Workplace conflict is inevitable; it may arise even within the most tight-knit teams, whether due to a difference in personalities, communication, or work styles. If mishandled, it can have a devastating impact on workplace productivity, employee morale, and job satisfaction. That is why knowing how to handle conflict at work effectively can be surprisingly beneficial.
In fact, a well-managed workplace conflict can strengthen teams instead of dividing them.
So, in this article, we will explore the most common types and causes of workplace conflict and share useful tips on how to prevent and constructively handle conflict at work.
Let’s begin!
Key Takeaways
The most common causes of workplace conflict include work ethic differences, poor communication, personality clashes, and competition.
To handle conflict at work effectively, take a step back to collect yourself and evaluate the situation, communicate professionally, and focus on finding a compromise.
If a conflict violates company policy, involves discrimination or harassment, or seems impossible to resolve, you should escalate it to a higher authority, such as HR.
Future workplace conflicts can be prevented by encouraging open communication, setting clear expectations and responsibilities for employees, and developing strong conflict resolution policies.
Understanding Workplace Conflict
Understanding workplace conflict is a must if you want to resolve and prevent disputes at work. After all, if you try to solve a problem without getting to the root of it, it’s only a matter of time before it resurfaces. Workplace conflicts are no different in this regard.
So, before we discuss how to handle conflict at work, let’s learn more about its causes and types.
#1. What Causes Workplace Conflicts?
According to a survey by Inner Body, the most common cause of workplace conflicts is work ethic disparity. 54% of survey respondents report that most conflicts stem from differences in work ethics. The survey also found that 84% of workplace conflicts are caused by supervisors, managers, or bosses, revealing that employee-employee disputes are relatively rare.
Other common causes of workplace conflicts include:
Common Causes of Conflict at Work
Competition. Healthy competition in the workplace can be a good thing, as it boosts team performance. However, overly competitive individuals are more likely to cause or engage in workplace conflict.
Personality clashes. Clashing personal values and temperaments can quickly lead to conflict. As such, teams consisting of people with very distinct personalities may be particularly susceptible to disagreements.
Poor communication. Vague communication, incompatible communication styles, and failure to listen to other people attentively can all lead to misunderstandings, tension, and conflict at work.
Unclear expectations. Lack of clarity regarding roles, responsibilities, and expectations at work may result in confusion, frustration, and power struggles. It may also lead to stress, which can cause tension within teams.
Clashing work styles. Some people prefer to follow a structured approach while tackling tasks, while others are more laid-back and prefer to wing it. Naturally, people with extremely different work styles may find cooperation challenging.
Unfair workload distribution. Employees assigned more work than others or forced to pick up other people’s slack may grow resentful and frustrated, leading to workplace conflict.
Discrimination and harassment. Bullying, harassment, and discrimination based on gender, age, religion, and other personal characteristics are among the most serious causes of workplace conflict.
#2. Types of Workplace Conflicts
There are three main types of workplace conflicts, including:
Main Conflict Types
Task conflicts. These arise among people who depend on one another to complete tasks or work together to achieve a common goal. Such conflicts usually emerge from differences in opinions, work styles, or approaches to tackling tasks.
Value conflicts. This type of workplace conflict arises from clashing fundamental values, such as differences in ethical principles or political and religious beliefs.
Relationship conflicts. These conflicts result from differences in personalities, communication styles, and other personal qualities, such as taste.
Additionally, depending on their extent and the parties involved, workplace disputes can fall into one of the following three types:
Other Types
Interpersonal conflicts. These happen among two or more people working together and may include both employee-employee and supervisor-employee disputes. Most commonly, this type of workplace conflict occurs within a team.
Interorganizational conflicts. Interorganizational conflicts happen between two organizations that work together. They also include disputes between unions representing employees and organizations where they work.
Interdepartmental conflicts. These arise between different departments working together. For example, employees working in marketing and finance departments may clash over advertising budgets.
Step-by-Step Guide to Resolving Workplace Conflicts
Most workplace conflicts can be resolved in three simple steps: calmly assessing the situation, communicating openly, and seeking a compromise or solution. If this yields no success, you might have no other choice but to escalate the issue to HR or management.
