Conflicts @work: Types & Reasons

Muhammad Sajwani
9 min readSep 7, 2020

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Workplace Conflict

If we genuinely ask ourselves, we all love leadership roles in our careers. Though the top team consists of fewer people, always leaves a lasting impression on the entire workforce. A few years back, I came across a book Fish rots from the head by Bob Garratt gave me a lot of insight on how organisations make or break their very own cultures through the top team. We must remember that a long talk by CEO on an employees’ annual event is harmonious organisational culture is not always enough. It requires much more effort than that.

Coming back to the leadership styles, we all have seen that the opportunity to manage conflicts is rarely a priority of the top leadership in many organisations. We must realise that the conflict resolution is a skill that many have a hard time mastering — and let’s face it, avoiding conflict tends to be the first inclination in most instances. Internal conflicts are brushed under the carpet just assuming that business development is the top priority and the rest can be addressed in due course of time. Before taking any steps to resolve it, it’s essential to know its types and reasons first.

In all of these cases, leaders need to ask two basic questions:

· How important is the issue?

· How important is this relationship?

Reasons of Conflict @work

1. Communication Breakdown

Maya Angelou once said: People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

We must understand that we are living beings. We are not bridge diversions. We are entire human stories, we deserve more from each other. Communication breakdown can be the result of a difference in communication styles. Failure to communicate may cause employees to make wrong assumptions and believe in gossip. Such a breakdown not only causes conflict; it also decreases productivity and employee morale. Read the related article here.

2. Employees’ Value system & Diversity

In absence of a meaningful mechanism to find the right “Cultural Fit” for your organization, there are chances that a diverse workforce faces such challenges more often. Conflicts may arise due to employees’ backgrounds, nationalities, ethnicities, cultures, languages, and many more. The difference in values is not necessarily the cause of workplace conflict — it’s the failure to accept the diversity. The most simple and understandable definition of the term ‘Diversity’ that I have come across so far is to “understand that each individual is unique, and recognise individual differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies.”

Any workplace unites people with different backgrounds, temperaments, experiences, and preferences. We don’t become friends with everyone we meet — so we shouldn’t expect all team members to get along perfectly either. Although it’s not necessary for all coworkers to be friends, a level of mutual respect and understanding is crucial for a healthy workplace culture.

It’s a manager’s responsibility to set the tone for healthy relationships within a team. If you, as a manager, are always unbiased, your team members will more likely seek your help in resolving conflicts. For related article, click here.

3. Change Management

People resist change because they are afraid of it. We all sometimes get stuck in our older habits because we are comfortable. With change comes fear of the unknown that not everyone is ready to embrace. Change can be stressful and often results in conflict between a team member and management.

It’s helpful to remember that some employees will naturally go through denial, anger, and confusion on their way to embracing change. It’s a common human reaction to resist the unknown and it’s not uncommon for this resistance to turn to hostility.

Considering these factors and guiding team members through the process of change will result in an easier and healthier transition:

· Communicate the reasons behind change

· Involve your team members in the process so they know that they are a part of it

· Train the team members in their new job responsibilities

When your team is calm, relaxed, and open to change and growth, they are less likely to get involved in a change-related conflict.

4. Unclear Job Expectations

A job description (JD) with an overview of responsibilities always comes with a new position. But it’s extremely difficult for the team members to become top performers without training and coaching. Every position has a learning curve that plays a big role in the future success of the employee.

Some people stay at their jobs for years trying to guess what their manager’s expectations are. Others quit and move on. If someone is unsure of how they need to perform, they might lose confidence and get defensive. Wouldn’t it be easier to state what you expect of the team member from the get-go and avoid frustration that oftentimes turns into a conflict?

· Communicate the non-negotiable activities — direct responsibilities that your team member has to perform in order to be successful at their job.

· Describe the company culture so the team member knows what kind of work environment they will be a part of.

· Clarify the reporting procedure that the team member will have to follow.

Avoid conflicts by making your team members aware of what’s expected of them, so they can perform with confidence.

5. Toxic work culture

The way people feel about themselves and others in the workplace greatly affects their productivity. Loving your job doesn’t just mean enjoying your everyday tasks, but also involves being a part of a happy work community. Some companies go the extra mile and design their offices to have colorful walls and workstations, gaming areas, thinking rooms, libraries, large employee meeting facilities etc. to ensure that their employees feel at home and can perform at their best.

Adding bells and whistles to the office space is not always in the budget, nor is it the only way to create a healthy work environment. Here are some of the things you can do to ensure your team is thriving, and avoid a toxic work environment:

· Encourage communication. Don’t let conflicts escalate, let your team members know that you are open to hearing them out.

· Focus only on facts in assessing you team members’ behavior and never take sides.

