Conflict can be immensely costly to organisations, damaging to relationships and disastrous for productivity. It’s a major cause of stress in the workplace - and it can lead to long-standing grievances, factionalism and absenteeism.
Whenever people work together, there’s likely to be some conflict. It’s natural and, in itself, it’s not usually problematic. Most of the time, we rub along together and solve our differences and squabbles as they arise. In healthy groups and teams, even quite major disputes can usually be managed and settled without getting out of control. It’s important to remember this - because when we’re embroiled in an argument or dispute, we can often lose sight of our natural conflict resolution skills.
