With people from so many different backgrounds working together, aren’t conflicts inevitable? It may surprise you to know what does and doesn’t cause most workplace conflicts.
Differences in age, gender, religion, economic background, and race do not usually spell trouble in the workplace. In fact, if you take a look at the friendships that form in the workplace, you will often see alliances between persons from remarkably different backgrounds. Differences in age, sex, color, and national origin normally take a back seat in the workplace. What is most important is the attitude we have toward the work we are doing, the amount of cooperation we give to our coworkers, and the skills we bring to the job.
Often, our responsibilities demand that we work very closely with others. This in itself is enough to open up opportunities for personality conflicts, particularly if the work itself is very demanding or must be completed under a tight deadline. When colleagues disagree on methods for accomplishing the work or on the sense of urgency for finishing the task, even small differences can erupt into major confrontations.
Communication, or rather the lack of it, can also cause disagreements. Conflicts may arise because of unfamiliar language or terminology and ambiguous or incomplete information. Words may be misunderstood, leading to anger, or the simple frustration from trying to communicate may ignite the conflict.
Of course, work conflicts are often the result of true personality differences. People often have incompatible personal goals, and these can trigger disagreements. For instance, a team has a specific objective, but one member of the group wants to focus on achieving technical excellence, while another is satisfied with present levels. Another common issue on which people clash is action. Some people prefer to approach everything slowly and methodically. Others want to get things done quickly and correct mistakes later. The dangers of both extremes are evident: too much caution could jeopardize a project by making it late; a quick job, on the other hand, may have so many mistakes that it would be prohibitively expensive to correct them, even if there was time. Yet, put two people like this together on the same team, and they may well dig in their heels and become more unbending in their views. It would be bad enough if only these two people were affected, but ultimately their stubbornness can hurt the entire group.
Personal conflicts are also determined by people’s interpersonal behavior— how they behave in a conflict situation. Do they fight or do they run? Do they look for potential disagreements? How do they fight? Do they call names, shout, go for the throat? These behaviors are generally learned in elementary school. Certainly, when two individuals who are used to winning by force disagree, conflicts will arise. Neither will want to back down, and as tempers flare, the disagreement will become louder and louder.
No one wants to work in conditions like these. As a manager, your responsibility is to see that no one has to.