A message on the topic of conflict resolution. Conflicts and ways to resolve them. Way out of the conflict

Memories of conflicts usually evoke unpleasant associations: threats, hostility, misunderstanding, attempts, sometimes hopeless, to prove that one is right, resentment... As a result, the opinion has developed that conflict is always a negative phenomenon, undesirable for each of us, and especially for leaders, managers, since they have to deal with conflicts more often than others. Conflicts are seen as something that should be avoided whenever possible.

Representatives of early schools of management, including supporters of the school of human relations, believed that conflict is a sign of ineffective organizational performance and poor management. Nowadays, management theorists and practitioners are increasingly inclined to the point of view that some conflicts, even in the most effective organization with the best relationships, are not only possible, but also desirable. You just need to manage the conflict. The role of conflicts and their regulation in modern society is so great that in the second half of the twentieth century a special field of knowledge emerged - conflictology. Sociology, philosophy, political science and, of course, psychology made a great contribution to its development.

Conflicts arise in almost all areas of human life. Here we will consider only those that occur in organizations.

What is conflict?

There are different definitions of conflict, but they all emphasize the presence of contradiction, which takes the form of disagreement when it comes to the interaction of people. Conflicts may be hidden or overt, but at their core is a lack of agreement. Therefore, we define conflict as a lack of agreement between two or more parties - individuals or groups.

Lack of agreement is due to the presence of diverse opinions, views, ideas, interests, points of view, etc. However, as already noted, it is not always expressed in the form of an obvious clash or conflict. This happens only when existing contradictions and disagreements disrupt the normal interaction of people and prevent the achievement of their goals. In this case, people are simply forced to somehow overcome differences and enter into open conflict interaction. In the process of conflict interaction, its participants get the opportunity to express different opinions, identify more alternatives when making a decision, and this is where the important positive meaning of the conflict lies. This, of course, does not mean that the conflict is always positive.

Intergroup and interpersonal conflicts represent a clash between individuals and a group or groups among themselves.

The division of conflicts into types is quite arbitrary; there is no rigid boundary between different types, and in practice conflicts arise: organizational vertical interpersonal; horizontal open intergroup, etc.

The conflicts considered can perform a variety of functions, both positive and negative. The main functions of conflicts are presented below:

Conflict functions

Positive	Negative
détente between conflicting parties	large emotional and material costs of participating in the conflict
obtaining new information about the opponent	dismissal of employees, decreased discipline, deterioration of the socio-psychological climate in the team
unity of the organization's team in confrontation with an external enemy	viewing defeated groups as enemies
stimulation for change and development	excessive involvement in the process of conflict interaction to the detriment of work
removing the submissive syndrome in subordinates	after the end of the conflict - a decrease in the degree of cooperation between some employees
diagnostics of opponents' capabilities	difficult restoration of business relations (“trail of conflict”).

The reasons that cause conflicts are as varied as the conflicts themselves. It is necessary to distinguish between objective reasons and their perception by individuals.

Objective reasons can be fairly conventionally presented in the form of several strengthened groups:

· limited resources to be distributed;

· differences in goals, values, methods of behavior, level of qualifications, education;

· interdependence of tasks; incorrect distribution of responsibilities;

· poor communications.

At the same time, objective reasons will only become causes of conflict when they make it impossible for an individual or group to realize their needs and affect personal and/or group interests. The individual’s reaction is largely determined by the social maturity of the individual, acceptable forms of behavior for him, and social norms and rules accepted in the team. In addition, an individual’s participation in a conflict is determined by the significance of the goals set for him and the extent to which the obstacle that arises prevents them from realizing them. The more important the subject’s goal is, the more effort he makes to achieve it, the stronger the resistance will be and the tougher the conflict interaction with those who interfere with this.

The choice of a method to overcome obstacles will, in turn, depend on the emotional stability of the individual, the available means of protecting one’s interests, the amount of available power and many other factors.

Psychological protection of the individual occurs unconsciously as a system of personality stabilization to protect the individual’s sphere of consciousness from negative psychological influences. As a result of the conflict, this system works involuntarily, against the will and desire of the person. The need for such protection arises when thoughts and feelings appear that pose a threat to self-esteem, the formed “I-image” of the individual, and the system of value orientations that reduce the individual’s self-esteem.

In some cases, the individual’s perception of the situation may be far from the real state of affairs, but the person’s reaction to the situation will be formed based on his perception, from what it seems to him, and this circumstance significantly complicates the resolution of the conflict. Negative emotions arising as a result of the conflict can quickly be transferred from the problem to the personality of the opponent, which will complement the conflict with personal opposition. The more the conflict intensifies, the more unsightly the opponent’s image looks, which further complicates its resolution. A vicious circle appears that is extremely difficult to break. It is advisable to do this at the initial stage of the development of the event, before the situation gets out of control.

There are several ways or methods to determine the causes of conflict behavior. As an example, consider one of them - cartography method conflict. The essence of this method is a graphical display of the components of the conflict, a consistent analysis of the behavior of the participants in the conflict interaction, the formulation of the main problem, the needs and concerns of the participants, and ways to eliminate the causes that led to the conflict.

The work consists of several stages.

On first At this stage the problem is described in general terms. If, for example, we are talking about inconsistency in work, about the fact that someone does not “pull the strap” along with everyone else, then the problem can be displayed as “load distribution.” If the conflict arose due to a lack of trust between an individual and a group, then the problem can be expressed as “communication.” At this stage, it is important to determine the very nature of the conflict, and for now it does not matter that this does not fully reflect the essence of the problem. More on this later. The problem should not be defined in the form of a double choice of opposites “yes or no”; it is advisable to leave the possibility of finding new and original solutions.

On second stage, the main participants in the conflict are identified. You can enter individuals or entire teams, departments, groups, or organizations into the list. To the extent that the people involved in a conflict have common needs in relation to a given conflict, they can be grouped together. The death of group and personal categories is also allowed.

