We are living in an era of incredible, unprecedented change. Every aspect of how we work and who does what in the field, factory, farm, and office has felt the effects of change. These changes—the new economy, evolving gender roles, global competition, technological advances, and heightened security concerns—have increased the potential for conflict in your workplace.
In Chapter 1, All About Conflict, you learned that our workplace conflicts are triggered by a physiological fight-or-flight survival response. In addition, we discussed how inconsistent or incompatible expectations between individuals or groups can drive our conflicts. Along with these interpersonal dynamics, when a workplace conflict erupts, there are usually other factors involved. Typically, environmental, situational, or circumstantial factors are also at play. In this chapter, we will look more closely at those aspects of workplace conflict.
At the end of this chapter, you will understand the following:
- The toll workplace conflict can take on your organization and your career
- How the realities of the new workplace set you up for conflict
- How to identify and overcome differences in communication, management style, power dynamics, core values, and life vision
In the workplace, even minor arguments and disputes can take a toll on individual careers, personal health, relationships, teamwork, and overall productivity. Conflict can sour the climate of the organization, undermine morale, interfere with performance, or erupt into dangerous and violent confrontations. Ultimately, conflicts can cause loyal, valuable employees to become alienated, forcing voluntary or involuntary terminations.
Coworker flare-ups may sound petty, but they can have disastrous consequences. An angry employee can destroy team morale, create anxiety among coworkers, engage in sabotage, or become so enraged that they spark a violent outburst. When the air between two people (or two teams) is no longer clear, the "smog" can greatly reduce the quality of their communication, create negative feelings, and generate further resentments.
Sometimes, the symptoms of conflict are obvious with an employee who is shouting, slamming doors, crying, and so on. Sometimes, they are more subtle, as with a person who displays no desire to communicate, sulks, slows down, frequently calls in sick, or has repeated accidents. Some people will use obvious addictions such as food, alcohol, gambling, or drugs to become less conscious and numb their sense of threat. Some people will use harder-to-detect layers of avoidance such as silence or smiling. If these conflict symptoms are not acknowledged and dealt with, more and more tension can pile up until a slight stimulant, such as an offhand word, causes a major eruption.
When someone is unable or unwilling to deal with confrontation head-on, they may spend time building a case; assemble others in the organization to their side; create insulting or degrading graffiti; engage in vandalism; spread rumors, harass, stalk, or make terrorist threats; and refuse to cooperate, share information, or work. You can imagine how these behaviors can take their toll on an organization and the people in it. In the end, the longer the confrontation is avoided, the more likely it is that people in the organization will become aware of the tension. Ultimately, the entire system may be affected.
Various studies from the fields of management and human resources maintain that supervisors and managers spend 18-25 percent of their time on conflict management. While it's just about impossible to create an accurate cost analysis detailing what conflict really costs you or your organization, we can estimate that your company is likely spending $12,000 of a manager's $60,000 yearly salary on conflict resolution. Additionally, costs in production, employee turnover, sick time, and conflict-related absenteeism take an additional toll. The cost of defending a wrongful dismissal, sexual harassment, discrimination, or similar claim can be astronomical. The potential costs resulting from the trauma and harm of negative press from such a claim can be exorbitant.