Reading Time: 8 minutes

Leaders desire a harmonious team with happy (and productive) workers and a thriving culture. Even the best teams are likely to encounter conflict from time to time, and leaders need to foster good relationships by encouraging healthy dialogue and effective communication. Healthy communication helps everyone feel seen, heard, valued, respected, and safe. Maintaining harmony should be the goal of all organizations, yet conflict is likely to occur. When disagreement or conflict occurs, it doesn’t always mean the result is negative. Productive conflict can benefit organizations when managed effectively.

Unhealthy Conflict

Unhealthy conflict is defined as “one person or group that attempts to assert power over another by talking over them, blaming, claiming superiority, or putting the other down with negative statements.”  (1)

Symptoms of unhealthy conflict

Resentment – Resentment is silent but can be triggered by events that occurred moments or years ago. Workers who are unpleasant and/or don’t pull their fair share of the workload may be harboring resentment because a promised promotion or career development opportunity never came to fruition. They believe they have been putting in the extra effort but aren’t appreciated or valued. (2)  Resentment can also stem from personality clashes.  A worker harboring hard feelings after a peer, colleague or manager was disrespectful, or didn’t agree with their idea or opinion offer a couple of possible resentment scenarios.

Declining Morale – Morale on a downward spiral may show up in subtle ways that aren’t often noticeable until it is too late. Some behaviors to watch for are customer complaints or uncooperative attitudes, finding fault in others, petty complaints, “us” vs. “them” mentalities, and related negative behaviors or gossip. Other indicators are an unwillingness to participate, including a “what’s the point” or “who cares” attitude or silence during meetings. (3) These behaviors are all signs of declining morale, and leadership needs to take action(s) to stop and reverse the decline.

Disengagement – Gallup found that only 32% of U.S. employees were engaged in the workplace, leading to a possible scenario that as high as 68% of employees are disengaged. (4) Another Gallup report found that lack of recognition was one of the leading reasons employees disengage from organizations. (5)

Other reasons employees disengage from their organizations include lack of communication, high-stress work environment, poor work relationships, lack of organization or leadership transparency, and micromanagement. No matter how it is evaluated, disengagement is a symptom of unhealthy conflict and will manifest as self-isolation, lower productivity, a decline in work quality, and more errors. (6)

Lack of Trust, Respect and Safety – When employees don’t trust their supervisors or company leaders, they will be reluctant to commit fully to the organization. Managers will eventually be treated with indifference. In this environment, directives and guidelines may be ignored potentially creating or causing safety issues.  Emotional safety can also become an issue when trust is broken or doesn’t exist.

  • Breaking promises – Broken promises may not be intended. Still, trust is lost when employees hear from their leaders that they can expect something, whether tangible or intangible, and it doesn’t happen. If this behavior is repeated, employees will eventually not believe anything their leaders tell them. (7)
  • Poor cooperation and teamwork – Lack of cooperation can spread throughout an organization without the leaders knowing they are causing the behavior. One common issue is very subtle. This is the hoarding of knowledge and information. (8) Some employees are fantastic at their jobs for a reason.  They may be praised for their high productivity, but they may have resources, connections and methodology that isn’t widely known to others.  Collaborative, transparent environments where knowledge and information is freely exchanged invites others to share and demonstrates respect for each person and the value of working as a team.In cases where information is shared with only a few people, it is guaranteed that the information will leak out to the rest of the organization. There will be rumors, some containing facts, others fact combined with fiction, and yet others just fiction. All of these will serve to break down trust. Sharing information with only a few people in the organization can cause reluctance from other employees who perceive they are not included in working collaboratively or making decisions. (7)
  • Office politics – People hear the word “politics” and assume it means contending with red tape or people playing favorites. It’s much more. It’s people meddling in other people’s business, criticizing their work, or trying to insert themselves into how their peers do their jobs. This serves only to break down trust and safety in the workplace. This behavior is not unique to employees, as it can also be seen in managers. When people are fighting over who has the right to do what, the result is that nothing gets accomplished. (9)Employees will feel unsafe in their environment if there is favoritism, gossip, bullying, ridicule, or embarrassment because someone told a joke at their expense. If people are punished for mistakes, disclosing an error they made, or if there is an unrealistic timeframe for accomplishing their work, trust will be broken down. This breakdown causes stress and anxiety for both management and employees.
  • Fixations on goals or rules instead of people – Goals, quotas, and rules are part of every organization. However, an unhealthy fixation by management who gets caught up in only short-term goals can lead to a decline in trust. (7) (11)