Memories of conflicts, as a rule, cause unpleasant associations: threats, hostility, misunderstanding, attempts, sometimes hopeless, to prove that one is right, resentment... As a result, the opinion has developed that conflict is always a negative phenomenon, undesirable for each of us, and in especially for managers, since they have to deal with conflicts more often than others. Conflicts are seen as something that should be avoided if possible.

Representatives of early schools of management, including supporters of the school of human relations, believed that conflict is a sign of ineffective organizational performance and poor management. Nowadays, management theorists and practitioners are increasingly inclined to the point of view that some conflicts, even in the most effective organization with the best relationships, are not only possible, but also desirable. You just need to manage the conflict. The role of conflicts and their regulation in modern society is so great that in the second half of the 20th century. a special field of knowledge emerged - conflictology. Philosophy, political science, sociology and, of course, psychology made a great contribution to its development.

Conflicts arise in almost all spheres of human life. Here we will consider only those that occur in organizations.

What is conflict?

There are different definitions of conflict, but they all emphasize the presence of contradiction, which takes the form of disagreement when it comes to the interaction of people. Conflicts can be hidden or overt, but they are always based on a lack of agreement. Therefore, we define conflict as a lack of agreement between two or more parties - individuals, groups.

Lack of agreement is due to the presence of diverse opinions, views, ideas, interests, and points of view. The ability to have and express different opinions, to identify more alternatives when making decisions is the positive meaning of conflict. This, of course, does not mean that conflict is always positive. It’s just that some conflicts can contribute to the development of relationships and making informed decisions; such conflicts are called functional. Conflicts that interfere with effective interaction and decision making are called dysfunctional. So we need to not once and for all destroy all the conditions for conflicts to arise, but learn to manage them correctly. To do this, you need to understand their reasons and be able to analyze them.

There are 4 main types of conflicts: intrapersonal, interpersonal, between a person and a group, and intergroup.

Intrapersonal conflict. This type of conflict does not fully correspond to our definition. Here, the participants in the conflict are not people, but various psychological factors of the inner world of the individual, which often seem or are incompatible: needs, motives, values, feelings, etc. “Two souls live in my chest...” wrote Goethe. And this conflict can be functional or dysfunctional, depending on how and what decision a person makes and whether he makes it at all. Buridanov's donkey, for example, could not decide which bag to eat from - the one on the left, or the one on the right. Sometimes in life, not knowing how to resolve internal conflicts, we become like Buridan’s donkey.

Intrapersonal conflicts associated with working in an organization can take various forms. One of the most common is role conflict, when a person’s different roles make conflicting demands on him. For example, being a good family man (the role of father, mother, husband, wife, etc.), a person should spend evenings at home, and his position as a manager often obliges him to stay late at work. Or: the workshop manager instructed the foreman to produce a certain number of parts, and the technical manager at the same time ordered a technical inspection of the equipment. The cause of the first conflict is a mismatch between personal needs and production requirements, and the second is a violation of the principle of unity of command. Internal conflicts at work can arise due to work overload or, conversely, lack of work when it is necessary to be at the workplace.

Interpersonal conflict. This is the most common type of conflict. It manifests itself in different ways in organizations. Many managers believe that it is caused by a dissimilarity of characters. Indeed, there are people who, due to differences in characters, views, and behavior, are simply unable to get along with each other. However, a deeper analysis shows that such conflicts are based on objective reasons. Most often, this is a struggle for limited resources: material resources, production space, time to use equipment, labor, etc. Everyone believes that it is he, and not the other, who especially needs the resources. Conflicts arise between a manager and subordinates, for example, when a subordinate is convinced that the manager makes unreasonable demands on him, and the manager believes that the subordinate is a slacker who does not know how or does not want to work.

Conflict between the individual and the group. As you already know, informal groups (organizations) establish their own standards of behavior and communication. Each member of such a group must comply with them. The group regards deviation from accepted norms as negative, and a conflict arises between the individual and the group. Another common conflict of this type is between the group and the leader. Such conflicts occur most severely under an authoritarian leadership style.

Intergroup conflict. An organization consists of many formal and informal groups, between which conflicts can arise. For example, between management and performers, between employees of different departments, between informal groups within departments, between the administration and the trade union.

Unfortunately, a common example of intergroup conflict is disagreement between higher and lower levels of management, that is, between line and staff personnel. This is a clear example of dysfunctional conflict.

There are several main causes of conflict in organizations.

Resource Allocation. Even in the largest and wealthiest organizations, resources are always limited. The need to distribute them almost inevitably leads to conflicts. People always want to receive more, not less, and their own needs seem more justified.

Task Interdependence. The potential for conflict exists wherever one person (or group) depends on another person (or group) to complete a task.

For example, the head of a production department may attribute the low productivity of his subordinates to the inability of the repair service to quickly and efficiently repair equipment. The head of the repair service, in turn, can blame the human resources department for not hiring the new workers that repair workers so desperately need.

Several engineers involved in the development of one product may have different levels of professional qualifications. In this case, more highly qualified specialists may be unhappy that weak engineers are slowing down the work, and the latter are unhappy that the impossible is being asked of them. The interconnectedness of tasks with unequal opportunities leads to conflict here.

The mentioned example of conflict between line and staff personnel also arises due to the interconnectedness of tasks. The foremen depend on the chief specialists, since they need their help in implementing technical solutions, and higher-level managers depend on the foremen, since the latter implement the ideas of the higher management level.

Differences in Goals. The likelihood of these conflicts in organizations increases as the organization grows larger and is broken down into specialized units. For example, the sales department may insist on producing a greater variety of products based on demand (market needs); at the same time, production departments are interested in increasing the volume of production at minimal costs, which is ensured by the production of simple, homogeneous products. Individual workers are also known to often pursue their own goals that do not coincide with the goals of others.

Differences in views and ideas. Managers and direct executors may have different views on the ways and means of achieving even common goals, that is, in the absence of conflicting interests. Even if everyone wants to increase productivity and make work more interesting, people may have different ideas about how to do this. The problem can be solved in different ways, and everyone believes that their solution is the best.

