Having Conflict in the Workplace | Team Challenge Company

Jan. 15, 2014 - PRLog -- Definition of a Team

'A group of people with a full set of complementary skills required to complete a task, job or project’.

The definition of a team stresses the importance of shared authority, dependence on others and responsibility. On the whole, teams will work together in order to be able to achieve a company prospect or goal, and will share the rewards to strengthen relationships within the business.

Benefits of a Team

One of the major benefits of working in a team is the diversity of knowledge that comes with employing a variety of workers. By using this diversity in resources, you as a team can effectively formulate new strategies and campaigns to helpimprove business.

Furthermore, where one employee may struggle to fulfil a task, another can take over this responsibility and aid them in their work. This will not only significantly strengthen relationships within the team, but will also give employees the opportunity to adopt new skills and tactics which may have a significant impact on company performance.

However, with diversity comes conflict, and where conflict lies disagreements and disputes will prevail, making it of the upmost important to try and tackle any issues head-on rather than letting them be.

Conflict in a Team

Generally speaking, conflict in the workplace will arise where there are differences among employees.

In order to avoid disputes, it is important to consider all options in terms of resolution based on the nature of the disagreement. For example, if your employees disagree on something you believe to be petty it can usually be resolved using a quick and open approach. However, should the dispute escalate to something more serious it may take your best efforts to ensure the individuals involved make amends.

The best thing to do when it comes to resolving conflict is to try and identify the source. By doing so, it will enable you to work with your employees and start from the root of the disagreement rather than trying to tackle the places where the disputes have branched out.

However, despite the difficulties you may have faced trying to expose the source, conflict generally falls into three factor categories: structural, communication and personal factors.

Structural

According to Mediate ‘Structural conflict is conflict caused by patterns or structures of actual or perceived power which create perceived inequality of bargaining power’.

An example of this type of conflict would involve someone stating that ‘women always win in Family Court’. Though it may not be necessarily true, this statement may cause conflict in the work place

Communication

Broken communication can be a massive contributor to conflict, and generally comes down to two reasons, misinterpretations and presumed notions.
For example, say someone said to you ‘Although your work is good, a few things could be changed for improvement’.

Now, we can take this one of two ways; either, we perceive this statement as constructive criticism or we take it to heart and believe that our work is not at the standard required by your manager. Should the latter apply, what was originally meant to be perceived as mere constructive criticism may escalate into a dispute.

Presumed notions on the other hand generally refer to a person believing they are being kept in the dark. By basing your knowledge on presumptions, you may begin to believe that your work is not satisfactory or required which can intensify into all sorts of paranoia within the work place.

Personal factors

This last factor usually refers to disputes that have arisen on topics outside of the work place such as beliefs. If a person does not agree with your belief it is important to remember that unless they are victimising or challenging your views, this issue does not need to be actioned.
Again, whether or not you feel victimised all comes down to personal interpretation and it is crucial that should you feel this way that you bring up the topic in an appropriate manner such as discussing the issue with your manager. This factor can lead to conflict if the situation is not handled in the correct way.

Handling negative conflict

There are a few ways in which you can handle negative conflict in the workplace. What you choose to do will depend on the severity of the situation. Here are a few ways in which you can tackle conflict in the workplace:

Direct Approach

One of the best ways is to pull your fellow employees into a meeting and ask them to share their views on the situation. This provides a controlled environment for them to discuss their issues and will help to strengthen communication.

Team building

If conflict has occurred throughout your workplace and has involved a few of your employees, then perhaps consider getting them stuck in with some corporate days out to lighten the situation. Not only will this help to develop relationships, it will also encourage your employees to work together to achieve a goal on a smaller scale in comparison to the prospects set by your company.

Retreat

This method should only be used in the case of personal conflict factors otherwise it may worsen the situation. By allowing a ‘cooling off’ period for the members of your team involved in the conflict, it will enable them to discuss the matter in a way they feel is appropriate. When utilised in the correct way, this technique can help employees to personally grow and will prevent minor incidents from escalating into a full-blown dispute.

Contact Team Challenge Company to schedule a team building event for your workforce: http://www.teamchallenge-company.co.uk/team-building/