The types of workplace conflicts

Are you aware of which type of workplace conflict you may be trying to deal with?

This question is essential to ask yourself in order to avoid further escalation.

So, let’s assume that by now, you already know (and accept) that workplace disagreements are inevitable.

Of course, you also know that conflicts and disagreements can be constructive - that’s the whole point of the service we provide at JAM.consulting.

So for the ones who haven’t read the posts and watched the short videos, do it now and come back after to read the following ;-0

Now, think about a workplace conflict you have faced in the past and try to see which type of conflict this was.

I am going to give you one example of a past one that I have been through to illustrate the types of conflicts.

As mentioned in a previous post, I had to resign from a job because my work environment became too toxic.

One reason that made me take this decision is because I reached a stage where my supervisors would not agree with any tasks I would propose and then, it became a relationship conflict.

What is the relationship conflict about?

First, this type of conflict has to be addressed ASAP and needs quick action, otherwise, when it is too long it can NEVER become constructive.

The relationship conflict is about WHO should be doing what and HOW WE INTERACT together.

This type of conflict is not necessarily caused by “difficult personalities” not fitting well together.

Coming back to my example, if at the beginning of my contract, I was very proactive and proposing ideas of activities to put in place and ways to achieve why I was recruited for, I ended up by being silent in every meeting and really disliking being interacting with my supervisors. What I did not know or realize at this time was that we had a previous disagreement (me and my supervisors) on the HOW to do the task and on the WHAT, so basically on what needed to be done to fulfill a common general objective.

That leads us to another type of workplace conflict:

The structural or process conflict:

This workplace conflict is on the HOW to achieve our tasks. This is about the process. For this type of workplace conflict, there is some room to resolve it with discussions and possible mediation, unlike the relationship conflict, which is harder to resolve. But -and this is crucial- it is essential to leave some space for discussion in a team, to bring and engage people and allowing them to have different ideas on this how.

Discussion means that the supervisor/leader/manager needs to have open mind and willing to be open to change or adapt the how. In one word, to play the game of being participative and welcoming ideas.

This may lead to great innovative ideas!

If I go back to my example, my supervisors wanted to do their own ways without giving real room for the team to … disagree, which of course created a tremendous amount of unsafety within our team.

One pitfall to be mindful of is that the discussion on the HOW often becomes a discussion on the WHAT, which leads us to the next type of workplace conflict:

The task/business workplace conflict:

This disagreement is on WHAT needs to be done. This relates to the overall strategy, the project, the business & tasks to be done.

If people are well-engaged with this conversation, encouraged in their diverse thoughts, they will feel being part of the organization, of the system, they will be committed and active.

Then, this confrontation of ideas can become highly constructive.

In my case, the conflict I had with the organization I worked for started there.

We disagreed on the WHAT. I had a different vision on a ready-made strategy which became imposed with no room to disagree or even bring other alternatives or ideas. It became from there a top-down decided action to apply, which I was disagreeing with. To be clear here, I had -on the paper- a coordination and decision-maker role.

So from there, I felt extremely disempowered, disconnected and my work became empty with no meaning.

So as a conclusion, a few tips to remind and think about:

• Ensure that there is space and willing to discuss the ‘what’ the ‘how’ and the ‘who’.

• Understand which type of conflict you are in/your team is in.

• Act quickly as the more you leave time, the more difficult and inflammated it becomes.

• There are ways to get support and alternatives that you can think of to assist you with this. Mediation is a great tool! Get trained and skilled on difficult conversations.

• And don’t be afraid to engage your team! Engage them with the conversations, allow this to happen!

• And of course, a must do: always reflect on your level of psychological safety with your team.