Title: Conflict in the work environments

Table of Content
Acknowledgement..............................................................................................................................................2

Introduction........................................................................................................................................................2

Statement of the Problem...................................................................................................................................2

Research Objectives...........................................................................................................................................2

Background........................................................................................................................................................3

Literature Review...............................................................................................................................................3

Methodology......................................................................................................................................................3

Presentation of Data...........................................................................................................................................4

Interpretation of Data.........................................................................................................................................9

Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................................11

Recommendations............................................................................................................................................12

Appendix Questionnaire...................................................................................................................................13

References........................................................................................................................................................16
 Acknowledgement

Introduction

The research topic is workplace conflict, this is individuals having opposing ideas, interests, or

beliefs. Having differing ideas is part of business life. However, sometimes arguments can become

unpleasant or go too far. Workplace Conflict is unavoidable when employees from various backgrounds

and different work styles are brought together. Tensions and anxieties at an elevated level are caused by

a variety of problems, for example, A political divide or racial inequality, with this the chances of

conflict increase. a conflict can happen in any organization and can be expressed in a few ways such as

insults, not cooperating with other employees, bullying, or physical injuries.

Statement of the Problem

An investigation into the rise of conflicts in the Western union workplaces in Santa Cruz

Research Objectives

 To find out how does conflict affect the workflow of the organization.

 What are the reasons contributing to conflict in the work environment?

 To outline ways in which conflicts can be avoided in the work environment.

 To highlight possible solution for conflict resolution in the work environment.

 Background

Conflict is a common phenomenon that occurs across species, time periods, and cultures.

The conflict has been frequently studied among bees, ants, and other insect communities among

crayfish, and chimpanzees to name a few. Evidence of human conflict dates to humankind's

appearance on mother earth. Perhaps not surprisingly, given its complexity, the study of conflict is

a multidisciplinary and multilevel intellectual enterprise. Whether examining a brain scan, a Petri

dish, a fish tank, a beehive, small groups in the laboratory, or organizational decision-making

teams, understanding the antecedents, processes, and outcomes of conflict is of critical theoretical

and practical importance in many sciences; indeed, few areas of scholarly inquiry have attracted as

much attention across disciplines as the study of conflict.

Literature Review

Methodology

The instruments used to collect the data were an interview and a questionnaire. The

questionnaire is a set of printed or written questions with a choice of answers, devised for a survey or

statistical study while an interview is a formal meeting in which one or more person question, consult, or

evaluate another person. The questionnaire had twelve questions. The researcher went to a local shop

owner in her community and gave out the questionnaire at the establishment. The interview and

questionnaire were chosen because it was easier for both the researcher and the shop owner. The

researcher had difficulties collecting the data because of the lack of motivation and the workers’ busy

schedules so she had to send it by email and wait. The questionnaire was given on February 10, 2023, to

the workers of the business and was received back on February 15, 2022.
 Presentation of Data

How often do you deal with conflict in the workplace?

15%
25%

30%

20%

always frequently occasionally never

Figure 1: The pie chart represents how the respondents dealt with conflict in the workplace.

15% of the respondents have always had to deal with conflict in the workplace, 20% of the

respondents deal with conflict occasionally in the workplace, 25% of the respondents have never dealt

with conflict in the workplace and lastly 30% frequently must deal with this conflict in the workplace.
 What do you think is the main reason for conflict in the
workplace?
40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%
poor communication bullying and harrasment unfair treatment poor management

Figure 2: The bar graph is displaying what the respondents think is the main reason for conflict in the

workplace

Based on the results from what do you think is the main reason for conflict in the work

environment 6% replied it was poor management as the main reason, 25% responded that it was poor

communication, 31% said that the main cause was bullying and harassment and 38% answered it was

poor management.
 What do you recommend for solving
workplace confl ict?
19%

40%

31%
10%

Reward fairly with pay or bonus schemes

Ensure work safety and managing the welfare of your staff
have employees interact more with each other
treating people fairly

Figure 3: This is showing the percentage of the responses to the question “What do you recommend for

solving workplace conflict”

According to the results of the question, 10% answered have employees interact more with each

other, 19% said to reward fairly with pay or bonus schemes, 31% said to ensure work safety and manage

the welfare of your staff and lastly, 40% replied with treating people fairly.
 How does workplace conflict make you feel?

energized because it spices up my life

demotivated because its distracting

nothing because I'm used to it

angry and fustrated

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Figure 4: This diagram demonstrates how workplace conflict makes the respondents feel in the

workplace

15% of the respondents feel energized because it spices their life, 25% said it makes them feel

angry and frustrated, 26% replied that they don’t feel a thing because there used to it and lastly 34% say

it makes them feel demotivated it’s distracting.

 What do you recommend for solving workplace conflict?

Actions Rewarding fairly Ensuring work safety Have employees Treating

with pay or bonus and managing the interact more with people fairly
schemes welfare of your staff each other
Percentages 20% 35% 30% 15%

Table 1: Shows what actions are carried out by the employees during a conflict

According to the results, what actions are carried out by employees during the conflict? 6%

responded that they don’t care, 19% said that they try to resolve it themselves, 25% say they call for the

manager and 50% said they behave chaotically.

 Interpretation of Data

According to the researcher’s findings in figure one, the organization deals with conflicts

possibly daily in support of 30% of the respondents said that they dealt with conflicts frequently, 2o% of

the respondents have dealt with conflict occasionally and 15% of the respondents deal are always

dealing with conflict; this is not a good sign for this could slow the daily running of the business leading

to less money coming into the business. With most of the employees’ time is used to solve conflict the

are some devasting drawbacks for example, decreased productivity, project failure, absenteeism, and

emotional stress can also be both a cause and an effect of workplace conflict.