Conflicts in organizations are very often associated with poor communications. Inaccurate or incomplete communication of information or lack of necessary information at all is not only the cause, but also the dysfunctional consequence of conflict. Poor communication hinders conflict management.

Another important cause of conflicts is differences in psychological characteristics (temperament, character, needs, motives, etc.). These differences increase the likelihood of any conflicts and are especially often the causes of interpersonal conflicts. There are people who constantly show aggressiveness, hostility, they are always either defending themselves or attacking, ready to challenge every word and are unable to listen to their opponent. Research shows that such people are characterized by a low level of self-esteem and compensate for this with ostentatious self-confidence and a desire to demonstrate their power. People who have an adequate level of self-esteem do not get into pointless, dysfunctional conflicts over trifles. According to psychologists, people with an adequate level of self-esteem are characterized by:

Loyalty to one's principles, despite the opposing opinions of others, combined with sufficient flexibility and the ability to change one's opinion if it is wrong.
The ability to act on one's own discretion without feeling guilt or regret when disapproved by others.
The ability to not waste time worrying excessively about tomorrow and yesterday.
The ability to maintain confidence in one's abilities despite temporary setbacks and difficulties.
The ability to value each person’s personality and sense of usefulness to others, regardless of the level of one’s abilities and position.
Relative ease in communication, the ability to both defend one’s rightness and agree with the opinions of others.
The ability to accept compliments and praise without feigned modesty.
The ability to resist.
The ability to understand one’s own and others’ feelings, to suppress one’s impulses.
The ability to find pleasure in a wide variety of activities, including work, play, socializing with friends, creative expression, or recreation.

Conflicts are an integral part of people's lives.

The ability to behave competently in adverse circumstances is the key to calm and self-confidence.

For this reason, it is useful for any person to study examples of what conflict situations can be and how to resolve them.

How to avoid conflict between teacher and student? Find out about this from ours.

Concept and psychology of conflict management

- what is this? In short, this is clash of interests, opinions and views.

As a result of the conflict, a crisis situation arises in which each participant in the conflict seeks to impose his point of view on the other side.

Conflict not stopped in time may lead to open confrontation, in which the subject of the dispute is relegated to the background and the ambitions of the parties come first.

As a rule, as a result of a conflict, there are no losers or winners, since all participants expend effort and ultimately do not receive positive emotions.

Special danger represent internal conflicts when a person is tormented by conflicting thoughts and desires tearing him apart. Protracted states of internal conflicts often end in depression and neuroses.

A modern person needs to be able to recognize a beginning conflict in time, take competent steps to prevent the conflict from growing and eliminate it at the inception stage.

If, nevertheless, it is not possible to extinguish the conflict immediately, it is necessary to be able to build the correct and get out of conflict wisely with minimal losses.

How does it arise?

As a result of numerous studies, it has been determined that most conflicts arise without the corresponding intentions of their participants.

Often people involuntarily react to the conflictogens of other people, or they themselves are a source of conflictogens, as a result of which a stressful situation arises.

Conflictogens- words, actions, deeds leading to conflict. They arise when the participants have any psychological problems, or are used purposefully to achieve their goals.

Most conflictogens manifest themselves for the following reasons:

thirst for superiority. The desire to prove one's worth;
aggressiveness. Initially aggressive behavior towards other people caused by a negative emotional state;
selfishness. The desire to achieve your goals at any cost.

How do conflicts arise? True reasons and solutions:

Popular methods for resolving situations

The most effective strategies that are most often used in practice to manage conflict:

About ways to resolve conflicts in this video:

Resolution Methods

From a scientific point of view, there are specific methods for resolving conflict:

Structural

Most often used in the professional field. These include:

Constructive

How to resist aggression and successfully resolve conflict? Similar methods of conflict resolution are more used in communication.

To successfully resolve the situation using constructive methods, it is necessary to form an adequate perception of the situation among the participants, arrange them for open interaction, create an atmosphere of goodwill and trust, and jointly determine the root of the problem.

Construction styles include:

Integral

Allows each side to feel like a winner. A similar effect is achieved when the parties agree to abandon their original positions, reconsider the situation and find a solution that satisfies everyone.

The method can only be used if the parties to the dispute demonstrate flexibility of thinking and the ability to adapt to new circumstances.

Compromise

The most peaceful, mature way resolution of the situation.

The parties decide on mutual concessions in order to eliminate the negative factors that caused the dispute.

Such behavior of people allows not only to peacefully resolve emerging contradictions without harm to anyone, but also to build long-term communication connections.

Way out of the conflict

How to get out of conflict situations? To get out of this unpleasant situation the following steps need to be taken:

Stop using words or taking actions that provoke a negative response from your opponent.
Do not react to such behavior on the part of your interlocutor.
Show affection towards another person. This can be done using gestures, facial expressions, and words. Smiling, patting the shoulder, shaking hands, and using polite phrases all help smooth out arguments.
The interlocutor immediately acquires a positive attitude and the situation is soon resolved.

Examples of conflict situations

In society

Best resolved using constructive methods.

For example, neighbors of an apartment building may enter into a conflict caused by the distribution of parking spaces in the yard.

Some neighbors will insist on clear markings, according to which each car is assigned a specific parking space. Other residents will advocate for the possibility of free placement of cars.

In this situation the most effective methods of resolving a dispute will be to build a dialogue, joint resolution of the situation through compromise.

Residents just need to organize a meeting and decide that part of the area in the yard is allocated for individual parking, and the other part remains for supporters of free parking.

Between employees

It is better to solve using structural methods.

For example, employees of the same team may come into conflict due to inability to work together in the same direction.

Each person defines for himself a range of responsibilities that is not approved by his colleague. The result is the emergence of a conflict situation and ineffective teamwork.

The manager of the employees involved in the dispute must use methods to clarify requirements, set goals, and assign rewards.

Each employee will be explained the principle of his work and a clear range of job responsibilities. In front of colleagues joint goals will be set, upon achieving which they will receive the promised reward (bonus, promotion, etc.).

