Resolving Conflicts at Work - Essay Example

Chapter Summary The chapter en d "Resolving Conflicts at Work" discusses various ways to avoid conflicts at work, and address those conflicts that may already be in progress, and may therefore already be harming the environment. One suggestion presented in the chapter is that of "taking off masks and revealing hidden emotions." Hiding emotions can very often lead to a build up of anger, or also make an individual lie or avoid the truth. Doing this distorts the behavior of an individual, and an individual may even begin to believe that this "mask" is, in fact, really who he or she is.

Hiding emotions can result in several unsatisfactory actions. One of these actions is known as "blowing up," what this, in fact means, is that anger has been allowed to build up within the individual, and then something sets the individual off, and everything that has been hidden comes out at once. When the anger comes out, it may often be lashing out at something that really did not seem to be a serious concern in the first place, which may confuse the individual that is actually the target of the anger.

Another concept brought up in the chapter is "Behaviors that Trigger Anger." For many, anger can be difficult to understand because many do not often understand what the true source of that anger was. Responding logically to anger can sometimes make anger even worse. Therefore, in a working environment, it may be important to bring a team together if somebody has become angry, and try to figure out what is not working for everybody. Meetings like this can often be helpful, because they can establish ground rules.

The chapter states that there are many reasons why people become angry. It is important to remember that many of these reasons really are legitimate and need to be approached as such. Anger can often come about as the result of a lost hope, or a lost position. Sometimes people feel bad or worthless, and use anger to show that they are no worse than others. In the workplace, anger often works as a way to show what needs to be improved, or what may not be working for a particular employee.

If an employee is treated unfairly, he or she may undergo anger and may reach out to others that feel the same. Therefore, it is important to remember that there are so many reasons why a person may be angry, it may sometimes be difficult to get to the root of the problem. In a business environment, it is important to try and be honest about anger, and to attempt to also get other employees to be honest about why they are angry. Hopefully this can help create a more positive work environment.

Part of the problem behind anger is the fact that many actions in companies are relativistic. People have different feelings, motivations, beliefs, and reactions. For instance, an employee may feel that he or she is being treated unfairly by a superior. While he or she may have a very good reason for feeling this way, the superior may just be following orders-and therefore not even the true cause of the problem. Still, the employee will probably, regardless, see the superior as the person at fault.

Therefore, before becoming too angry, or "blowing up" at a situation, it is important to try and take the whole thing into perspective in order to also understand the root of the problem. Since anger is such a natural human response and is bound to happen in any type of group environment (including the business environment) people need to be prepared with the after-effects of their anger, or the anger of others. Apologizing is a fantastic way of dealing with this, as apologies are often enough to appease people.

Apologies demonstrate that the individual apologizing is willing to admit he or she is wrong and to take responsibility for the behavior. Often times, this can greatly help with smoothing over a heated situation.