Consider this example of a fixation on quotas that lacks common sense:

Amy was a new hire and had been in training for three months before joining the sales floor. She was excited to receive her first commission paycheck documenting only two days of time performing her role as a sales representative. Inside the envelope was a handwritten letter from the VP of Sales. Amy had only met Chuck once during her final interview before she had been hired.  Other than that, Amy had not seen or spoken to Chuck since she had become an employee.  In his letter, Chuck suggested that Amy learn how to sell or find another job.  Fixated only on quotas, Chuck neglected to invest in Amy as a person.  He didn’t take the time to learn how long she had been with the company, how long she had been on the sales floor, if she could benefit from coaching or anything else.  Chuck was only fixated on quotas, not his people and this caused conflict and high turnover in his department. It was no surprise when Amy resigned soon after.

Much like quotas, rules can become another point of conflict when there is a fixation on them.  However, conflict can be resolved through creative problem solving.  For example, David had just started his new job when his grandmother passed away. His employer could have enforced rigid rules either requiring him to work, forcing him to take off work without pay or penalizing him for taking a day off so soon for personal reasons.  Instead, the company bent its rules by planning for potential conflict issues.  David’s employer had created a program allowing employees to donate or bank unused personal or vacation time to help others in need.  Additionally, the employer matched hour-for-hour any hours donated by employees.  As a result, David was able to still attend his grandmother’s out of state funeral without penalty, and still get paid.  Good companies help set up systems to mitigate conflict, help enforce teamwork and take care of their people at all stages of their employment. Preplanning by David’s employer helped to solidify his loyalty to the organization, leadership and his colleagues early in his employment.

What causes unhealthy conflict?  

Communication – Issues with communication is at the top of the list of what causes unhealthy conflict. If the communication from the top down fails to clearly state expectations, procedures, rules, and responsibilities, or if there are different rules for different people, unhealthy conflict will be the end result.

Personality clashes – People are different. They come from different backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives. They will have different work habits and ideas and communicate those ideas differently while completing their job. (2)

Different work habits, styles, and values – People prioritize their need to work differently. Some live to work, and others work to live. Some employees focus on the quality of the work, while others are more conscious of accomplishing the task. There may also be differing values based on generation, global culture norms, etc. (12)

Change and resistance – People can get comfortable and avoid change by claiming, “We’ve always done it this way.”  When things are changed, new processes, systems, people, and policies are introduced, this can make employees anxious. They may become reluctant to adapt and fear how the changes will impact the status quo. If management hasn’t helped workers understand the need for the change and, more importantly, make them feel part of the process early on, they are less likely to accept it, causing conflict. (12)

What can leaders do to navigate conflict more effectively?

Create an action system
Not every conflict is a top priority. Some conflicts can be postponed or set aside because neither party is concerned about the outcome. Others might require a summary so that a priority can be determined. If you haven’t already, define a system for yourself. Ensure the organization has a process for specific, known conflicts, and how those should be addressed, and by whom. Many of these may be part of an employee handbook and/or part of human resources. While action systems and priorities can’t be spelled out in every scenario, they can help prevent conflicts from festering or escalating.

Invite solutions but don’t demand them
Leadership frequently expects workers to have a solution to their problem before bringing it to managers or other leaders. However, conflict often arises because employees struggle to resolve competing viewpoints, or there is lack of clarity, or an issue seems hopeless. The leader’s job is to guide the team to see things differently. This may mean investigating further, involving another team or individual, or asking for additional support. Alternately, it may mean clarifying directives, discussing issues, coaching/mentoring, or sharing similar encounters on how a similar situation was handled to inspire ideas.

