Causes of Conflict in the Workplace

Conflict can be very destructive in a workplace environment, and dealing with it is not
easy, it is hard to define what causes conflict as every situation is different in every
different workplace.
Communication is a big factor in workplaces, and with good communication a
workplace can work perfectly well, however when there is a lack of communication a
team will crumble, a simple misunderstanding can lead to a bigger conflict if left
unresolved.
Personal Conflict is can also be a big issue in the workplace, personality clash in the
office can be very difficult to deal with and can lead to lots of other problems, such as
your opinions and ideas being ignored and them making you look foolish in front of
your colleagues, this is a very unhealthy environment to work in and also doesn’t
make anyone involved feel very good and can even result in people wanting to
leave.
Conflict in a workplace also does only effect those who are directly involved it also
involves the team within they are working which is why it is a good idea to get it
sorted, nip it in the bud.
Before taking the conflict to a senior employee you should ask yourself a few
questions like,
• Are you the only one with the problem or do they treat others like this? If so
see how other members of the team deal with them.
• Is there any particular reason they have taken a dislike to you? It could be
something silly like you don’t tidy up after yourself that can be sorted easily.
• Or is there a personality clash? This is hard to deal with but by dealing with
their behaviour in the opposite way than they expect it will confuse them and
probably make them stop.
• Are you over reacting? Before you report their behaviour think to yourself are
you being over sensitive to this persons behaviour and can it be solved by
sitting and talking about the situation.
Some conflicts can be resolved unofficially by simply communicating with the person
privately away from the other team members or just by being patient as you never
know what is going on in their private lives, however if the problem persists a formal
complaint using the grievance procedure of the organisation is your final option, this
involves 3 stages:
1. An interview with the line manager
2. An interview with a more senior manager
3. An interview with an outside organisation e.g. ACAS

Caylie Witherspoon Causes of Conflict in the Workplace