Managing Conflict in the Workplace

With places in Bangalore slowly opening up again, I thought I’d step out for grocery shopping as a welcome refresher from my stay-home-order-home routine.

A brisk walk through the market quickly reminded me of all the clamour that I had forgotten in these past few months of ordering everything home. The constant honking and screeching of cars, punctuated by the loud voices of customers haggling with vendors.

This got me thinking of how disagreements are an intrinsic part of human interaction.

The autowala at the main junction didn’t believe in the nitty-gritties of the meter system, which his customer was trying to point out, in vain. The vegetable vendors were constantly at loggerheads with their budget-conscious customers. Nearby, two chaat stall vendors were debating over which of them were encroaching on the other’s territory.

But is this the same as conflict? Far from it.

Just like any other form of human interaction, disagreements are inevitable in any workplace. They are more common among teams that work together closely. More importantly, they can be constructive if handled the right way. Managing disagreements in a constructive way is crucial for preventing them from escalating into conflicts that can damage business relationships, friendships, and careers. Here’s where I explain how you can better identify conflict and resolve it constructively to ensure your team can keep performing its best.

Conflict needs to be effectively managed

Conflict in the workplace can be a contributing factor to a vast majority of our stress and unhappiness in the workplace. A study done by Gallup found that 74% of employees reported experiencing workplace conflict. They also found that 84% percent of managers reported having to deal with conflict within their team.

To reduce the amount of conflict between employees, both managers and employers should take it upon themselves to be more aware of the types of conflict, it’s triggers, and make sure they are addressing them in a targeted way. This will also help with overall employee happiness, reduce turnover, and improve company culture. It’s not quite as simple as it sounds though, so I took it upon myself to break it down for you.

How do you know if a conflict situation has arisen?

Conflicts between teams can happen for many different reasons. It may be that two people are pulling in opposite directions on a project. Or they may disagree on the best way to complete a task.

A workplace conflict can also happen when two co-workers are having disagreements about how to complete tasks, or they feel differently about their roles in the company. If someone feels like another person has wronged them or purposely tried to cause problems for them then it’s likely they have a conflict with that co-worker.

But wait, there are many types of conflict. Do you know which one you’re facing right now?

Understanding the three major types of conflict

Three types of conflicts are common inside business organizations: task conflicts, relationship conflicts, and value conflicts. Most can be solved through open communication, collaboration, and respect because these will play important roles in your ability to manage the three types of conflict that regularly come up inside teams.

Task conflict may seem easy to resolve, but it has deeper roots and more complexity than it seems. For example, co-workers may argue about who will go to an out-of-town conference, but the real problem may be that they feel competitive with each other.

Relationship conflict is a central concern in any business. It can arise from different of opinions, preferences of how things should be done and even the way two people of a team deal with each other. When individuals from multiple backgrounds are forced to interact over a certain period of time, they might expect problems to occur when it comes down to dealing with issues such as personal space, reservedness and even differing values. We must not lose hope in our teams when we experience relationship issues because they will most likely clash in the office at some point — there’s nothing a manager can do to prevent this type of conflict, but he or she can be prepared to identify and deal with it when it arises!

Diversity comes in many different forms, including in beliefs and values. It is crucial in forming an effective team when everyone aligns with what they are doing in terms of philosophy. But sometimes, diverse values can lead to value conflict. These may be over religion, politics, or ethics. Religion is very important to some because it is their guiding force in life and can dictate how employees should act each day. Politics is also important to some because the government typically dictates how people should act and what actions they can take. As for ethics, people may have different views on what is morally right.

But how should you manage conflict?

Resolving conflicts amongst co-workers can be a difficult task. And it is often necessary to learn the best way to do it. One of the greatest mistakes that people make is not understanding what is going on and not taking steps to move past it.

We should try to avoid conflict as much as we can, but when we cannot, for whatever reason, it is critical that we deal with the conflict in a mature fashion and take steps to resolve it as quickly as possible.

In a dispute where values are at stake, try moving towards a mutual understanding and respect through dialogue. With an aim for a cognitive-first discussion in which the conflicting parties can think critically, managers can hope to help teammates put aside differences and focus on outcomes.

Finally, one of the most important things for managers to remember is that they are not working in isolation, and can be a cause of the conflict situation as well. Managers need to adopt a more collaborative approach to work and teams need to be included in key process decisions or else they will feel like their opinions don’t matter and it will result in them resenting their boss and co-workers. It’s also important for managers to not take any personal offense when someone has an issue with them, but instead focus on solving the problem so that both sides can come out feeling better about it.

Now that you understand conflict, keep an eye out for it and start resolving conflict right away. Because at the end of the day, a team that works well together, succeeds together.

If you want to better understand conflict and how to manage it in your team, I’ve got great news for you — we’re here to help! Drop us a line at information@mentoring-matters.com and we’ll help you get started on your journey towards better conflict resolution, and help you grow into a better leader.

While you’re here, do check out our full range of leadership solutions for your organization’s every need: https://mentoring-matters.com/solutions

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MEERA RAGHUNANDAN

Meera Raghunandan is the co-founder of Mentoring Matters, a platform for businesses and individuals across industries to drive holistic professional growth across mid and senior-level positions through dedicated coaching by certified professionals.