Introduction
Human resources are the most valuable resource in the workplace. This is because factors such as the company’s efficiency, competitiveness, and ability to maintain a positive environment depend on employees. The main problem within this aspect is the occurrence of conflicts and stressful situations between employees and their direct line managers, which is undesirable for the company’s productivity. Thus, increased employee conflict negatively reduces productivity indicators and worsens the workplace environment.
The increased conflict between employees and direct line managers is a problem that can affect any organization. It will consist of omissions, fights, and tense interactions involving staff and their immediate supervisors. Several crucial reasons may contribute to the occurrence of this circumstance. One is the lack of team cohesion, strong ties, and respect between the staff. In addition, the excess of direct line managers’ authority may also increase conflict. Therefore, they may take on excessive responsibility and go beyond their official duties, which may cause employee dissatisfaction.
Impact of the Problem
One of the main negative consequences of employee conflict is the deterioration of the emotional state of the staff at the workplace. Individuals may experience a feeling of loneliness because of unsatisfactory relationships with line managers. Research stated that “loneliness is a mediator between conflict types and employee well-being” (Kuriakose et al., 2019, p. 680).
Many employees may also experience a sense of isolation from the team. In this regard, there may be an even more significant increase in conflict situations. In critical cases, employees may decide to leave the workplace, which is highly undesirable for the company. This circumstance can significantly affect the organization’s productivity due to the need to find and train new employees. In addition, a conflict between the staff and direct line managers is reflected in the unwillingness of individuals to carry out their activities due to stress at work.
Significance in the Organizational Context
The increase in conflicts between employees and line managers severely affects the welfare and efficiency of staff. On the other hand, Purnomo et al. (2021) stated that “role conflict, role ambiguity, and job stress simultaneously had a positive effect on performance” (p. 532). This is because employees gain motivation to get promoted to replace line managers. Moreover, these circumstances contribute to an increase in productivity by increasing the stability of personnel and their productivity.
However, resolving conflicts between employees and line managers can bring more significant results for the company. First, this is an increase in the organization’s performance indicators due to a favorable workplace climate. It consists of positive employee relationships, group work, and well-established communication.
Another positive effect of conflict resolution is the provision of knowledge regarding dealing with this kind of situation. When faced with the problem of relationships between personnel, managers, and heads of the company, gain valuable knowledge (Kmieciak, 2021). This information may include the organization’s collective characteristics, conflict resolution methods, strategies to help this collective, and policies to improve individual relationships. It is also worth noting that managers and heads of the company gain the opportunity to better understand how to properly distribute roles among staff to limit the abuse of authority by employees.
SWOT Analysis
To resolve the issue, it is possible to implement such a solution as switching the roles between employees and line managers twice a year for one week. To implement the proposed solution to the problem, it is necessary to conduct a SWOT analysis. This tool studies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (Schooley, 2023).
Strengths
The main advantage of the chosen method of solving the problem is the transfer of valuable information regarding skills and knowledge between employees and line managers. This will happen by changing the activities of employees. Another strength that must be considered is obtaining an opportunity to improve personal and professional skills by performing new duties. Providing perspective and understanding of what employees and line managers do also reduces conflict.
Weaknesses
Despite the positive aspects, the initiative to change positions has some weaknesses. Change of activity is an advantage, but for some employees, a week may be too short for adaptation. Individuals may experience even more stress, which will result in more conflicts.
Employee resistance becomes a critical weakness for the company (Allaoui & Benmoussa, 2020). This behavior manifests itself in the unwillingness to occupy a position that requires the performance of other tasks. For the heads of the organization, the proposal to change responsibilities between staff and supervisors for one week every six months may become challenging. This is especially difficult in cases where the conflict in the workplace has a significant scale.
Opportunities
The initiative’s main opportunity is the exchange of knowledge and experience between employees regarding the nuances of changing activities. Such interaction can contribute to establishing communication between employees, creating a positive environment, and increasing productivity. Reducing conflict situations and establishing relationships between staff provides an opportunity to gain employee retention in the workplace (Singh, 2019). This aspect also counteracts the possibility of individuals being dismissed due to an unfavorable climate.
Threats
Lastly, when conducting a SWOT analysis, it becomes essential to identify potential threats when implementing a plan to limit employee conflicts. As a result of this initiative, there may be a decrease in job satisfaction and motivation among employees and line managers (Drosos et al., 2021). This is due to the unwillingness to solve the problem in the way proposed by the organization. Moreover, employees may find it inefficient and unproductive.
The next threat is the company’s customers’ refusal to accept the change of personnel jobs. Therefore, they may view the solution as a tool that disrupts the stability and productivity of the organization. The last threat is the deterioration of job performance during the role switch due to the inability of individuals to adapt to the proposed activity.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the occurrence of problems in the workplace requires timely solutions from the managers of the organization. Not paying attention to the emerging problems with personnel can result in a decrease in the organization’s productivity and a deterioration of the workplace environment. To limit conflicts between employees and line managers, it was proposed that the staff activities be changed twice a year for one week. A SWOT analysis was conducted to assess this initiative’s effectiveness, which showed that it could bring positive results. At the same time, it is crucial to consider the threats and weaknesses of this offer for employees.
References
Allaoui, A., & Benmoussa, R. (2020). Employees’ attitudes toward change with Lean Higher Education in Moroccan public universities. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 33(2), 253-288. Web.
Drosos, D., Kyriakopoulos, G. L., Gkika, E. C., Komisopoulos, F., Skordoulis, M., & Ntanos, S. (2021). Managing change and managerial innovation towards employees’ satisfaction at workplace. TEM Journal, 10(2), 597. Web.
Kmieciak, R. (2021). Trust, knowledge sharing, and innovative work behavior: empirical evidence from Poland. European Journal of Innovation Management, 24(5), 1832-1859. Web.
Kuriakose, V., S., S., Wilson, P.R. and MR, A. (2019). The differential association of workplace conflicts on employee well-being: The moderating role of perceived social support at work. International Journal of Conflict Management, 30(5), 680-705. Web.
Purnomo, K. S. H., Lustono, L., & Tatik, Y. (2021). The effect of role conflict, role ambiguity and job stress on employee performance. Economic Education Analysis Journal, 10(3), 532-542. Web.
Schooley, S. (2023). SWOT analysis: What it is and when to use it. Business News Daily. Web.
Singh, D. (2019). A literature review on employee retention with focus on recent trends. International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and Technology, 6(1), 425-431. Web.