Conflict Is Rife In UK Workplace Claims New Research
Does Britain have a workforce of warring colleagues? While the hit television series, 'The Apprentice' shows its contestants going head to head in order to work for Sir Alan Sugar, a major study into workplace conflict by international law firm Eversheds has revealed that, away from the boardroom, employees are regularly at odds with each other. Despite 60 per cent of the nation's workforce believing that conflict is unhealthy, almost a third of workers (30.7 per cent) clash with their colleagues on a weekly basis - showing that conflict is rife in the workplace.
The research, which involved 1000 UK employees, provides an insight into the level of conflict between workers. If you work in finance, human resources, travel and transport or in the retail, catering and leisure industries then you are more likely to disagree with your colleagues than in other professions. However, it is the youngest workers who experience the highest levels of conflict, with 45 per cent of 16-24 year olds clashing with their colleagues at least once a week.
But, what type of behaviour is causing this? While 40 per cent of us say there is a known troublemaker in our workplace, the behaviours most likely to create tension between workers are constant talking and interruption, refusal to work as part of a team and taking credit for other people's work. It is junior managers that are most likely to bear the brunt of this, since half of those surveyed complained about others taking credit for their work.
While conflict between colleagues is an issue, the majority of workers (56 per cent) try to avoid it. The research shows that we are most comfortable challenging our peers or direct line managers, but shy away from situations that could lead to conflict with the boss or those we manage. A significant proportion of junior managers (68 per cent) admit that they find it difficult to challenge colleagues on their performance - particularly when it could be taken personally and cause offence.
Martin Warren, head of employment law at Eversheds, comments:
"This research highlights two important issues for businesses - firstly the need to manage conflict in the workplace and also the need to address the apparent fear among workers to feedback on bad performance in case it leads to conflict."
He added, "In terms of managing conflict between employees, there is a fine line between healthy debate and a more heated situation, which can be counter-productive and result in divisive tensions within the workforce. It's no excuse for employers to say that conflict between staff is symptomatic of the working culture. Conflict that is left unchecked could lead to cases of bullying, harassment and stress, which could all result in litigation."
In conclusion he said, "Equally serious for businesses is the finding that employees, particularly junior managers, don't like challenging colleagues on their performance in case it causes conflict. This is a serious issue, particularly as the research shows that this reluctance to raise issues is fairly widespread. Anyone with line-manager responsibility should be trained to give feedback on performance in a constructive and clear manner - without this training, businesses are exposed to the risk of litigation."
Conflict in the Workplace Report - Key Findings
Attitudes towards conflict
- 60 per cent of employees believe that conflict shouldn't occur in the workplace
- One in five workers believe that conflict creates competition between employees
- One in five workers believe that conflict pushes people to do a better job
- A significant proportion of workers (39.4 per cent) aren't comfortable challenging their colleagues for fear of it ending up in conflict
- Women are more likely to avoid potential conflict than men, with almost half saying they wouldn't challenge any of their colleagues if they thought it would lead to conflict compared to just 28 per cent of men
- We're most comfortable challenging our peers or direct line managers, but shy away from situations that could lead to conflict with the boss or those we manage
- The majority of workers (56 per cent) said they found it difficult to challenge people about their performance when it is linked to a personality trait (eg lack of confidence or disorganisation) for fear of causing offence.
How common is conflict?
- Almost a third of workers (30.7 per cent) experience conflict with their colleagues on a weekly basis
- Younger workers experience higher levels of conflict, with 45 per cent of 16-24 year-olds experiencing conflict with their colleagues once a week or more.
What causes conflict?
Workers identified the top three causes of conflict as:
- specific individuals who thrive on causing trouble
- people with their own agenda
- underperforming colleagues.
The most common behaviour that leads to tension between colleagues includes:
- people passing off another person's work as their own
- people who aren't willing to be team players
- people who talk all the time and disrupt their colleagues.
Who causes conflict?
- 40 per cent of workers said there was a known troublemaker in their workplace
- A higher proportion of younger workers (50 per cent) and women (44 per cent) said there was a known troublemaker in their workplace.
Source: Evershed press release