The reason for the conflicts in the workplace is strongly suggested to be the unfair treatment of

the workers in the business with 38% of the respondents replying with this with bullying and harassment

following behind with it being 31%. Unfair Treatment is dealing with someone in your staff unfairly

because of who they are is discrimination. It can lead to them feeling troubled, embarrassed, and even

scared. When this happens, it is almost certain that their morale and their productivity levels plummet,

studies have shown that unfairly treating staff can drain them of energy and motivation which is not

satisfactory results and can affect your business greatly business. There’s a great chance that there will

be a great increase in absences for some employees, feigning illness to stay off work will seem like a

better option than facing such stressful situations that leaves them feeling mistreated. What is bullying
and harassment this is a person or group of people repeatedly acting unreasonably towards another

worker or group of workers these actions create a risk to the health and safety of employees in the

company.

The respondents were given the question “ What do recommend for solving the conflict in the

workplace and the responses where 40% replied with treating people fairly, 31% said to ensure work

safety and manage the welfare of your staff 19% said to reward fairly with pay or bonus schemes and

lastly 10% answered have employees interact more with each other. All these options can make a

positive outcome in the business by treating fairly, this makes it so that there isn’t any favouritism going

on in the establishment for it can treat a tense atmosphere full of jealousy.

In figure 4 the diagram demonstrates how workplace conflict makes the respondents feel in the

workplace 15% of the respondents feel energized because it spices their life, 25% said it makes them

feel angry and frustrated, 26% replied that they don’t feel a thing because there used to it and lastly 34%

say it makes them feel demotivated it’s distracting. `

Lastly Table 1, it shows what actions are carried out by the employees during a conflict

According to the results, what actions are carried out by employees during the conflict? 6% responded

that they don’t care, 19% said that they try to resolve it themselves, 25% say they call for the manager

and 50% said they behave chaotically.

 Conclusion

Based on the information gathered from the questionnaire, it can be concluded that conflict in the

work environment is evident and is slowing the productivity of the business. When a conflict arises most

of the workers behave chaotically making it hard for others to work as they get disheartened and

distracted. Also, another thing that the researcher has noticed the respondents replied with wanting fair

treatment making it obvious that there is favouritism taking place in the organization. In addition,

responders believe that unfair treatment is the main reason for conflict in the workplace.
 Recommendations

Within the workplace, there are many causes and effects of conflicts, luckily, there are just as

many solutions. Employees should be treated equally. Get involved parties together to communicate.

Lastly, businesses should have regular company retreats/ co-boding. These three are sure strategies to

handle conflicts within the workplace.

Many times, inequality roots conflicts between co-workers and employees. If the conflict does

arise never ignore it. Clarify What the Issue Is, Bring Involved Parties Together to Talk, Identify a

Solution. The business should have monthly exercises for all employees. These exercises should be

bonding experiences for employees and/or company retreats to relax/ have fun and unwind together as a

work family.
 Appendix Questionnaire

This survey is carried out to determine the factors contributing to the rise of conflict in the

workplace. This study is being conducted as an S.B.A. assignment for the Social Studies course I am

pursuing. This is simple just circle or tick the answer that seems right to you.

1. To what gender do you belong?

[ ] Male

[ ] Female

[ ] Prefer not to say

2. How long have you been working at this establishment?

[ ] 3-5 months

[ ] 6-12 months

[ ] 1-2 years

[ ] over two years

3. Is there a Human Resource Department

 [ ] yes

[ ] no

4. Have you ever found yourself in conflict with your colleagues?

[ ] no

[ ] yes

5. How often do you deal with conflict in the workplace?

[ ] always

[ ] frequently

[ ] occasionally

[ ] never

6. What do u think is the main reason for conflict in the workplace?

[ ] poor communication

[ ] bullying and harassment

[ ] unfair treatment

[ ] poor management

7. What do you recommend for solving workplace conflict?

[ ] rewarding fairly with pay or bonus schemes

[ ] ensuring work safety and managing the welfare of your staff

[ ] have employees interact more with each other

[ ] treating people fairly

8. How do you avoid having conflict with your colleagues

[ ] resolve the conflict early

[ ] encourage humour
 [ ] clearly define the assigned roles and responsibilities to each worker

[ ] provide ongoing training

9. How does workplace conflict make you feel?

[ ] angry and frustrated

[ ] nothing because I’m used to it

[ ] demotivated because it’s distracting

[ ] energized because it spices up my life

10. What are the positive outcomes that happened because of conflict?

[ ] increased motivation

[ ] the team performs better

[ ] it has improved work relations

[ ] nothing positive has ever happened

11. What does the organization do to solve conflicts in the workplace?

[ ] a mediator

[ ] a compromise

[ ] a third party

[ ] make them deal with it themselves

12. What actions are carried out by employees during the conflict?

[ ] they try to resolve it themselves

[ ] they call for the manager

[ ] they behave chaotically

[ ] they don’t care

13. What methods are most effective in reducing conflict?

 [ ] negotiation

[ ] third party

[ ] a compromise

[ ] have them deal with the problem themselves

14. Is there a Conflict Resolution Committee in the organization

___________________________

15. How important is conflict handling as a management/leadership skill?

[ ] critically important

[ ] not important at all

[ ] somewhat unimportant

[ ] I don’t know

References