With this in mind, let’s dissect the main steps to resolving conflict at work:
#1. Stay Calm and Assess the Situation
The key to handling conflict gracefully and professionally is to respond instead of reacting. When conflict arises, it’s easy to get carried away by emotions, but this can only escalate the situation.
This doesn’t mean, however, that you should avoid the issue altogether. On the contrary, sweeping things under the rug doesn’t eliminate the disagreement; it only breeds tension, anger, and resentment. Some examples of workplace conflict avoidance include denying, sidestepping, and withdrawing from the problem; all of these can do more harm than good.
Instead, step back from the situation and assess it rationally. To prevent your emotions from getting the best of you, consider taking a moment to breathe, collect your thoughts, and ground yourself before responding.
Once calm and collected, evaluate the situation objectively to identify the root cause of the disagreement and create a solid foundation for resolving conflict.
Instead of focusing on who’s right and who’s wrong, try to determine where precisely the conflict stems from. And remember—not everyone might share your perspective or preferences, and that’s okay.
#2. Communicate Openly and Professionally
Once you’ve identified the root of the conflict, it’s time to address it with open communication, honesty, and respect.
Make sure to choose the right time and place to discuss the situation. Don’t bring it up while the other party is busy; this will not only disrupt their workflow but also distract their attention from the problem, making it more challenging to resolve it. Also, avoid addressing the issue when emotions are high since this can increase tension and defensiveness.
Once you set a proper time, choose an appropriate setting. Handling staff conflict in front of customers, clients, or colleagues who have nothing to do with it is anything but professional. A quiet, private environment also creates space for honest communication.
Open and respectful communication is critical to conflict resolution. The way you speak is no less important than the content of your message, so be mindful of your tone and words.
To foster effective, positive communication, use I-statements and practice active listening—this essential communication skill can help you better understand the other party’s perspective while making them feel heard.
Here’s an example of how to handle conflict at work using I-statements:
Good Example
“I feel frustrated when I get interrupted during meetings because it makes me lose my train of thought, and I can’t contribute my ideas fully to the discussion. I need us to make sure everyone gets to finish their speech before others start responding.”
And here’s an example of how you shouldn’t handle conflict at work:
Bad Example
“Seriously? You’re always cutting me off! Do you even realize how rude you are? You must really love the sound of your own voice!”
Needless to say, the second option is far more likely to escalate the situation, leading to an even more hostile work environment.
#3. Seek a Compromise or Solution
The next step is to seek a compromise or a solution. Since resolving conflict between two employees at work can be nearly impossible if both insist on having their way, it’s crucial to remain flexible and show a willingness to find common ground.
The goal is to determine a way forward that satisfies both parties instead of positioning one as the “winner” and the other as the “loser.” Therefore, the most effective way to handle conflict at work is to focus on shared goals and identify ways to attain them.
Although disagreements may pit people against each other, they also provide an opportunity for collaboration. To reach an agreement that works for everyone involved, all parties should equally contribute by brainstorming and discussing possible solutions. The solution must be actionable; otherwise, the problem may not be resolved.
In some cases, everyone might have to adjust their expectations for the greater good of the team or organization. Still, you should remember that a healthy compromise ensures pretty much equal gains and losses for all parties.
#4. Involving HR or Management When Necessary
While most workplace conflicts can be resolved with open communication and a cooperative attitude, some may require the involvement of HR or management.
Specifically, you should escalate the conflict to a higher authority if it:
When to Escalate to HR or Management
Extends across multiple teams or departments
Involves unethical behavior or violates company policies
Has elements of harassment, discrimination, or mobbing
Persists or gets worse despite your attempts to resolve it
The role of HR in workplace conflict resolution is to act as a mediator. Rather than choosing sides, they maintain a neutral stance, helping both sides address the situation professionally and find a beneficial solution. They also document and maintain records of workplace conflicts according to company policies.
Plus, a dispute can get escalated to HR when it involves a manager or when the manager isn’t capable of effectively resolving conflict in a team by themselves.
When handling conflict at work as a manager, remember that arriving at a solution is not enough—you should also ensure that the solution gets implemented and the problem doesn’t resurface. Creating a clear action plan and monitoring progress with check-ins or follow-up meetings can help achieve sustainable conflict resolution outcomes in your team.
Now that you know how to handle conflict at work, let’s discuss the strategies that can help prevent workplace conflicts from happening in the first place.