How to resolve conflicts correctly? Find out from the video:

Completion Forms

What is the form of ending a conflict? A conflict of interest can be resolved as follows:

Permission. The prerequisites may be that the parties have a desire to end the dispute and not return to it in the future. To finally resolve the conflict, it may be necessary to involve third parties. This is especially true in the field of professional relationships.
Attenuation. The dispute may cease to be relevant for one of the parties or for all participants in the process. In the first case, the second party does not find a response to its own words and actions and is forced to end the conflict. In the second case, the parties simultaneously decide that they do not want to continue the dispute due to fatigue, the end of the arguments, loss of interest in the subject of the dispute, etc.
This type of conflict is not always completed, since when a new stimulus arises, the dispute can resume with renewed vigor.
Settlement. The parties come to a compromise and reach mutual agreements. As a result, the dispute is resolved through constructive dialogue and effective interpersonal interaction.
Elimination. The basis of the conflict is eliminated, transformed, modified, etc. In other words, the subject of the dispute ceases to be relevant at the current moment in time and the fact of a conflict of interests automatically disappears.
Growing into a new dispute. Unexplained contradictions on one issue can become a source of new conflicts generated by the primary dispute. This effect is especially often observed when a remark made by one of the spouses on any issue develops into a mutual exchange of reproaches.

Completion is not always resolution

Does ending a conflict always mean resolving it? It is important not to confuse the concepts of ending a conflict situation with its resolution.

Ending the conflict- this is the moment of completion of the parties’ actions at the current moment in time, the termination of the dispute for various reasons (attenuation, escalation into a new dispute, etc.)

Closing a dispute at this time does not guarantee that it will will not arise again after some time. This is due to the fact that the source of the conflict has not been resolved, and the parties have not achieved any result.

Conflict resolution involves the conscious use of methods and techniques aimed at correcting the negative situation that has arisen.

A resolved conflict allows the parties to reconcile and no longer return to the subject of the dispute.

Thus, conflict can arise in any area of a person’s life. as a result of a clash of his interests with the interests of other people.

There are many ways to resolve conflict. It is important to be able to put them into practice before the situation reaches a serious level.

Learn how to communicate with other people if you have different points of view on certain issues in this video:

Often in production situations, contradictions and disagreements occur within the workforce. On the one hand, such disagreements and contradictions can act as a positive factor for achieving goals and realizing creative ideas. But often differences in opinions, views, ideas and points of view can lead to a conflict situation.

In social psychology, there is a multivariate typology of conflict depending on the criteria that are taken as the basis.

The following types of conflicts are distinguished:

Intrapersonal conflict. The participants in this conflict are not people, but various psychological factors of the individual’s inner world that seem incompatible. For example, interests, feelings, desires, values, etc. Internal conflicts may arise due to overwork or lack of work. They can manifest themselves in the form of role conflict, when demands are made for various roles, for example, the role of a good wife, mother and the role of a boss at work, when you have to spend evenings not at home with your family, but stay late at work.
Interpersonal conflict. Such conflicts can arise between colleagues in the struggle for material resources, a more promising position, etc. In addition, conflicts occur between a boss and a subordinate when the subordinate is convinced that the manager is making unreasonable and excessive demands on him, and the boss believes that the employee does not want to work at full capacity. Interpersonal conflict can also arise when different characters and temperaments collide. For example, two choleric leaders will often conflict with each other.
Conflict between the individual and the group. Basically, each informal group has its own norms of behavior and communication. When a person deviates from established norms, a conflict occurs between the group and the individual. With an authoritarian management style, serious conflict may arise between the group and the leader.
Intergroup conflict. This conflict can arise between separate groups (formal and informal) in the organization. For example, between management and performers, between departments, between informal groups within the same department, etc. The reasons for the emergence of such a conflict are different, these can be material resources, territory, social comparison, psychological characteristics of people, the labor process, etc. Also distinguished:
Business and personal conflicts. In the first case, conflicts are associated with a person’s professional activity, his job responsibilities, and in the second, with unofficial relationships.
Hidden and open conflicts. In hidden conflicts, people do not show for some time that they are in conflict, but behave deliberately dishonestly and weave intrigues; in other cases, the conflict is considered open.
Realistic and unrealistic conflicts. Realistic conflicts are aimed at achieving a specific result and are caused by the dissatisfaction of certain requirements and the distribution of benefits. In an unrealistic conflict, conflict interaction is an end in itself, and not a means of achieving any result; accumulated emotions and grievances are expressed.

The conflict has its own structure, there is an object in it (organizational or technological difficulties or business or personal relationships of the conflicting parties); goal (motives, views, beliefs, material interests); the presence of opponents (participants in the conflict) and the reason (reasons for the occurrence).

A conflict begins when the first participant deliberately acts to the detriment of the other, for example, through certain actions, statements, etc. In turn, the second participant realizes that such actions are directed against him and, in response, takes active action against the initiator of the conflict.

Most often, the conflict goes through several stages:

1. Disagreements arise.
2. Tension in relationships increases.
3. At least one of the participants becomes aware of the conflict situation.
4. The conflict itself arises.
5. The conflict ends.

It is likely that if you try to resolve differences at the first stage, the conflict can be resolved without allowing it to arise.

There are several reasons for conflicts in an organization:

Resource Allocation: Since resources in an organization are almost always limited, this leads to conflict.
Task interdependence: Poor performance of one department can lead to conflict when one department attributes its poor performance to the inability of another department to perform a particular job well.
Differences in Goals: The potential for conflict increases when a company expands and forms divisions where each department strives to achieve its own goal rather than the entire organization.
Differences in ways to achieve goals: Each department, management and subordinates may have different ideas, ways and means of achieving a common goal.
Poor communication: Incomplete, inaccurate or missing information can cause conflict.
Differences in psychological characteristics: Psychological differences among colleagues increase the likelihood of conflict. People who have the same character and temperament can work successfully together. At the same time, it is worth keeping in mind that there are people who are prone and predisposed to conflict situations with other people. The individual characteristics of such individuals include inadequate self-esteem, the desire to dominate, a critical attitude, excessive straightforwardness and adherence to principles, and certain emotional qualities (aggressiveness, irritability, resentment, suspicion, etc.).

