Conflicts in the workplace: how to resolve them?

Author: Zuzana Kocáková

Career

04. 08. 2023 11 reading minutes

Conflicts in the workplace are not uncommon. Everyone will encounter them in their lifetime, and not just once. The reasons for their occurrence are numerous. Sometimes they can occur due to misunderstanding of the other party, other times they are the result of months or years of suppressing anger. What types of conflicts can you encounter in the workplace and how can you deal with them properly?

Conflicts at work cannot be completely avoided

Every company is full of people with similar work goals, but very different opinions, parent education, worldviews and behaviours. In addition, one should not forget about sympathy. While you may like someone and instantly form a friendly relationship, others may find you annoying. You may not even be aware of this at first, it will come up later, for example when dealing with a complication.

However, the reverse is also true. Even you don’t have to like every colleague. A very active person who is always talking can get on your nerves after a short time. A strong individualist who doesn’t like to work together can complicate the whole process.

Conflicts are a normal part of working life. Experts agree that negative emotions should not be swept away because they can come back and be much stronger. If something is bothering you, it’s important that you start to address the problem, either with the person who is the source of the problem or with a supervisor.

Workplace conflict sources

There are several possible sources of conflict in the workplace. The main ones include:

• Likes and dislikes – every person is different, so it’s perfectly normal to like one person and dislike another. If you don’t like a colleague or disagree with their opinions, try to keep your communication with them to a minimum. Do only joint work tasks and projects with them, nothing else. This avoids unnecessary conflicts based on significant differences.
• Expectations – even if you don’t realize it, we all have expectations. You can expect your colleagues to share your opinion, to do things without you saying so, or to find some things as natural as you do. However, as soon as you find out that the reality is quite different, you begin to develop antipathy towards these people, leading to conflict. Therefore, do not expect anything from others. If you want them to help you with something or to do something, just tell them.
• Misunderstanding – even minor communication noise can cause a big problem. It most often occurs in email communication, where you can interpret a written communication in a completely different way than the author intended. However, conflict can also arise when a colleague does not express themselves correctly or sufficiently. If you don’t think you understand something well, you’d better ask follow-up questions.

Basic types of conflict in the workplace

The teamwork is made up of very different people who often have nothing in common. That is why multiple conflicts can arise in a very short time. According to their nature, they can be divided into several basic groups.

Leadership conflict

You will encounter this type of conflict when you don’t like your supervisor and their personality, leadership style or any other detail. However, it is important to know that it is not always only the supervisor who is the problem. In some cases, it may also be the employees themselves.

For example, this is a situation where management promotes a junior colleague. Older employees may become frustrated or bitter, which increases distrust and resentment.

Regardless of whether you are a supervisor or an employee, in both cases, unpleasant conflicts can arise from negative feelings. So if you notice that your manager is treating you inappropriately or your subordinates are being unpleasant to you, you should start addressing the situation as soon as possible.

Conflict arising from interdependence

In this type of conflict, there is a shifting of blame to another person, with whom you are likely to feel antipathy later.

In practice, this could be, for example, a slower member of the team who causes you to regularly extend your working hours, or a person who is not fully committed to their work and then you have to do it with other colleagues instead of them.

Conflicts due to different working styles

Every employee has their own style of work. You may be more comfortable working in a team, while your colleague may be more comfortable working individually. Forcing one party or the other to conform leads to conflict and reduced productivity. The ideal is therefore to try to divide duties so that everyone can work in a style that suits them.

Conflicts in roles and ideas

Tension can also arise when you disagree with a set work style, other colleagues’ ideas, or your boss’s approach to a particular project. In such situations, it is a good idea to get in touch and discuss the problem. Otherwise, you’ll be very unhappy and nervous at work, which can lead to you blowing up later.

Personality clashes

Major work conflicts also arise when very different personalities come together. A person with a different opinion or perspective on a situation can make you angry with even one small remark. So, if possible, try to keep contact with them to a minimum.

Workplace conflict resolution

When conflict arises in the workplace, it needs to be addressed. This role is usually taken by a person in a leadership position. If you try to solve it, you should know a few ways to solve the problem without creating more drama.

