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When you think of conflict in a work group, do you have the image of a bickering group or of people getting nowhere fast? Are you the type of person that would do almost anything to avoid being disagreeable with others? Maybe you view conflict as a constructive part of problem solving. If you agree with the last statement, then you might be encouraged to know that most experts agree that conflict in a work team can bring great benefits if the conflict is managed correctly. “Leaders who handle problems constructively can improve productivity, generate new ideas and personally develop team members.” (Swales, 2002, para. 2). Conflict can cause a work group to expand their views and find options or solutions that they might otherwise not have discovered. Conflict can be a great motivator to problem solving, but can conflict always bring about positive changes and can the solution please everyone on the team?
Conflict Resolution in Teams
*****, a member of the learning team involved with writing this paper, has presented us with a true-life problem in her own work group. ***** has worked for the same employer for 27 years. For those 27 years, her employer has followed tradition and granted vacation time based on seniority. In addition, the company offers employees with seniority a choice of which shifts they want to work. Since ***** has a great deal of seniority within her department, she receives preferential treatment when it comes to vacation approvals and shift requests. The senior employees feel they have earned the right to preferential treatment because of their loyalty to the company. Some newly hired employees with less seniority do not agree with this tradition and argue that there should be a better method, but have not yet suggested one.
In an effort to resolve the conflict between veteran employees and the new hires, management decided to make policy changes. The primary change is to split the department into three separate work groups. Each of the three work groups will act individually in granting vacation requests, even though they will still grant vacation requests using traditional seniority rules. Senior workers dislike the change because they fear the newly hired workers may gain an advantage over veteran employees. Because each group will assign vacation independently of another group, new hires in a veteran-poor group might receive first choice of vacation days, while veteran workers in a veteran-rich group would have to compete to get the remaining vacation days. Newer employees agree with the change because it puts them on a more even footing with the veteran employees.
To complicate matters, management decided to vary the work shift hours, moving away from established work hours. Despite overwhelming support from both senior employees and new hires to retain permanent shift hours based on seniority, management will make the change because it allows them more scheduling flexibility. The employees agree that varied shift hours will complicate pre-existing health problems and/or cause other physical problems, such as sleep disorders and those resulting from stress. “Recent studies suggest that work organization may have a broad influence on worker safety and health and may contribute to occupational injury, work-related musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular disease, and other occupational health concerns such as indoor air quality complaints.” (NORA, 1996, Work Environment and Workforce section, para. 21). Even with these objections by both the newer and the more seasoned employees, management seems to be resolute in their decision to make the changes. Does this mean employees who have dedicated years of their working lives to the company will lose the benefits of seniority, or can we find a solution that will benefit both sides? By examining sources of conflict, types of conflict, and more specifically, the types of conflict present in the scenario, we can evaluate a solution that might alleviate some concerns held by all the employees.
Sources of Conflict
No matter how well a group works together, there will always be some conflict in a group. It can arise for any number of reasons. Conflicts may arise between members with different methods of doing things, or can result from the competition for the sharing of resources (Smallwood, n.d.). Some other reasons for conflict can be power struggles, personality clashes, and differing priorities between members of the group (Smallwood, n.d.) All of theses resources are a result of diversity in a work group. Diversity can be an unavoidable cause for conflict involving different viewpoints, backgrounds, and life experiences. These differences result in each person looking at the same set of facts and yet coming to very different conclusions. Since each member has a different set of values and opinions, conflict is certain to arise.
There is no doubt that diversity will bring conflict, but it is important to understand that conflict is not always bad. Depending on how the team handles conflict will determine whether conflict will have a positive influence or a negative influence on the team. Trying to avoid conflict by deliberately avoiding diversity would deny the work team a fair chance to attain success. Jock Noble, CEO of Diversity@work and an expert in workplace diversity, states:
The dominant culture of most organizations is one of assimilation. But individuality is an important source of innovation and can allow a person to contribute more effectively, creatively and productively. Without a recognition of an employee's unique qualities, this contribution is often minimised or lost. Employees from diverse backgrounds are happier and more productive if they are appreciated and included, not assimilated or tolerated. (2004)
Conflict is not the problem; rather, it is our reaction to conflict that generates positive or negative feelings (Porter, 2003, p.1).
Constructive vs. Destructive
Bringing people together who have different viewpoints and who have unique racial, cultural, or educational backgrounds can produce constructive conflict. Constructive conflict occurs when “it leads to better decisions, creativity, and innovative solutions to long-standing problems” (De Janasz et al., 2002). Diverse teams who manage conflict constructively are better problem solvers because they bring a range of ideas and viewpoints to a situation. The team turns the conflict into a positive force and open dialogue becomes possible. Since the group is open to discussion, all members can present their ideas candidly. Honest and open debate can lead to further discussion and a slew of possible solutions. Managing conflict positively can also help lead to increased involvement, innovation and cohesion among team members (Janasz et al., 2002).
On the other hand, if a work team does not handle conflict correctly, it can have a detrimental effect on team productivity and effectiveness. According to De Janasz et al. (2002), “Conflict is destructive when it leads to stress and anxiety, inability to take action, and loss of esteem or purpose.” Unresolved conflict begins eating away at the team’s foundation by infecting all the members with negative feelings and eroding their desire to work together to reach a successful conclusion. If the team leadership does not manage conflict in its beginning stages, it can undermine morale and team spirit. Unmanaged conflict can also result in unresolved anger, personality clashes, unclear roles, and problems of efficiency (De Janasz et al., 2002).
