, which in turn can cause conflict.
Also, with regard to policies, consistency in their application is very important. It is imperative that policies are not applied in one way for one employee and in a different way for others.
When something changes within the company, communication must be clear, and as explicit as necessary so that there are no doubts. This will not only cause situations to be resolved more efficiently, but will also avoid conflicts due to poorly applied or misunderstood policies.
Reflection:
Conflicts within a work environment can affect team performance and can create tensions that affect employees personally. When a conflict arises, the root of that problem should be sought immediately
The 8 causes of conflict explained by Although Bell and Hart can be very useful to identify the reasons that are causing these conflicts that affect the work environment, and most likely also the performance of the team. However, once the causes of these conflicts have been identified, mechanisms for conflict resolution should be sought.
As far as possible, we should not wait for conflicts to arise to find a solution, as team leaders we have to take the necessary measures to prevent these conflicts in the work environment.
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