Encourage employees to be courageous
Employees should be encouraged to challenge the status quo, discuss issues that may be critical, or identify problems early. Management needs to reassure employees that they shouldn’t avoid bringing an issue forward because they are afraid or that they perceive the risk vs. reward payoff is not sufficient. Too often, employees won’t speak up because they fear ridicule, a negative action from management, or want to avoid other similar responses. Leaders can minimize conflict by inviting positive and open discussions using healthy communication more often. While encouraging employees to be courageous, some questions to consider asking might include the following:

  • Is there validity in the conflict?
  • What opportunities might be missed because we are avoiding or dismissing conflict? For example, innovation is essential to business growth which often means someone challenges the status quo.
  • What issues aren’t we talking about but should be? For example, managers often focus on improving productivity, quotas, or service. However, do workers have what is necessary to accomplish both capacity and capability demands?
  • Are we equally balancing efficiency and productivity vs. errors when confronting conflict?
  • Who else should be involved in our conversations when conflict arises? For example, should other perspectives be included to minimize favoritism, narrow thinking, etc.?

Train employees to know what you expect
Make them the investigator responsible for providing a report on a conflict incident. If necessary, consider creating a form, template, or poster that addresses how to effectively discuss conflict with management. Some items that can be included:

  • Have you eliminated emotions, gut feelings, and suspicions from the conflict? (In other words, don’t make it “personal,” just provide the facts.)
  • When did the conflict start? How did it begin, or what triggered it?
  • Who was involved?
  • What has been done?
  • Who or what has made it worse?
  • Is there any fault you (as the reporting party) might have in it? If yes, what?
  • If the conflict is eliminated or resolved, will that make things better? Why or why not?
  • Do you have documents or other things to back up the conflict?
  • Have you talked to anyone else about it? If yes, what was their advice?

Show employees how to handle conflict
Leading by example seems too simple, but it is among the best ways for people to learn. Educating is only part of the process. People will remember how you treat them and whether you walk the talk when challenged with conflict. Whether you’re faced with a peer who wants to debate or you witness bickering within the organization, you can set the tone or alter the course by changing the dynamic.

Conflict can be tricky to navigate if not appropriately managed. An organization should be aware of the underlying issues that result in unhealthy conflict and seek to circumvent the problems before they arise.

Leaders can mentor, coach, and empower. Employees can learn to use conflict effectively by prioritizing and understanding the basics of conflict reporting and resolution. Healthy conflict can improve growth by challenging the status quo. Disagreements will occur in organizations. Managing how conflict is handled is critical to successful outcomes and separates high-performing organizations from organizations performing beneath expectations.

For more information about planning a corporate meeting, contact Gavel International to learn more about how outsourcing can help streamline your process.

_______________________

SOURCES:

  1. https://www.corecounts.com/healthy-vs-unhealthy-conflict-at-work
  2. https://www.giveandtakeinc.com/blog/6-warning-signs-of-unhealthy-workplace-conflict
  3. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140715184705-36565530-25-warning-signs-of-low-staff-morale
  4. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/468233/employee-engagement-needs-rebound-2023.aspx
  5. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/238079/state-global-workplace-2017.aspx
  6. https://www.giveandtakeinc.com/blog/7-factors-leading-to-employee-disengagement
  7. https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/0618/pages/why-trust-matters-at-work.aspx
  8. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2019/10/24/lack-of-trust-can-make-workplaces-sick-and-dysfunctional/?sh=77b190b544d1
  9. http://www.crowe-associates.co.uk/teams-and-groups/the-importance-of-trust-in-teams
  10. https://leaders.com/articles/productivity/workplace-conflict/
  11. https://corryrobertson.com/establishing-trust-and-psychological-safety-in-the-workplace-3-strategies-for-your-team/
  12. https://swhelper.org/2021/11/08/nine-major-causes-of-workplace-conflicts-and-how-to-resolve-them/
Jim Bozzelli
Latest posts by Jim Bozzelli (see all)