• two or more persons are involved,
• there is a perceived incompatibility between ideas, actions, beliefs, or goals,
• the opposing sides see their way as the only way to achieve their goals and objectives.
Conflict occurs as a result of two or more people interacting together. There are two types of conflict in the work place:
1. substantive conflict
2. personality-based conflict.
The substantive conflict can be dealt with by addressing the specific problem that is the subject of the conflict. For example, Lucy can not complete her report until John gets all of the numbers to her. Lucy believes that John procrastinates until the last minute, forcing her to do a rushed job which increases her stress and makes her fear that she will look bad to the boss. John feels like Lucy puts too much pressure on both of them, and sets unrealistic deadlines. As the conflict increases, the productivity and efficiency decrease. Both employees feel bad about this, but are lost as to how to overcome the problem. This is where the parties may need to have a manager intervene and mediate the dispute.
Another example is when two employees must use the same printer. When one has a big printing job and ties up the printer, the other employee is sometimes delayed and can’t get a promised document out on time. In this case, the two parties can be trained how to mediate the dispute themselves. Any problem resolved by and between the two employees can only serve to empower them and to anchor effective conflict resolution techniques that can be used at work and at home.
From time to time, there may be conflict between employees that is simply personality-based conflict. While this particular problem is not one for mediation, nonetheless it must be addressed. In some situations, it may come to the point where both employees are told that they must learn to work together in spite of their differences, or both must leave. Most often this has the intended effect, in that the parties agree that keeping their jobs is more important than continuing to engage in conflict.
There is one other important consideration, and that is the importance of teaching employees how to appropriately talk with each other. The use of good communication skills is essential in keeping the peace at work