WORKPLACE CONFLICTS

Workplace Conflicts - Causes, Consequences and Solutions

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Problem Statement1

Literature Review1

Causes of conflict2

Carrying out conflict in the workplace3

Types of conflicts at work4

Methods of dispute management4

Modes of dealing with conflict6

Conclusions and Recommendations8

References9

Workplace Conflicts - Causes, Consequences and Solutions

Introduction

Disputes, problems and issues are inevitable in today's world of globalization and culturally diverse workplaces. These conflicts that happen at the workplace may be rooted in the long hours people spend at work or the level of hierarchy and the structure of the organization. Employees at workplace are like the students at school in that their autonomy is highly limited. There are many negative effects of bullying, harassment and personality destructive behavior of co-workers (Mikkelsen, 2011). The study of conflicts at workplace goes back to the times of Plato and Aristotle. According to a survey conducted on the conflicts at workplace, employees spend as much as 42 percent of their time in trying to resolve conflicts at work. 20 percent of the time of almost every employee in an organization is spent in activities related to conflicts.

Problem Statement

The purpose of the paper is to understand the conflicts that take place at work, their types, their reasons and consequences as well as the ways the resolution strategy for workplace conflicts.

Literature Review

The word conflict has a negative connotation attached to it. Although, it is something negative at times it is these conflicts that lead to problem identification in various areas of a business or workplace. To resolve any conflict, the first step is to understand what caused the conflict.

Causes of conflict

According to Gatlin (2002), there are eight causes of conflicts at workplace. These care conflict needs, conflicting styles, conflicting perceptions, conflicting goals, conflicting pressures, conflicting roles, different personal values, and unpredictable policies. In most organizations, the departments find themselves fighting over the limited organizational recourses. Everyone in the organization has his own reason to believe that their need is the most justified and hence their demand for the organizational should be prioritized over others (Avgar, 2010). This situation creates conflicts. Moreover, that fact that every human is an individual and is different from the other also leads to conflicts in situations where there is little tolerance among people for one another. In addition, employees at workplace have different perceptions due to which they may see the same situation in completely different ways. For instance, if a company hires a new resource at a position for which two people are working already, one of them may see this hiring as an insult to the two of them and an indication that the current employees are incapable of performing their job duties well. This same situation will be perceived by the other employee differently in that he will think that it is a welcome addition to their department to share the burden of responsibility of the two employees.

Employees working for a company also have different goals that lead to workplace ...