Psychologists have developed a certain style of behavior in a conflict situation for each specific case, depending on what personal interests you want to satisfy.

Competition style allows you to satisfy your own needs, ignoring the interests of the other party. This style can be used by a person with sufficient power and authority. He feels that he has no other choice and has nothing more to lose, or he is in a critical situation and an instant reaction is required.

Collaboration style helps turn an opponent into a partner. With this style, there is a search for ways to resolve the conflict, the desire to satisfy the needs of everyone. Resolving a conflict situation can begin with the words: “Let's figure out how we can both get what we want.” Such tactics are aimed at winning both sides.

Compromise style is that both sides are trying to resolve the conflict by making mutual concessions. This style is applicable in situations where it is impossible to satisfy the interests of both parties, for example, when two employees strive to occupy the same premises or one vacant position; when compromise will gain something rather than lose everything, and when both sides have equal power and convincing arguments.

Evasion style is used when the problem that has arisen is not so important and there is no need to defend one’s interests and rights, or when one has to deal with a conflicting personality.

In the accommodating style, one participant acts cooperatively with the other party without attempting to assert their rights, and strives to smooth out the situation and establish a normal working relationship. This style is used in situations where it is primarily necessary to improve relationships rather than resolve conflict; when a participant believes that it is better to maintain a good relationship than to defend his point of view, when a participant realizes that he does not have enough chances to win or the truth is not on his side.

As discussed above, conflict can arise due to the fact that you are surrounded by a conflicting personality. The following types of conflicting personalities are distinguished:

demonstrative type: has high self-esteem, usually choleric, attitude towards people is determined by attitude towards him. Wants to be the center of attention, likes to look only on the positive side in the eyes of others. He often turns out to be the initiator of conflict, although he does not admit this to himself;
rigid type: suspicious, touchy, does not take into account the opinions and points of view of other people, straightforward. Takes a good attitude towards oneself for granted;
pedantic type: boring, punctual, repels others, scrupulous about work, picky in everything. Without reason, he can break off relations with friends, because at some point he felt that they had offended him;
conflict-free type: consciously avoids conflict situations, is suggestible, often changes his mind, likes to shift responsibility to others, does not have sufficient willpower.
a practical person: to protect himself, he always uses attack tactics, strives to transform people, change them, which, of course, leads to tension in relationships and the emergence of conflict.

In addition, some psychologists identify other types of conflicting personalities: “aggressive” - speaks rude words, tauntingly; “accuser” - accuses others, looks for the mistakes of others, while always considering himself to be right; “silent” - able to keep everything to himself for a long time, and then suddenly splashes out negative emotions on others; “angry child” - a person loses control over the situation and is capable of losing his temper, feeling that his subordinates are losing respect for him, etc.

In general, the rules of behavior in conflict situations are the same. It is necessary to remember that in a conflict a person is dominated not by reason, but by emotions; a person is not responsible for his words and actions. Always maintain your dignity so that you don’t feel embarrassed later for your behavior and words spoken. During the dispute, find out not the positions taken, but the essence of the problem. Strive to treat your partner with respect. Try to see the positive sides in a person, his merits, because this is rational, because who is easier to negotiate with: an enemy or a friend? Try to hear the reasons and arguments of the other side. Don't limit your perception and look a little ahead to analyze the consequences. Do not look for the culprits of the conflict, but focus on finding a way out of it. Regardless of the outcome of the dispute, continue your relationship with your partner and do not try to destroy it.

During a conflict, give your partner the opportunity to “let off steam”, because at this moment the person is irritable, aggressive and it will not be possible to talk to him normally. Invite your interlocutor to cite and substantiate his claims. Try using unexpected techniques, for example, asking for advice; ask a question that is not related to the topic of your conversation; give a compliment; remind you of a pleasant moment, etc. Talk about your feelings rather than negative judgments, such as, “I'm upset by the way you talk to me.” Ask your partner to make suggestions for resolving the situation. Do not respond to aggression with aggression and do not get personal. At the same time, don't let yourself get yelled at. Stay confident and on an equal footing. You can stop a quarrel if you shut up first or leave the room, but if you slam the door at the same time, the effect will be the opposite.

At the moment when you are irritated, try switching from one activity to another that requires physical exertion to reduce adrenaline: water flowers, walk, rearrange papers, etc. Mentally reduce the image of your opponent so that he becomes less significant and influential for you. Write down the words that come to mind on a piece of paper, then burn and throw away to get rid of your bad mood along with the discarded piece of paper. Try to abstract yourself, build in your imagination a favorite house, a cozy place on the seashore or in the forest, remember the melody of any song, etc.

It is always worth remembering that conflict resolution is impossible without people’s adequate perception of what is happening, an open and respectful attitude towards each other, as well as mutual trust and cooperation.

Some employees in the course of their work may encounter psychological pressure from colleagues, this can manifest itself in the form of ridicule, unfounded criticism, humiliation, insults, provocations, intimidation, ignoring, etc. The main goal of such psychological pressure is to force a person to change jobs. Such psychological terror, emotional violence in psychology is called “mobbing.” The reasons for the occurrence of such situations can be different, for example, the desire for revenge, thirst for power, envy, personal anger, etc. Most often, people at risk of psychological bullying include people who are different from others, who are unable to respond to attacks. “Newbies” can also become victims. An established team may not accept a new employee, trying to adjust him to their informal rules. A person holding a promising position may encounter mobbing. Many people dream of obtaining such a position, so psychological terror is used as a means to free up a coveted position. Managers often use mobbing to maintain authority. Sometimes the reason for mobbing can be simple boredom, when colleagues choose a victim and mock him for the purpose of obtaining pleasure. Conflicts in a team can cause psychological terror, and in such a situation, until the instigator achieves his goal, he will not retreat.

