Workplace conflict is inevitable when employees of various backgrounds and different work styles are brought together for a shared business purpose. Conflict can—and should—be managed and resolved.
Conflict management is the process for handling disputes and disagreements between two or multiple parties. The goal of this system is to minimize the negative factors that are influencing the conflict and encourage all participants to come to an agreement. Successful conflict management results in a mutually beneficial outcome that’s agreed upon by each party.
The most common conflict is behavioral differences that arise due to the generation gap between the employees. Where the older employees complain about the lack of ethics, unprofessional behavior, no cultural considerations, poor time handling, and untidy dressing. On the other hand, younger employees commonly known as millennials complain about the slow adapting abilities of the older employees, rigid, discouraging, difficult to work with.
While 25 percent of employees surveyed in 1998 reported being treated rudely at work at least once a week, that figure rose to 55 percent in 2011 and 62 percent in 2016, according to Christine Porath, an associate professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. Heightened tension over conflicting political views may be one cause of this increase.
A survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that four in 10 UK employees reported having experienced some form of interpersonal conflict at work in the last year. Most of that conflict is between an employee and his or her line manager. The survey also found that employees are more likely to report that they have experienced conflict with a staff member who is more senior to them.
Many causes have been put forward by the experts some of which are the following:
1. Personality differences.
2. Irritating behavior.
3. Unmet workplace needs.
4. Perceived inequities of resources.
5. Unclarified roles in the workplace.
6. Poor implementation of a job description.
7. Mismanagement of organizational change and transition.
8. Poor communication, including misunderstood remarks and comments taken out of context.
9. Differences over work methods or goals or differences in perspectives attributable to age, sex, or upbringing.
Steps to Resolving Conflict
Schedule a meeting to address the problem, preferably at a neutral place.
1. Set ground rules. Ask all parties to treat each other with respect and to make an effort to listen and understand others’ views.
2. Ask each participant to describe the conflict, including desired changes. Direct participants to use “I” statements, not “you” statements. They should focus on specific behaviors and problems rather than people.
3. Ask participants to restate what others have said.
4. Summarize the conflict based on what you have heard and obtain agreement from participants.
5. Brainstorm solutions. Discuss all of the options in a positive manner.
6. Rule out any options that participants agree are unworkable.
7. Summarize all possible options for a solution.
8. Assign further analysis of each option to individual participants.
9. Make sure all parties agree on the next steps.
10. Close the meeting by asking participants to shake hands, apologize and thank each other for working to resolve the conflict.
“The key thing is the participants knowing they are responsible for the results and they are the ones developing the solution.”
According to the Thomas Kilmann conflict model, there are two types of conflict management cooperativeness and assertiveness. Assertive management is where one thinks of his own good whereas cooperative conflict management thinks about others well being first but inclination on one side is never a great idea. Unless there is a balance between the two conflicts that are bound to arise in the future. Before solving a conflict always take the following questions into consideration:
1. How much do you value the person or issue?
2. Do you understand the consequences?
3. Do you have the necessary time and energy to contribute?
Following are the five strategies in the Thomas Kilmann conflict management model:
Avoiding
Avoiding is when people just ignore or withdraw from the conflict. They choose this method when the discomfort of confrontation exceeds the potential reward of the resolution of the conflict. While this might seem easy to accommodate for the facilitator, people aren’t really contributing anything of value to the conversation and maybe withholding worthwhile ideas. When conflict is avoided, nothing is resolved.
Competing
Competing is used by people who go into conflict planning to win. They’re assertive and not cooperative. This method is characterized by the assumption that one side wins and everyone else lose. It doesn’t allow room for diverse perspectives into a well-informed total picture. Competing might work in sports or war, but it’s rarely a good strategy for group problem-solving.
Accommodating
Accommodating is a strategy where one party gives in to the wishes or demands of another. They’re being cooperative but not assertive. This may appear to be a gracious way to give in when one figures out s/he has been wrong about an argument. It’s less helpful when one party accommodates another merely to preserve harmony or to avoid disruption. Like avoidance, it can result in unresolved issues. Too much accommodation can result in groups where the most assertive parties commandeer the process and take control of most conversations.
Collaborating
Collaborating is the method used when people are both assertive and cooperative. A group may learn to allow each participant to make a contribution with the possibility of co-creating a shared solution that everyone can support.
Compromising
Another strategy is compromising, where participants are partially assertive and cooperative. The concept is that everyone gives up a little bit of what they want, and no one gets everything they want. The perception of the best outcome when working by compromise is that which “splits the difference.” Compromise is perceived as being fair, even if no one is particularly happy with the final outcome.
Even after all this, there will be conflicts and the best possible solution to all these problems is the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). According to Muhammad Asif, in his book, “Islam at the Cross Roads” he writes that even though people have different behavioral inclinations and different personalities if everyone were to follow the same Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) every single one will find that humbleness, tolerance, mutual respect, and honor are the essence of living and a community will be formed where people will understand each other better than they could ever possibly can. The resolution has already been put forward long ago but the mental capability of people has only declined and as long as they do not follow the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) they will be the prime targets of every possible social and economic problem that exist.
By Sarah Faroq