Deep Dive: How to Deal With Workplace Conflict

Navigating conflict at work.

Jan 29, 2024

∙ Paid

Conflicts at work are inevitable.

Still, not entirely welcomed. Many people try to avoid conflicts as much as they can. They think conflicts are bad. They create tension between people and block open communication.

Yet, how you navigate conflicts tells a lot about your team, your communication, and your work atmosphere. Do not avoid conflicts. Have them. They are difficult. Yet, they can bring new ideas, perspectives, and directions.

If you care about your relationships, you will have to clear the air occasionally.

Luckily, you have a choice of how you can do it.

Understanding Conflict

1. What is workplace conflict?

Conflict can be defined as disagreement. It is incompatibility or a struggle or clash between different opinions, ideas, or interests.

Two categories to consider are:

Professional conflicts: ways of working, different approaches to solutions, processes, disagreements about directions or strategy, etc.
Personal conflicts: personality clashes (e.g., analytical vs. chaotic; extrovert vs. introvert), cultural backgrounds, experience, or even age differences.

The ill-meant conflict that aims to attack others because of their personal characteristics or backgrounds needs to be carefully managed. You cannot afford to ignore any discrimination, bullying, or exploitation.

Not all workplace conflicts are bad. Some lead to innovation, idea exchange, and better relationships. You should support such discussions even if they feel a bit uncomfortable at first.

2. What are typical causes?

What you often argue with your friends or family might not be so different from what you experience in the office.

There are five common categories of work conflict:

a. Information conflicts

Think about the last time you experienced a misunderstanding. Someone did not tell you what they should have. Communication of a new policy had some blank spaces. A meeting happened without relevant people.

Access to information and informational flow gives headaches for a lot of leaders and managers. Everyone thinks they can do internal communication well, but in reality, it leads to conflicts.

b. Relationship conflicts

Two persons are not the same. Now add on the top work position, career ladder, and teams, and you have a melting pot for conflicts.

One team does not trust the other team. There is gossip, absenteeism, or no team spirit. Work relationships are under pressure. Since not everyone dares to communicate openly. Feedback is an issue.

Who can you trust? Who do you like working with? Who is lazy? Such questions can cause trouble in your team culture.

c. Value conflicts

What do you believe in? Quality, speed, creativity? Ask a colleague who sits next to you. He may have different ideas.

At the same time, without a shared understanding of what key values mean, you will have a lot of discrepancies. Does quality mean going the extra mile? Or does it mean ‘good enough’? Is speed related to quantity or efficiency?

d. Conflict of interests

In families, you fought for every penny of your pocket money. At work, you fight for budgets and resources. How can you get most of the pot for your team? How can you promote your talented people or hire new colleagues?

Different teams have different needs. But whenever one team pushes for their needs, the other team might need to compromise. Overwhelming workloads are often a topic of conflict between managers.

e. Structural conflicts

Who is responsible for what? Lack of clarity on roles and responsibilities is another classic topic that causes conflicts.

When everyone is responsible, no one is accountable. People point their fingers at others and blame them for not doing it. Classic and frustrating!

Clarity erases conflicts. Do I hear you sigh? If only there was more clarity. I know.

3. Impact of unresolved conflict on team dynamics

Conflicts create emotional stress and tension. The effects of unresolved ‘silent’ conflict between team members are, for instance, work disruptions, decreased productivity, project failure, absenteeism, or high turnover.

How long can you hold your bottled feelings? You may collect more and more frustration to the point of blowup. Then, you might engage in a verbal argument, unpleasant email conversation, or gossip.

One thing to keep in mind is:

People will always remember.

People carry with them any unresolved conflict, gossip, or disrespectful conversation. These things often stay with you even when you change your job.

It is key to handle conflict healthily and promptly. Prepare for uncomfortable conversations and tackle any problem immediately. It will help avoid hurt and unresolved feelings.

Without clearing the air, you will always feel something is on. Then, it will be much more difficult to work well with others, build trust, and have good team dynamics. If needed, involve a mediator to find out why you cannot communicate together well. It could be an independent colleague, your manager, or HR. Choose someone you can trust.

Conflict Resolution

4. The Five Conflict Resolution Styles

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