Before you run to the HR department with your resignation letter, you need to understand the current situation, because a similar situation may be repeated at another place of work. It is worth asking yourself the question: “Why exactly did I become a victim of psychological terror?” Depending on the situation, you can apply the following methods of protection:

1. Change for the better. If the reasons for attacks from colleagues are objective, then you need to change something in yourself, give up bad habits (snacks during working hours, talking on the phone about personal topics, constant smoking breaks, frequent lateness, etc.). If the reason is insufficient qualifications, then increase it. You need to find and correct certain traits in yourself (laziness, shifting responsibility to others, arrogance, lack of self-confidence, irresponsibility, negligence, gossip, etc.).
2. Don't react. If the reason for mobbing is someone's desire to have fun, you should not pretend that they are hurting you emotionally. Without receiving a charge of pleasure, they will retreat.
3. Don’t oppose yourself to the team. This primarily applies to new employees who come to the team with their own beliefs, norms, etc. Instead of being friendly and trying to find a common language with other employees, they relentlessly defend their position and try to impose their views and rules on others.
4. Defend yourself. If outright humiliation and insults occur towards you, show everyone that you can stand up for yourself. At the same time, while defending yourself, do not under any circumstances attack others or get involved in their game.
5. Continue to be professional. In parallel with suppressing mobbing, you should not forget about your professional growth. Perform your duties conscientiously and fully so that no one has a reason to accuse you of unprofessionalism and bring you to disciplinary action.
6. Don’t break away from the team. Many victims of mobbing often have a desire to spend less time in such a group. At the same time, do not ignore the entire team, come to corporate events, participate in the discussion of general plans. Try to communicate more with colleagues who have a neutral position towards you.
7. Don't make mistakes. Don't brag about your successes to your colleagues, this can cause envy. Don't humiliate or criticize others.
8. Identify the instigator. It is necessary to figure out from whom exactly the initiative for psychological terror is coming, and try to find out after a working day what the problem is, why disrespect is being shown in your direction. You can also join in joint activities with him. A common project and the achievement of common goals will help to establish contacts.

In any case, to suppress mobbing, it is necessary to identify its cause; if your boss is the one who disturbs your peace at work, do not give him a reason to doubt your professionalism, make the results of your work noticeable not only to him, but also to others. Perhaps someone is targeting your position and is trying to force you to resign. In this case, you should not make professional mistakes; do your work calmly and efficiently. There is no need to try to pity someone; if weakness is shown, the aggressor may begin to show even more activity.

It is clear that many colleagues in such situations are just waiting for your dismissal, but sometimes this becomes the only way out. It may seem like a defeat, but it’s better to leave than to die in such a situation; work should be a joy! It is always worth remembering that dismissal is a last resort when nothing can be done, so you always first need to understand the current situation, take certain measures depending on the reasons for the occurrence of mobbing, and if nothing helps, then make a decision to leave from such a company.

Mobbing is serious psychological pressure that can affect a person’s physical and psychological state. People subjected to mobbing experience severe suffering, some of them may commit suicide, others develop neurotic conditions due to stress. Psychological terror can cause stress that destroys a person’s life.

Sometimes the provoking factor for stress is the performance of professional duties, for example, uninteresting work, overload of assigned functions, poor working conditions, etc. In some cases, people can experience stress when they have a fear of not being able to cope with any work, the possibility of making a mistake, losing their job, etc. All this expresses a person’s subjectively anxious attitude towards his professional activities. Research shows that people experience a significant amount of stress as a result of conflicts related to work situations. If you are not satisfied with working conditions, wages, etc., it is worth carefully analyzing how realistic your company’s capabilities are to improve these results, whether there is anything to fight for. If a problem arises, there is no need to isolate yourself; discuss the difficulties you have encountered with your colleagues. Don't be afraid to say “no” if you realize you are not capable of taking on a certain job. Do not hesitate to demand from your colleagues the results of the assigned work. In a busy work schedule, try to take time for a short rest for 10-15 minutes. Of course, these recommendations are general in nature, since a specific stressful situation is always unique and everyone’s susceptibility to stress is different. In any case, the physiological nature of stress is the same, so a person who is seasoned in overcoming various life barriers will be able to more successfully cope with stressful situations at work than others.

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Conflicts and ways to resolve them

Introductione

People are not the same in character, temperament and many other criteria, so they perceive the situation in which they find themselves differently. A person, no matter how conflict-free he may be, is unable to avoid disagreements with others. There are so many people, so many opinions, and the interests of different people conflict with each other. Differences in perception often lead to people disagreeing with each other on a particular issue. This disagreement arises when the situation is truly conflicting in nature. A conflict is defined by the fact that the conscious behavior of one of the parties (individual, group or organization) violates the interests of the other party.

The concept of conflict has many definitions and interpretations, but they all emphasize the presence of contradiction, which takes the form of disagreement when it comes to the interaction of people.

Conflict (from Latin Conflictus - clash) is a lack of agreement between two or more parties, which can be specific individuals or groups. Each side does everything to ensure that its point of view and goal are accepted, and prevents the other side from doing the same.

1 . Types of behavioria of people in a conflict situation

Styles of behavior in conflict

Every interpersonal conflict eventually has its resolution. The forms of their resolution depend on the style of behavior of the subjects in the process of conflict development. This part of the conflict is called the emotional side and is considered the most important.

Behavior styles in interpersonal conflict.

Researchers identify the following styles of behavior in interpersonal conflict: confrontation, evasion, adaptation, compromise, cooperation, assertiveness.

1.Confrontation- characterized by persistent, uncompromising, non-cooperative defense of one's interests, for which all available means are used.

2. Evasion-- is associated with an attempt to avoid the conflict, not to attach great value to it, perhaps due to the lack of conditions for its resolution.

3. Device-- presupposes the subject’s willingness to sacrifice his interests in order to preserve relationships that are placed above the subject and object of disagreement.

4. Compromise-- requires concessions from both sides to the extent that through mutual concessions an acceptable solution is found for the opposing parties.

