{"id":24212,"date":"2023-08-07T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-07T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.appreciationatwork.com\/?p=24212"},"modified":"2023-08-07T07:21:46","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T12:21:46","slug":"understanding-workplace-conflict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.appreciationatwork.com\/blog\/understanding-workplace-conflict\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Workplace Conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Conflict at work happens \u2013 a lot<\/strong>. And it is a major source of stress for both employees and supervisors. It\u2019s easy for most of us to recall a tense moment in our workplace — to remember the discomfort of watching a not-so-friendly disagreement in a meeting. Or to relive the sting of a critical comment made in front of your colleagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One study found that, on average, each employee spends 2.1 hours every week (or one day per month) dealing with conflict in some way. Either being directly involved in a disagreement, or managing an issue between coworkers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cost of workplace conflict is huge \u2013 both to us as individuals and to our organizations. In addition to the time lost doing productive tasks while we are engaged in (or thinking about) a conflict, there is the personal cost of the stress it creates \u2013 headaches, upset stomachs, high blood pressure, loss of sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My colleagues, Dr. Gary Chapman and Dr. Jennifer Thomas, and I wrote Making Things Right at Work: Increase Teamwork, Resolve Conflict and Build Trust<\/em><\/a> to help employees, supervisors and managers both reduce the amount of conflict which occurs and successfully manage interpersonal tensions once they happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why <\/em><\/strong>Conflict Happens (or \u2026 where does it come from?)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When tensions arise at work, the first thing we must remember is that the behaviors displayed<\/em> are not necessarily the actual problem<\/em>. For example, when Robert cuts off a colleague in a meeting with a curt remark \u2013 while inappropriate \u2013 there is a deeper issue at the root of his reaction that is the real problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me share a few (but not all) of the sources of conflict we address more fully in the book:<\/p>\n\n\n\n