Introduction
Interpersonal conflict is often referred to as a confrontation between two people or their disagreement on certain opinions and views. To form such a phenomenon, two contradictory opinions must appear. People, by their nature, often enter into various conflict situations and quarrels with each other. This is due to the fact that each person is a unique individual with their own beliefs and principles. Often, these values differ between two people, which leads to some conflicts in the workplace. Almost every manager believes that interpersonal conflicts lead to many problems. However, the confrontation of two people is the norm of everyday life, which can lead to the fact that people exchange their knowledge and views, which results in a positive conflict. Moreover, without the emergence of such conflicts, the supervisor would not have been able to learn how to manage crisis situations. Thus, it becomes critical for the supervisor to learn how to control and manage interpersonal conflicts in the workplace.
Main body
Examining the conflict between Simon and Jimmy in detail, it is possible to determine its interpersonal nature. As mentioned earlier, this type of quarrel occurs when two people have a clash of interests or views. Thus, Simon, being a responsible employee, always came to the office on time. On the other hand, Jimmy was constantly late and tried to find various ways to do less work than required. On this basis, the two colleagues who are working on the same project have an interpersonal conflict. In other words, there was a certain clash of values between Simon and Jimmy, which led to a quarrel. In this context, it is necessary to consider in more detail the actions of Simon and Jimmy in order to correctly resolve this interpersonal conflict.
First, when considering this situation, it becomes clear that Simon did not take any action until a certain point. Simon did not confront Jimmy about his constant attempts to find loopholes. This, in turn, led to Jimmy continuing to avoid his responsibilities at work. Moreover, Jimmy was systematically late for work, and the company has its own policy. According to the rules, if the employee is late, he must meet with his supervisor. However, it becomes obvious that Jimmy did not do this, and Simon, in turn, knew about it. In my opinion, the fact that Simon was silent about Jimmy’s misdeeds and did not initially confront him is the wrong decision. If Simon had discussed the problem with him at the first sign of Jimmy’s erratic work, there could have been a chance to avoid such a conflict. Moreover, after Simon’s remark, Jimmy continued to be systematically late. Simon decided not to say anything this time, just to stop talking to Jimmy. This action led to the fact that their work on the project became less effective, as the conflict worsened the situation in the workplace.
Thus, in view of the current situation, I, as a supervisor, should take some measures to eliminate this interpersonal conflict. First, after noticing that the colleagues are in a quarrel, the boss has the opportunity to gather the rest of their team members to discuss the problem. The supervisor cannot always be close to the subordinates to monitor the situation in the workplace. Then, the rest of the team can give some insight that will help better explain the behavior of colleagues. Among other things, it becomes important to have a certain conversation with both Jimmy regarding his lateness and finding loopholes and with Simon regarding his silence.
Finally, in order to avoid the repetition of such situations, the supervisor has the opportunity to apply some preventive measures. In this context, many companies, in order to prevent conflicts, hold regular meetings with the team, which directly associate with relations in the workplace (Beitler et al., 2018). Within the framework of these meetings, each employee has the right to speak about any problems or experiences. This practice would have helped to avoid the situation that occurred between colleagues since Jimmy would have immediately expressed his complaints about Simon’s tardiness. In this context, the supervisor should be involved in the relationships of colleagues in order to avoid the development of interpersonal conflicts in the workplace. The results of such measures and prevention should be a reduction in the level of conflict within the working team. With the help of open and honest conversations among colleagues, there will be no innuendos and secrets that act as catalysts for conflicts. Moreover, Simon and Jimmy, after discussing their quarrel with a third party, will also be able to come to some compromise.
Conclusion
In conclusion, interpersonal conflicts do often manifest themselves in work teams, especially in large companies and organizations. It is important to remember that each person is unique and has their own principles and moral values. It is on the basis of differing views on life that interpersonal conflicts often occur, which threaten a favorable environment in the workplace. Thus, in the analyzed situation, Simon and Jimmy had a clash of their personal interests and principles, which led to a quarrel between two colleagues. The supervisor in this situation should take measures, which include collecting the opinions of other colleagues, talking with the two parties of the conflict, and preventive actions. As a result of these means, Simon and Jimmy will be able to peacefully resolve their conflict and continue to work productively on their joint project. Finally, preventive measures will further avert the emergence of new interpersonal conflicts.
Reference
Beitler, L. A., Scherer, S., & Zapf, D. (2018). Interpersonal conflict at work: Age and emotional competence differences in conflict management. Organizational Psychology Review, 8(4), 195-227.