An organization must recognize and resolve conflict between co-workers. Otherwise, poor job performance might occur. In addition, an individual&rsquo;s desire to earn a bonus for exceptional performance might intensify the situation. Therefore, emotions might run high and escalate into aggression. Consequently, a supervisor or manager might need to conduct coaching to resolve the conflict. However, conflict that is good-faith disagreement related to business decisions helps a company reach the best business solutions.
Cause of Conflict
Many conditions drive conflict, such as an individual lacking self-confidence in his ability to perform required duties. This might generate defensive reactions to co-worker who request assistance. In addition, an employee might feel that he has an unfair workload. For example, a key team member might schedule a vacation at a juncture that results in a heavier workload for a co-worker. Furthermore, a conflict might occur based on a co-worker&#039;s misconception. For example, an individual mistakenly believes that a team member surfs the Internet for personal reasons.
When co-worker conflict occurs, an individual might approach it with unstable emotions. For example, an employee might feel that she is not receiving respect from a co-worker. If left unchecked, emotion might escalate from dissatisfaction to hostility. This leads to an unsafe work environment where employees feel various emotions, such as fear, anger, frustration and resentment.
When business-decision conflict occurs, a supervisor or work group might determine the resolution. For example, members of a work group might vote to resolve an issue between two team members. Depending on the complexity of the conflict, a company might hire a consultant to coach the involved parties and navigate a resolution. For a personal conflict between co-workers, a supervisor might coach those involved to defuse a tense situation. The supervisor might enroll these employees in an interpersonal communication class.
Conflict can help guide employees to make better business decisions based on alternative proposals. For example, a conflict might arise when a team member believes that less security is appropriate for accessing a new computer application, but his co-worker insists that a high level of security is required. To reach a resolution, both individuals must present reasons for their positions. If necessary, the supervisor decides which argument has the most merit and that best supports business goals.
The key to conflict resolution is challenging a person&rsquo;s behavior, not the individual. For example, a computer operator responsible for printing accounting reports resented that a co-worker frequently called to check the status of the reports. The supervisor determined that the operator usually provided the co-worker a short time frame for delivering the printed reports. Unfortunately, the operator always provided the reports late. The supervisor coached the operator, suggesting that he double the estimated delivery time for the reports. Consequently, the operator began delivering the reports on time, and the conflict was resolved.
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