Have you ever experienced conflict in the workplace? Perhaps a time when you clashed with someone over a project, work style, or maybe you simply didn’t get along. While most businesses make efforts to create a culture that enables team members to work together – and enjoy it – there are, of course, instances when workplace conflict arises.
A recent article in the Guardian entitled ‘Don’t take it personally: three common workplace clashes and how to deal with them, cover the main reasons why workplace conflict occurs, including:
- Communication clashes: this could be when there are different ways of communicating. For example, someone likes to email, and the other wants to talk in person
- Cultural conditioning clashes: this is when two (or more) people may have opposing views or values in relation to gender, ethnicity, politics and other values
- Work style clashes: this is when the approach to a task is different. For example, an employee likes to plan in advance, and the other is last minute.
These are some of the main reasons why workplace conflict can occur. But we wanted to take a look at how you can avoid workplace conflict. Of course, avoiding conflict isn’t always going to be possible. After all, usually, you will have a mix of people coming together, and you may not see eye to eye with everyone. However, there are some ways you can create a workplace that will give you the best chance of a happy, harmonious workplace.
Here’s how:
- Learn about the culture of the workplace. This is more than whether or not a company has social events and sports teams. This is about how the company works. What are the values? Are there flexible work options? Do many team members work overtime? Understanding a company culture will help you to decide if it’s right for you.
- Talk to your manager and team about expectations, work styles and systems. Ask questions and find out what is expected by your manager and team members when it comes to timelines, systems, meetings and even post-project tasks. If you understand what is expected of you and what is expected of others, there will be less room for issues to occur.
- Personality profiles. While this isn’t always an option, more and more workplaces are inviting employees to complete work/personality profiles so managers and teams can better understand how each other works. This includes the style of communication, what motivates a person and what they might find challenging.
- Invite feedback. Often conflict will arise when something has already/or is perceived to have gone wrong. Where possible, ask your manager and team for feedback. This will give them the opportunity to share their thoughts and for you to respond in a timely way rather than after the fact.
Conflict is part of being human, and while we want to do our best to avoid it, sometimes a little conflict isn’t necessarily bad. It can bring issues to the fore to then be resolved and improvements made. Communicating professionally and with respect is always a good way to approach any conversation.
