Causes of Workplace Conflicts-Interpersonal Factors
The Interpersonal Factors include –
• Lack of common understanding: Differences in perceptions about specific
situations, decisions made and actions taken may cause dissonance and
conflicts among the people in the organization.
• Personality Clash: A personality conflict results when two people simply do
not get along or do not view things similarly. Personality tensions are caused by
differences in personality, attitudes, values, and beliefs.
• Status Differences: Power and status conflict may occur when one individual
has questionable influence over another. People might engage in conflict to
increase their power or status in an organization.
• Goal Differences: Conflict may occur because people are pursuing different
goals. Goal conflicts in individual work units are a natural part of any organization.
Communication Breakdown: Communication process tends to get distorted due to
stylistic differences - speaking styles, writing styles, and non-verbal communication
styles. Faulty communication leads to misconceptions and misunderstandings that can
lead to long-standing conflict.
