Coworker Conflicts Two coworkers do not get along well at work and this affects
ID: 465331 • Letter: C
Question
Coworker Conflicts Two coworkers do not get along well at work and this affects the entire department. People are upset and complaining; work is getting affected. The two fighting coworkers have key components of work that need to be completed by them before others can start their work. Using the South University Online Library or the Internet, do your research on coworker conflicts at the workplace. Based on your research and understanding, respond to the following questions: How will you resolve this problem as their superior? What would be an objective that is relevant to this problem? Which common bias might fit in this situation? How might you use this appropriate common bias to resolve the situation? How have you handled a similar situation in the past? What could you do to prevent such a situation from occurring in the future?
Explanation / Answer
As a superior, in this scenario, I would like to hear the both sides of the story, to find out what is the root cause of the conflict, as often at workplaces conflicts arise even on trivial issues like based on a gossip in grape wine communication. Hence, it is crucial to find the main cause of the conflict, and then we can resolve this conflict, before it escalates even further. While using assertive communication, I would like to reach on a win-win situation for both the co-workers to ensure the conflict is resolved, and does not re build in future.
The objective relevant to this problem is reducing the costs of conflict to the company. As the conflict is affecting the work environment and working of other co-workers of the department.
The common bias that might fit in this situation is the negativity bias. People by nature give negative news more attention and consideration, that focusing on the positives. Hence, in a situation like this, the conflicting co-workers might give more credibility to the negatives of the other co-worker rather than focus on the positive. Also, the other department employees are also focus more on the negativity due to the conflict caused by these co-workers.
To resolve this situation, using this bias, I would highlight the positive aspects of both the co-workers behaviour towards each other, and also, highlight the past positive statements or actions that each of them made towards each other’s work. This way, I would try to bring their focus off from the negative news to the positives of both of them working together.
In the past, I have often faced co-worker conflicts in workplace, and most of the conflicts have risen due to lack of communication between the co-workers. Hence, I have requested the co-workers together in a meeting, and tried to discuss with both of them separately and together about the reasons of the conflict and often the co-workers realize that the issue wasn’t even considerable, which escalated to a conflict.
The ideal way to prevent such a situation from occurring in the future is to ensure open and healthy communication between the employees. Making sure all of them present their ideas on business issues, and their ideas are respected and considered, or at least discussed in the teams. Basically, making the department employees a cohesive team will ensure such conflicts don’t rise in the future.