3 Effective Strategies for Preventing Future Workplace Conflicts
The three effective strategies for preventing future workplace conflicts are fostering a culture of open communication, setting clear expectations and responsibilities, and developing strong conflict resolution policies.
Here’s how each of these strategies can help create a positive, conflict-free work environment:
#1. Foster a Culture of Open Communication
Open communication helps you build trust and prevent misunderstandings and frustration, making it key to preventing conflict at work.
So, try to create an environment where employees feel comfortable expressing their concerns and ideas, and encourage them to address issues before they escalate. Managers, in particular, should make every effort to lead by example and demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills, such as active listening, open communication, and conflict resolution.
An open-door policy is one of the means by which organizations can foster a culture of transparency and open communication. Regular check-ins, feedback sessions, and one-on-one meetings are also very effective since they provide a safe space for employees to speak up.
Regardless of your efforts to encourage open and honest communication, though, not all people may feel comfortable voicing their opinions or concerns out loud, especially regarding sensitive issues. Because of this, it might also be beneficial to establish channels that allow employees to provide feedback anonymously, such as online surveys or suggestion boxes.
#2. Set Clear Expectations and Responsibilities
Ensuring everyone understands their role and responsibilities perfectly is paramount to preventing conflict at work. As such, every team member should know exactly what is expected of them, including their duties, responsibilities, performance goals, and deadlines.
This way, you can ensure everyone’s on the same page, reducing the likelihood of misunderstandings over responsibilities. To prevent power struggles, you should clearly outline who has the authority to make decisions.
Furthermore, ensuring fair workload distribution can help reduce tension in teams and boost employee morale. Besides conflict, it can also prevent employees from falling prey to workplace stress and burnout. To ensure that tasks are fairly distributed, it’s essential to assess the workload of employees regularly and, if necessary, redistribute it.
#3. Develop Strong Conflict Resolution Policies
Developing strong conflict resolution policies is pivotal to preventing and handling conflict at work fairly and effectively. These policies should not only outline what constitutes workplace conflict but also define a clear and consistent process for resolving different types of disputes that may arise in the workplace.
Once you establish clear conflict resolution policies, ensure that everyone is familiar with them. It might also be beneficial to hold regular training sessions to help employees and managers develop and improve conflict resolution skills, such as problem-solving, active listening, and collaboration.
Aside from that, you might also want to organize team-building activities to strengthen relationships between coworkers. These activities can help prevent conflict at work by:
Organize Team-Building Activities to Prevent Conflict
Building mutual trust
Improving teamwork skills
Promoting open communication
Increasing employee engagement and morale
Cultivating a positive and inclusive company culture
Final Thoughts
Although workplace conflicts can be unpleasant at best and toxic at worst, the truth is that most disputes can be resolved relatively easily. The key is to maintain a calm demeanor, communicate openly, and remain willing to compromise.
So, if you happen to get involved in one, don’t fret—by now, you should have all the knowledge and tools you need to handle conflict at work effectively. As long as you’re patient, respectful, and understanding, rest assured you can turn virtually any disagreement into an opportunity for teamwork and growth!
How to Handle Conflict at Work FAQ
#1. How do I stay professional during a workplace conflict?
To stay professional during a workplace conflict, keep your emotions in check and focus on the problem, not the person. Don’t point fingers at others, as this can lead to defensiveness. Instead, express your perspective using I-statements (“I feel…”) and listen to them attentively rather than waiting for your turn to speak.
#2. What if my manager is the source of conflict?
If your manager is the source of conflict, it is critical to speak up. Make sure to communicate with them with honesty and respect, and try to negotiate a fair compromise. If nothing works or the situation only worsens, it may be necessary to escalate the issue to HR, their supervisor, or another relevant party.
#3. When should I involve HR in a workplace dispute?
You should involve HR in a workplace dispute in case of company policy violations, harassment, discrimination, and other unethical behaviors. You may also have to escalate perpetual conflicts to HR. However, you should not involve them in any minor disputes you can effectively resolve without their help.
#4. Can workplace conflicts ever be beneficial?
Workplace conflicts can be beneficial because they help address problems, which helps reduce tension and strengthen teams. They can also encourage discussions and innovations that may lead to meaningful improvements in the workplace. However, this is only true if you know how to handle conflict at work effectively and respectfully.