5. Cooperation-- involves the parties coming together to solve the problem. With such behavior, different views on the problem are considered legitimate. This position makes it possible to understand the causes of disagreements and find a way out of the crisis acceptable to the opposing parties without infringing on the interests of each of them.

6. Assertive behavior(from the English assert - to assert, to defend). This behavior presupposes a person’s ability to defend his interests and achieve his goals without infringing on the interests of other people. It is aimed at ensuring that the realization of one’s own interests is a condition for the realization of the interests of interacting subjects. Assertiveness is an attentive attitude towards both yourself and your partner. Assertive behavior prevents the emergence of conflicts, and in a conflict situation helps to find the right way out of it. At the same time, the greatest effectiveness is achieved when one assertive person interacts with another similar person.

All of these styles of behavior can be either spontaneous or consciously used to achieve the desired results when resolving interpersonal conflicts.

Types of behavior of people in conflict.

People behave differently in conflict situations: some more often give in, giving up their desires and opinions, others rigidly defend their point of view. Doctor of Psychological Sciences N. Obozov identifies three types of behavior in conflict: the behavior of a “practitioner”, “interlocutor”, and “thinker”. Depending on the types of personalities involved in the conflict, it can proceed differently.

“Practician” operates under the slogan “The best defense is attack.” The effectiveness of practical people contributes to increasing the duration of the conflict. His insatiable need to transform the external environment, including changing the positions of other people, can lead to various clashes and tension in relationships. The “practitioner” is less sensitive to minor omissions, so as a result of the conflict, relationships are greatly disrupted.

The “interlocutor” is characterized by the slogan “A bad peace is better than a good war.” The main thing for him is communication with people. “Interlocutors” are more superficial in their relationships; their circle of acquaintances and friends is quite large, and close relationships are compensated for this. “Interlocutors” are not capable of long-term confrontation in a conflict. They know how to resolve conflict in such a way as to affect deep feelings as little as possible. This type of personality is sensitive to changes in the partner’s mood and strives to smooth out the emerging contradiction at its very beginning. “Interlocutors” are more open to accepting the opinion of another and are not very eager to change this opinion, initially preferring cooperation. Therefore, very often they become unofficial emotional and confessional leaders of the team.

“Thinkers” tend to have the attitude “Let him think that he has won!” The “Thinker” is focused on understanding oneself and the world around us. In a conflict, he builds a complex system of proof that he is right and that his opponent is wrong. The “Thinker” thinks through the logic of his behavior well and is more careful in his actions, although less sensitive than the “interlocutor”. In communication, “thinkers” prefer distance, so they are less likely to find themselves in conflict situations, but are more vulnerable in close personal relationships, where the degree of involvement in the conflict will be very high.

People are sensitive to contradictions and conflicts that affect them in different ways. Thus, “thinkers” are most sensitive to contradictions and conflicts in the sphere of spiritual values or ideas. “Practice” is more important than the unity of practical outcomes and goals of joint activity. “Interlocutors” react sharply to assessments of emotional and communication abilities, while assessments of intellectual qualities or practical acumen affect them much less.

The behavior of people in the occurrence of conflicts and in their resolution is significantly influenced by differences in the types of people, which must be taken into account when trying to prevent conflicts and resolve them. O. Kroeger and J. Tewson believe that different preferences of people’s characters underlie their interactions and without taking them into account it is impossible to resolve any conflict. Not a single conflict passes without the manifestation of a personal attitude towards what is happening and its participants from all the people involved in it. Personality characteristics are manifested in its temperament, character and level of personal development.

Temperament is given to a person at birth and determines the speed, pace, intensity and rhythm of a person’s mental processes and states. Classification of types of temperaments carried out by Hippocrates back in the 5th century. BC, has not undergone significant changes to this day. She was only enriched thanks to the teachings of I.P. Pavlova about the properties of the nervous system and types of higher nervous activity.

Therefore, sanguine people are sometimes added to - strong, balanced, agile; to phlegmatic people - strong, balanced, inert; to choleric people - strong, unbalanced; to melancholic people - weak.

The behavior of sanguine people is characterized by mobility, a tendency to change impressions, responsiveness, and sociability; the behavior of phlegmatic people - slowness, stability, isolation, weak external expression of emotions, logic in judgments; behavior of choleric people - openness, sudden mood swings, instability, violent reactions; melancholics - instability, slight vulnerability, unsociability, deep emotional experiences.

Temperament has a significant impact on human behavior in interpersonal conflicts. For example, a choleric person is easy to involve in a conflict situation, while a phlegmatic person, on the contrary, is difficult to lose his temper.

The typology of human character traits (a discipline that studies character types and their influence on joint communication) was first developed by C. G. Jung in his work “Psychological Types.” It was later studied by Katharina Briggs and Isabel Briggs-Myers, who published the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which anyone interested in can use to determine their personality preferences. This typology identifies four pairs of opposing preferences:

Extroverts -- Introverts

Sensory - Intuitive

Thinking - Feeling

Deciders -- Perceivers

Each character type corresponds to four of the given preferences. Thus, there are sixteen character types in total. Character is formed due to the asymmetry of the left and right hemispheres of the brain by the age of seven and does not change radically throughout life. The right hemisphere forms emotions and subconscious activities, the left - logical and rational activities. Therefore, extroverts never become introverts, and vice versa. Just as left-handed people never become right-handed, although they can learn to use their other hand more effectively. Only through incredible efforts can you overcome “your nature,” but only in behavior.

The problem of the influence of character types on the emergence of conflicts and their resolution is that people with opposite preferences of their character types may find themselves in a situation of jointly solving one problem, and their joint interaction may be threatened. For example, an extrovert and an introvert are distinguished from each other by their attitude towards the outside world. Extroverts draw their energy from the outside world. And introverts find this energy within themselves. They fix their interests on the phenomena of their own inner world, to which they attach the highest value. Interpersonal conflicts between extroverts and introverts may arise due to differences in problem solving attitudes. An extrovert is dynamic, he constantly talks, prefers to discuss everything out loud. An introvert must think things through before speaking out. An extrovert easily takes a new turn when discussing a problem and begins to discuss it openly again. For an introvert, every turn in the discussion puts him in a difficult position; he needs time to comprehend. When solving a problem together, the extrovert will constantly talk and the introvert will remain silent. The extrovert can take this silence as consent and impose his decision, with which the introvert may fundamentally disagree; he simply did not have the opportunity to speak out. This situation is fraught with conflict. Moreover, the dominant behavior of an extrovert when interacting with an introvert can cause the latter’s illness.

