Conflict in the Workplace

Hi there

It is the last day in the month and the last day in this half of year. Wow!! How fast and how far has the year gone by. It feels like the year only started yesterday and here we are ending the first half of the year. Looking back, a lot has happened and as it often said, “the outcome of your experiences is mostly determined by your interpretation of such events”. You could choose to see the year so far as the popular “half full or half empty” glass based on the perspective you choose. But your outlook at the events of your life will determine what you will do with the experiences you have garnered so far. Take some time to do a self-appraisal and analysis and make the most of your discovery. The growth and change you expect is dependent on your intentionality to be committed to the change you desire.

Welcome to another Productivity Wednesday experience. In today’s article we will be discussing conflict in the workplace.

Human Beings are social beings and coexistence of Human has been so since creation, but we are not all the same nor have same background, so conflict tend to arise in our coexistence. Conflict is defined by Cambridge English Dictionary as an active disagreement between people with opposing opinions and principles. The tendency for conflicts to arise in the workplace is high because individuals with different backgrounds that have formed different ideologies, perceptions, and opinions in us. Change is not easy to adopt especially something that you have lived with for a long time or even known all our lives while having anyone question such will always cause a rift and possibly degenerate into a major conflict.

The causes of conflict in a workplace range from misunderstanding of instructions, poor team participation, aggressiveness, power struggle, jealousy, general bad behaviour, or perceived inequities of resources in the workplace. Conflict is common so long as humans coexist but as real as conflicts are, so are conflict resolution processes.

Conflict can be resolved in the following ways.

1. Make policies and properly communicate them in the workplace in clear and consistent terms and make rational decisions when the situations arise.
2. Ensure all employees are accountable for resolving conflicts.
3. Do not avoid conflicts but take conscious steps to resolving every conflict in the most amicable way.
4. Seek to understand the underlying emotion and ideologies of the employees in the conflict.
5. Keep in mind that approaches to resolving conflict may depend on the circumstances of the conflict.

The outcome of conflicts in the workplace may either bond employees or create rift between employees that could degenerate into worse conditions. Make the most in resolving conflicts in an organization and promote peace always. 21Search is provides trainings in soft skills and some technical skills of a job, kindly visit our website to see all our courses and register.

Until I come your way again, stay safe and work smart and not just hard.