Don’t overlook the problem or conflict

Conflict resolution in the workplace is not pleasant. That is why many try to overlook them and pretend they do not exist. However, overlooking conflicts is far from the ideal way to get rid of them. Other employees will become increasingly unpleasant, which can lead to even bigger problems later on.

The first step in dealing with conflict is to acknowledge it and admit that your team or company is struggling with it.

Listen actively

Effective communication relies not only on talking, but also on active listening. In practice, this means paying full attention to the other person’s words, not interrupting and trying to understand their point of view. That way you can find out what the conflict is really about and where the problem is.

Keep calm

Emotions can complicate the solution of any problem, even the smallest one. So try to avoid anger, sarcasm or passive-aggressiveness when listening and talking to colleagues or employees. When the other person is frustrating you, try some methods to calm yourself down, such as deep breathing or counting to ten.

A calm and neutral approach can calm the other person and reduce their anger or nervousness. Besides, with a cool head, you’ll find a rational solution much easier.

Focus on the problem, not the person

You’re more likely to have a person on your work team that you like more than others. However, personal preferences must be put aside when solving the problem. Focus on the situation and avoid favouring the person. This could lead to further conflicts.

Try to find a compromise

Once you’re familiar with the situation, try to find a compromise that works for both sides. Suggest several possible solutions and see which ones resonate the most with employees or colleagues.

Finding a compromise is difficult, so make more time for this. Think about how the conflict could be resolved in a way that benefits everyone. For example, you can take advantage of various employee benefits that you’ll provide to both parties.

Then remember that you don’t have to be alone in the problem. Sit down calmly with other concerned persons and use brainstorming.

Think to the future

If you don’t want to deal with conflict on a regular basis in your team or company, it’s important to create a plan to prevent it. This plan should include clear expectations and information about who is responsible for which work tasks. Be sure to check the plan regularly and add more points if necessary.

Conflict resolution strategies

There are several strategies you can use to resolve conflicts, for example:

• Collaborative strategy – all parties present their goals and interests, taking into account the others and wanting to find a satisfactory solution. Cooperation and empathy are key.
• Strategy of compromise – each party is willing to give up something in favour of an agreement. Cooperation is important and leads to the best results.
• Strategy of confrontation – one of the parties tries to achieve their goals regardless of the needs of the others. This strategy often occurs when someone with a higher status is in conflict, which they can use to their advantage.
• Adaptation strategy – one of the parties takes step back to meet the needs and demands of the other party. Person can often be manipulated in these situations.
• Enforcement strategy – one of the parties tries to enforce its goals much more than the others and only cares about achieving them. This strategy is characterized by a low degree of cooperation and may be ineffective in the long term.
• Argumentation strategy – the parties present arguments on the basis of which a solution to the problem can be reached. As a rule, credible and logical arguments win.

Conflict resolution skills examples

To give you a better idea, we can give an example of conflict resolution in the workplace. Imagine you have a colleague who, instead of working, is always running off somewhere, scrolling through social networks and not giving their full attention to their tasks. Because of this, you and your other colleagues have to stay at work longer and do what they didn’t get to do.

Instead of working together with other colleagues to suppress anger and frustration, try to talk to the person. Tell them what bothers you and suggest solutions. If they won’t listen to you or aren’t interested in resolving the situation, leave it to the supervisor.

However, go to the superior with calmness. Choose one person to speak for you as a team. In this way, you will avoid the shouting that could lead to chaos. It is then up to the supervisor to decide how to deal with the situation. Ideally, they will keep calm, listen to all parties and then they propose a well-thought-out solution.

Troubleshooting is a big plus

Conflicts in the workplace are a common but unpleasant part of working life. When they arise, they need to be resolved, not overlooked. There are several ways to do this. When you learn how to use them properly, you will know how to react appropriately to different situations. In addition, it is one of the soft skills that employers value. So if you’re looking for any job offers and career development opportunities, be sure to put this detail on your CV.

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Conflicts in the workplace: how to resolve them?

Zuzana Kocáková

At msg life Slovakia I take care of the company culture, events and I am part of the marketing team. I like a job where I can be creative and contribute to making my colleagues at msg feel good. I regularly prepare for you not only news and interesting things from the world of information technology and insurance, but also from behind the scenes events at msg life Slovakia.