Understanding and managing conflicts at work

Understanding and managing conflicts at work

As modern work contexts are complex and variable, managing conflicts can grow time consuming and challenging. However, conflicts have beneficial, as well as detrimental properties relating to employees´ health and productivity. That is because conflicts help to foster innovative processes and to improve decision-making, which is beneficial and therefore functional. However, detrimental and dysfunctional conflicts can put a strain on employees’ well-being and cooperation. Dual concern theory describes possible conflict management strategies in terms of the relation between: the concern for one’s own interest, and one’s concern…