Conflict is unavoidable in the workplace.  It is unavoidable because wherever there are people working, there is an opportunity for friction.  If left unresolved, these conflicts can turn into complaints, resentments, and feelings of ill will.  And that can spiral into a dysfunctional (inefficient / unproductive) workplace.  When coworkers do not get along, they are more likely to have trouble being efficient, meeting deadlines, solving problems and developing innovative solutions as a team.  Collaboration requires people to be able to get along, trust and respect one another, even if they don’t always agree.  If trust and respect are undermined by unresolved conflicts, it can affect their productivity, creativity and commitment to the team.

The good news is that conflicts can be harnessed for good when handled effectively.  Positively resolving conflict can boost team performance, increase cohesion, supercharge employee motivation, and redouble collaborative problem solving efforts.  It’s a question of if and how conflicts are handled.  If they go unacknowledged or are swept under the proverbial rug in the hopes that they resolve on their own, conflicts can be draining or even disastrous for a team or company.  But if they are addressed, they can amplify a team’s effectiveness and solidify their unity.

Common Causes of Workplace Conflict

To solve workplace conflicts, it helps to first understand some of the most common causes of workplace conflict.  These include:

1. Personal Differences.

Unless a company is hiring from a homogenous pool, most coworkers come from different backgrounds and cultures.  And they are invariably from different age groups.  They have different training and experiences.  They also have different viewpoints and personalities.  All of this plays a role in shaping how they interact.  For example, how a Zellennial views their own role as an employee is very different from how a Gen-Xer sees theirs.  And how a man approaches teamwork and collaboration will likely differ from how a woman does.  Or how an extrovert handles communicating information might be very different from someone who is an introvert.  In fact, the introvert might not be communicating information at all.  Workplace conflicts arise when employees don’t understand or accept and respect one another’s differences.

2.  Clashing values.

Like personal differences, employee values are likely to differ within the workplace.  For example, employees will each have their own work ethic.  One might think that working long hours, weekends and never taking a vacation reflects a strong work ethic.  But another employee might view that as being a “workaholic” and counterproductive, leading to burnout and turnover.  That person might see work-life balance as the right kind of “work ethic”.   Putting a person with a balanced work-life ethos together with a workaholic might cause conflicts if one feels that they are carrying the load while the other might feel that the workaholic puts quantity over quality and is working longer hours just for the sake of appearances.

The difference in their values is not necessarily the cause of employee conflict in the workplace.  A failure to understand and accept one another’s differences is.  When employees see differences as limitations and flaws, it could be a bone of contention.  As a result, the conflict would likely intensify until a solution is offered and accepted.

3.  Lack of Clarity about Job Responsibilities or Workload.

A common cause of conflict among team members is a lack of clarity regarding their respective roles, responsibilities, and the expectations they hold of one another when working together to accomplish goals and objectives.  When there is a lack of clarity about who-does-what, employees are unable to look beyond their own individual positions and understand, respect, and value the unique contributions of others on the team.  They also cannot see how the overall success of the team is a function of shared responsibility and ownership.

Teams function most efficiently when members share a common understanding of one another’s roles and responsibilities.  When those are clearly defined, each employee can not only be more productive, but also work in greater harmony.  Why?  There is less duplication of effort, less confusion and fewer disappointments.  That results in a reduced amount of frustration.

4.  Unrealistically Tight Deadlines.

Tight deadlines are a direct response to the logic of Parkinson’s Law.  Parkinson’s Law argues that work expands to fill the time available for its completion.  By limiting the time available to complete a task, management is controlling that expansion, thereby increasing productivity.  As a deadline approaches, employees will make choices and scale efforts to meet it.  That’s why companies will regularly create really tight deadlines for work to be done.

While tight deadlines have their benefits, they work best when given intermittently or occasionally.  That’s because such deadlines – especially unrealistically tight deadlines — create multiple problems, including exerting unfair pressure on employees and blurring priorities.  It also leads to exhaustion and disillusionment, and causes conflicts among team members.  By unfairly burdening employees, it can deflate morale and make employees point fingers and play the blame game when deadlines are missed.

5.  Poor or Lack of Communication.

Communication styles vary as much as personalities.  A group of employees will all have very different ways of communicating.  These often include:

• Assertive – seeks consensus or compromise; confident in a conviction without belittling or steamrolling others
• Aggressive – win-at-all-cost approach; intimidates others; feels own information is more important than everyone else; domineering; tone causes others to disagree
• Passive – people-pleaser; self-effacing, conflict-avoidant, and easy-going; can lead to resentment
• Passive-aggressive – seems sweet and easy-going, but operates from a place of anger and resentment; uses sarcasm; patronizing; starts rumors; gossips; often adopted in response to aggressive bosses
• Manipulative – uses cunning, deceit and influence to control the conversation and actions of others; bury real goals under layers of obfuscation; insincere; patronizing

Clearly such different styles of communication can result in poor or non-existent communication.  Poor communication often happens because of a difference in communication styles where either incomplete information is shared, unclear information is given, information is misunderstood or messages are delivered in a way that is rejected.

Or, in some cases, there is just a flat-out failure to communicate.  This can be particularly damaging if the lack of communication is between a manager and direct report or among members of a close team.  Better to have conflict than no communication at all.  According to Robert M. Townsend, theorist, macroeconomist, and development economist with the Department of Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), “a good manager doesn’t try to eliminate conflict; he tries to keep it from wasting the energies of his people. If you’re the boss and your people fight you openly when they think that you are wrong—that can be healthy.”   But if unaddressed or unresolved, communication issues can decrease productivity and employee morale.  It can also cause employees to make incorrect assumptions and believe workplace gossip.

6.  Competitiveness.

Unhealthy workplace competition may be another cause of employee conflict.  Some industries and some departments foster competitive environments more than others.  For example, companies that handle the purchase and sale of stocks and bonds is highly competitive.  And departments tasked with Business Development or Sales are often highly competitive.  Obviously, if salary is linked to employee productivity, a workplace may experience strong competition between employees.  While that may produce a healthier bottom line, competition that is not properly managed can also cause employees to sabotage or offend one another resulting in a hostile work environment.  Unhealthy workplace competition discourages teamwork and inspires individualism.

Although conflicts cannot be avoided, they can be managed.  Because conflict is always present — both at an individual and at an organizational level — it is crucial for managers and leaders to develop the skills to appropriately handle difficult conversations or interactions.   This is dubbed “Conflict Competence.”  Conflict Competence is the ability to develop and use cognitive, emotional, and behavioral skills that enhance productive outcomes from conflict while reducing the likelihood of escalation or harm. The good news is that Conflict Competence can be learned.  Next week, we’ll look at ways to resolve conflicts at work.  Stay tuned.

Quote of the Week

“The better able team members are to engage, speak, listen, hear, interpret, and respond constructively, the more likely their teams are to leverage conflict rather than be leveled by it.”
Runde and Flanagan

© 2021, Keren Peters-Atkinson. All rights reserved.