· Implement procedures. Everyone should know what responsibilities they have, how to perform them, and what they are accountable for.

· Organize team building events where people can spend time together out of work.

· Offer training to teach team members essential skills of communicating.

Read the related article here

Types of Conflict

1. With the boss

We all encounter instances where people who have conflicts with those in more senior positions, sometimes because their boss isn’t doing enough to support the team or is doing too much micromanaging.

The relationship with your boss is obviously important for getting work done and for getting ahead. As a result, you should invest the time needed to resolve the conflict. The key question then becomes: What’s my role in the conflict, and what can I do to improve the situation?

While it’s easy (and maybe legitimate) to blame your boss, this unfortunately isn’t the most productive option. If you actually want things to get better, you’ll need a different approach. Schedule a conversation or a lunch so you can understand your boss’s goals and motivations, express your concerns and explore ways to work better together. Getting insight into your boss’s reasoning and outlook may spark ideas about new techniques for handling the situation.

The dialogue will send a clear signal that you’re interested in building a better bond and resolving the tension that exists. Finally, make it clear that you are quite willing to carry out any directions being given (assuming they are not immoral or unethical), but that you would first like to suggest a better way that can be helpful. Read the related article here.

2. With a colleague

We must understand that nothing happens in isolation. You inevitably rely on others to get things done. Make sure our goal is to resolve the conflict and get work done, then tap into the knowledge of the other person for tips in getting along. Try out the advice, and perhaps also tactfully attempt to break the tension by talking with your colleague about possible middle ground.

3. Among direct reports

Leaders at nearly every level have been the uncomfortable witnesses to conflicts among teammates. Your choices are basically to look away or jump into the fray.

If the conflict is with people you supervise, and you know they are not going to react well, avoiding the conflict is tempting but ineffective. One of my colleagues recounted a situation in a former office when — after spending too much time avoiding a confrontation with a subordinate who had a history of causing disruption — he decided to have the difficult conversation with her. He made sure to focus solely on the job-related behaviors and not infer motivation. Still, she became irate and cursed at him before storming out of his office. However, the next day she gave him a letter of resignation. Conflict resolved.

As a leader, you want to allow for a certain amount of creative tension, but the moment that conflict becomes counterproductive, you need to act. While the issues that cause conflict vary in importance, your relationships to teammates and the relationships among teammates must be functional if you hope to have a productive environment. One option is to sit down with employees — separately or together — and make your work-related outcomes and behavioral expectations clear. Then, treat the employees as adults and ask them to resolve their differences. Let them know they will be held accountable if they don’t.

Last Word

To sum it up, it’s worth the investment of time to have the team sit down and talk to each other. Prompt them to explain their behaviors and the reasoning why they’re doing things a certain way. Give them a space in which they’re able to ask questions and really start to understand each other. This will help resolve personality clashes, miscommunication, and overall team performance.

It’s important to address as many of the issues that arise together as a team, rather than singling people out. This will reinforce the fact that the team functions as a unit and working together as one is a priority. Sometimes teams require more structure in place to prevent conflicts from happening over power struggles. Remind the team that conflict is healthy and encouraged as long as it’s productive.

If one person is consistently causing challenges and you aren’t seeing improvement, that would be the time to pull them aside individually. Continue to monitor and check in with the team periodically. This will help prevent any future conflicts from spiraling out of control, and will continue to emphasize to them the importance of working as a team.

Conflicts that occur between small groups or pairs of people can be dealt with in much the same way as team conflicts. The source of the problem is usually easier to identify and therefore rectify. For these smaller groups, encourage healthy debate and dialogue as a solution to combative conflict. Help them see the value of looking at things from various perspectives and analyzing those different viewpoints.

Healthy conflict encourages new ways of thinking and can be instrumental in driving an organization forward. Conflict itself can be the best catalyst for change. The best type of conflict comes in the form of open conversations, debates, and brainstorming sessions. Keep this in mind, reinforce it to teams, and negative conflict will become a thing of the past.

Learn how sometimes smaller things in our lives make huge impact and you can take some learnings on a personal and professional level by following me on LinkedIn and on our official website. Also follow us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Muhammad Sajwani is the Founder, Managing Director and Principal Consultant at Evolve HR which aims at transforming, enriching and evolving Human Capital of Pakistan, At Evolve HR thrives in challenging assumptions that hinder organisational aspirations, by creating innovative solutions that yield maximum impact, scalability & benefit to a wider base of stakeholders. As a Business Coach and Organisational Consultant, Sajwani knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.

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Muhammad Sajwani
Muhammad Sajwani

Written by Muhammad Sajwani

C-Level HR, Transformation Leader, Board Advisor, Writer, Business Coach & Organisational Consultant, Founder, Principal Constant & MD of Evolve HR.

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