Extroverts, like introverts, can collect information in opposite ways - sensory or intuitive. People of the sensory type collect information based on their senses; they need to see, touch, hear, smell everything. For them, details and facts are more important and least of all what they mean. People with intuitive preferences, having received information through the senses, intuitively look for their indirect meaning and relationships between and within phenomena. Intuitionists approach everything globally. Any meeting of a person with sensory preferences and intuitive ones can result in a conflict.

2 . Conflict resolution and behavior strategies in conflict situations

A person's heart is all woven from his human relationships to other people; what he is worth is entirely determined by what kind of human relationships a person strives for, what kind of relationships he is able to establish with people, with another person. Therefore, relationships with other people constitute the core of a truly vital psychology.

S.L. Rubinstein

People will inevitably conflict and disagree with each other. This, as Carlson repeated, is “an everyday matter,” but is by no means a reason for quarrels. A passionate debater, Voltaire loved to tell his interlocutor that he fundamentally disagreed with his opinion, but was ready to give his life so that he could express it.

When a person finds himself in a conflict situation, in order to more effectively solve the problem he needs to choose a certain strategy and style of behavior.

Psychologists identify five typical styles of behavior in conflict situations:

competition;

evasion;

device;

cooperation;

compromise.

Evasion style. It occurs when you do not stand up for your rights, do not cooperate with anyone to develop a solution to the problem, or simply avoid resolving the conflict. You can use this style when the issue at hand is not that important to you, when you don't want to spend the energy to solve it, or when you feel like you are in a hopeless situation.

the outcome is not very important to you or you think that the decision is so trivial that it is not worth wasting energy on it;

you are having a difficult day, and solving this problem may bring additional troubles; you want to gain time;

the situation is very difficult and you feel that resolving the conflict will require too much from you;

you have little power to solve the problem;

you feel that others have a better chance of solving this problem.

Fixture style. It means that you act together with another person without trying to defend your own interests. You can use this approach when the outcome of the case is extremely important to the other person and not very significant to you.

It is not suitable when you feel that the other person is not going to give up something in turn or that this person will not appreciate what you have done.

The most typical situations in which it is recommended fixture style:

you are not particularly concerned about what happened; you want to maintain peace and good relationships with other people;

you understand that the truth is on your side; you have little chance of winning;

you believe that the other person can learn a lesson from the situation if you give in to their wishes.

Collaborative style. The most effective style, but also the most difficult. If you both understand what is causing the conflict, you can work together to explore new alternatives or work out acceptable compromises.

solving the problem is very important for both sides, and no one wants to completely get rid of it;

you have a close, long-term and interdependent relationship with the other party;

you have time to work on the problem that has arisen;

you and the other person are aware of the issue and the wishes of both parties are known;

both parties involved in the conflict have equal power or ignore the difference in position in order to seek a solution to the problem as equals.

Both parties must spend some time on this, they must be able to explain their desires, express their needs, listen to each other and then develop alternative solutions to the problem. The cooperation style is the most difficult among others, but it allows us to develop the most satisfying solution to both parties in complex and conflict situations.

Compromise style. You give in a little on your interests to partially satisfy them, and the other side does the same. As with collaboration, you are not looking for hidden needs and interests. You only consider what you tell each other about your desires.

Typical cases:

both parties have equal power and have mutually exclusive interests;

you may be satisfied with a temporary solution;

you can take advantage of temporary benefits;

Other approaches to solving the problem turned out to be ineffective:

satisfying your desire is not too important for you, and you can slightly change the goal set at the beginning;

Zconclusion

Conflict, like illness, is easier to prevent than to treat. There are quite a lot of means for preventing pre-conflict and conflict situations. Let's look at some of them.

The most effective means should be to eliminate from business communication judgments and assessments that could infringe on the honor and dignity of the interlocutor. Such judgments and assessments are extremely undesirable, since they often lead to conflicts. Patronizing judgments and assessments expressed with a feeling of poorly hidden superiority or disdain are also highly undesirable. You should try to focus on positive judgments and assessments, remembering that all people accept positive information more favorably than negative information, which often leads to conflict situations.

Another most effective means of preventing conflict situations is to avoid disputes during business communication, since during a dispute a person rarely manages to maintain composure and dignity. When arguing, we begin to get excited and, without noticing it, we make offensive remarks and are annoyingly rude. In this regard, I would like to once again recall the words of D. Carnegie, an ardent opponent of any dispute:

“In nine cases out of ten, a dispute ends with each of its participants confirming their absolute rightness even more than before... In a dispute you cannot gain the upper hand. It’s impossible because if you lose in an argument, that means you’ve lost, and if you win, then you’ve also lost... You may be absolutely right in proving your point of view, but all your attempts to convince your interlocutor will probably remain just as futile , as if you were wrong” (Carnegie D. How to win friends and influence people: Translated from English - M.: Progress, 1990. - P. 136-138).

A good way to prevent conflict is the ability to listen to your interlocutor, since it is a criterion of sociability. His disposition and trust largely depend on the extent to which the interlocutor is given the opportunity to speak.

A respectful manner of conversation significantly reduces the likelihood of a conflict situation. Phrases such as “I beg your pardon,” “I would be very grateful,” “Sorry for the inconvenience,” “If it doesn’t bother you,” “Don’t consider me intrusive,” etc. are extremely important and necessary. “Adding” politeness does not reduce the definiteness of the request, but in many ways prevents the interlocutors from developing internal resistance and helps relieve negative emotions.

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