The key to averting destructive conflict and replacing it with constructive conflict is to address the conflict as soon as it is recognized. It is important to deal with the conflict before it becomes unmanageable. Once the team has recognized that a conflict exists, it must transform the conflict from a personal conflict to an organizational one (Gary, 2003, para. 5). By taking this action, the team can minimize personal feelings as much as possible and concentrate on finding a constructive solution. Removing personal feelings from the equation can help the group look at the conflict more clearly and work to find a solution.
Scenario Conflicts
Now that we have an understanding of what causes conflict and how it can affect a work team, let us analyze the scenario discussed earlier in this paper. There are two primary conflicts. The first conflict is between the employees, veterans vs. new hires. The veteran workers feel as a result of their loyalty they have earned the right to have priority over the new hires in regards to vacation requests and work shifts. Many of the senior people feel that the newer employees have not paid their dues to earn the right of hours since the senior employees had to work the not so desirable hours when they first came into the company. They feel that the new employees want immediate earned rights and it becomes an ethical issue to them. As ***** states, “It hardly seems fair to the people that have done their time to earn those small but monumental rights.” As you can guess, the new hires feel this is unfair because everyone does the same job so there should be no such thing as ‘seniority’. Veteran workers believe the new hires are disrespecting a time-honored tradition, and believe the new hires are trying to circumvent the tradition for their own selfish benefits. Whereas, new hires believe granting vacation time and work shifts based on seniority discriminates against them because they are newer and younger employees.
The second conflict of the scenario is a conflict between management and employees. There will always be some level of conflict between management and employees at any company, but in this case, management has exacerbated the problem. Management made changes to the work groups in an effort to find a fair way to assign vacation days, and at the same time, create a more flexible scheduling system. Employees do not see it the same way. They feel betrayed. Veteran employees see the vacation policy change as an attack on tradition and feel the company is discounting all the years of service the veterans have dedicated to the company. All the employees see management’s decision as a disregard for their feelings because they all voted for fixed shifts, but their vote was ignored.
If The Conflicts Are Not Addressed
Why is it important to address the conflict at all? Is it possible that management can simply ignore the problem and force the employees to adapt? Management could take this tact, but it is clear that this is not the correct course of action. Allowing destructive conflict to go unchecked is dangerous. In this scenario, the rift between new hires and veteran employees could result in the inability for the two groups to work together. The varied shift changes can possibly result in sleep disorders, and leave workers more stressed and anxious. A stressed employee, especially one who feels the company is to blame, can cause discord in the workplace. Some employees might have childcare issues, class-scheduling conflicts, or even lose a second job because of the inconsistent work schedule. As a result, the employees begin to lose respect for management because management appears to not care about the employee’s personal lives. Employee dissatisfaction may result in increased employee turnover, leading to staffing problems and increased training costs of new employees. Employees may intentional undermine management through sabotage and work slowdowns. This division may ultimately lead to company wide problems. Diminished work levels, inefficient processes, and unproductive employees will eventually lead to an inefficient, unproductive company.
Suggested Resolutions
A. The company could keep original process of seniority regarding vacation time and work shifts, but must understand that results of such an action may be detrimental to the company, as stated previously. By keeping the original process management can justify any complaints by stating it was the choice of the employees. It hands the responsibility over to the employees.
B. If the groups must be broken up, ensure that each group is broken up with the same ratio of new hires/ medium timer/ old timers. This change can help create consistency throughout the work teams.
C. If shift hours must be changed, assign each employee to one shift and not a varied shift every month.
D. If management absolutely needs flexibility, then hire a few employees (rovers) who do not mind varied shifts and give variance pay (higher pay per hour) as compensation. It would make the hours more appealing and give a way out for those who do not want to work them.
Summary
Conflict inevitably affects every work team. Diversity can be a main cause for conflict, but if the team manages the conflict effectively, conflict can be a productive force. Conflict used constructively can result in great improvements for a company and its employees. The scenario presented in this paper illustrates how a conflict managed incorrectly may eventually result in discord among employees and diminished returns for the company. Conflict addressed early and constructively helps to avoid a problem from mushrooming into an even greater dilemma. Whatever the solution, management needs to recognize the employee’s wants and needs and balance it with its own needs. Through collaboration, everyone wins and there is a greater chance for a long-term solution with long-term benefits.
References
De Janasz, S. C., Dowd K. O., & Schneider B. Z. (2002). Interpersonal Skills in Organizations.
New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 241-259.
Gary, L. (2003, May). Bury Your Opinion, Shortchange Your Team. Harvard Management
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Noble, J. (2004). The Business Case for Diversity. Retrieved January 9, 2005 from
Diversity@work Online: http://diversityatwork.com.au/businesscase/index.cfm
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. National Occupational Research Agenda.
(1996, April). Nora Priority Research Areas. Retrieved January 5, 2005, from
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/worken.html#orgs
Porter, S. (2003). Managing Conflict in Learning Teams. Retrieved December 16, 2004 from
University of Phoenix Online: http://aapd.phoenix.edu/ToolsForTeams/7-decisions.asp
Smallwood, B. (n.d.). Handling Conflict in the Workplace Constructively. Retrieved January 7,
2005 from The Sideroad.com: http://www.sideroad.com/Team_Building/
conflict-in-workplace.html
Swales, C. (2002). Overcome Team Conflict. Retrieved January 7, 2005 from Monster.com:
http://leadership.monster.com/articles/conflict
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