How to solve conflicts at work?

A good atmosphere at work is one of the most important assets of any organization. However, conflicts between co-workers, as well as subordinates and superiors, happen in every, even the best cooperating team. The key issue is then to identify the causes of the conflict situation and to choose effective and constructive ways to resolve it.

Conflicts are undoubtedly an inevitable phenomenon. They can be seen on every level – in the family, at school, in professional life. When building relationships with colleagues or management, you may encounter a difference in interests, values, views, emotions, and this may be the basis of conflict. On the one hand, conflicts can cause frustration, stress, an increase in absences from work and even departures from the company; they can also contribute to improper communication or weaken cooperation. As a result of their occurrence, disintegration among employees, leaving work, as well as the formation of informal groups may occur.

On the other hand, conflicts can lead to increased solidarity, group integration and strengthen ties between co-workers. It should be added that despite the cathartic role of conflicts, they carry high costs, not only for the parties involved, but also for the entire enterprise. The result of the conflict may often be a higher turnover of employees, a decrease in their motivation to work or an increase in the number of sick leaves, which in turn entails costs for the employer resulting from sick leave.

Proper conflict management should aim at choosing methods to minimize its negative aspects and maximize benefits. It should be emphasized that the conflict itself is not bad, but improperly chosen ways of resolving it can lead to losses. For this reason, it is very important to take a constructive approach to conflict resolution and to choose the right dispute resolution methods that will enable cooperation and integration of the team.

Traditional methods of conflict resolution most often lead to the disintegration of the group, because only one side benefits from the conflict situation. Modern forms are often a better choice because they do not lead to the defeat of one of the parties. In such a situation, a properly managed conflict contributes to an increase in the convergence of goals among employees and the integration of the crew.

Here are some of the modern methods of managing conflicts at work (and, of course, some of them – such as compromise or reconciliation – are also applicable in non-professional situations):

  • Compromise – partial satisfaction of both one’s own interests and the partner’s. Both sides both benefit and lose during the conflict. Compromise is a popular form of conflict resolution. Most often it is used for limited resources, desired, by at least two people. Each side gains something, but also loses.
  • Reconciliation – is based on the search for the best solution. This leads to an attempt to meet the needs of all parties to the conflict and to the satisfaction and integration of the team. In this method, conflict is seen as a common problem that needs to be solved, in such a way that each party can achieve interests that are important to each other. Reconciliation is based not on concessions, but on cooperation and the development of a position that will satisfy all parties to the conflict. The emphasis is not on the speed of the solution, but on the search for the best solution
  • Disclosure of a common interest – it can be a goal, satisfying needs or protection against threats. Competitive goals are replaced by common ones, which lead to the integration of the team in which the conflict has arisen. There is a distraction from the conflict, and working together shows the parties that they can act together. As a result of this strategy, the dispute often turns into cooperation.
  • Setting overarching goals – strengthens the integration of the team, and the conflict goes into the background. The method of establishing parent goals takes into account the lower-level goals of each of the parties to the conflict. Common goals lead to the cessation of conflict and the pursuit of cooperation.

Source ciop and PIB materials

Source: https://www.seka.pl/konflikty-w-pracy/

Region Gdański NSZZ „Solidarność”

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.

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