The truth about workplace conflict

In my book HOW TO MAKE IT FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE CUBICLE, I discussed the importance of dealing with the people you work with. I alluded to the fact that coming out of school many students have a gross misconception that in the professional world everyone is going to be friendly and care about the professional welfare and development of others as much as they themselves do. I went on further to state that a new professional can be very naive, because throughout their academic life no one may have taken the time to tell them that jealousy, envy, sabotage and workplace conflict exists. In all honestly nothing anyone ever told me came close to what I have experienced.

That said, it is safe to say that many if not all professionals at some point in time will encounter some sort of workplace conflict. Please understand that this is not an attempt to paint a gloomy picture of the corporate world, but it is not always the hug fest that it is purported to be on the job description. The fact is that dealing with other people can be a very difficult challenge and it does require considerable effort to manage.

How you deal with conflict when it does arise determines whether you win or lose. You are definitely a loser if you are the antagonist: you should never willingly set out to put someone under, because it is just not right. You a loser if you are naive and allow people to continually step on and over you without any pushback. There are common cases where some people just continually take abuse and never stand up for themselves until have reached their limit and end up blowing up and making a fool of themselves. So while they maybe justifiably upset, they leave a black mark on their record and bring on shame and embarrassment by having an emotional breakdown.

You are a winner when in the midst of conflict you seek for a resolution irrespective of what side of the indecent you are on. You are a winner when you stand up for yourself (without breaking any rules of the workplace course). For example if you are a victim of an incident that is too much for you to let go, make an official complaint. After doing so, try to make peace or seek arbitration with a senior colleague whom both of you respect. You may be wondering why make the official complaint? If the majority of conflicts that I have encountered were in isolation there would be no big deal and would be very easy to overcome. However, when incidents become habitual and begin repeating themselves, they may lead to anxiety, stress and could even lead to an emotional meltdown. Making an official complaint brings awareness to management and Human Resources and in the event that it recurs it is easy to prove whether there is a trend of negative behavior developing on your colleague's part with specific details and dates recorded.

Let's face it people are people. Your colleagues are fighting for the same promotions, raises and recognition that you are. You cannot assume that everyone will celebrate you if you get a promotion at their expense. Suffice it to say that, conflict is part of corporate life, deal with it correctly and you are sure to thrive in any environment.

Until next time remember, As long as you have life, you should live it to your fullest potential.