Introduction
In modern management, much attention is paid to the development of managers such management competencies as: planning, delegation, time management, staff motivation and other skills really needed in business practice. At the same time, the topic of conflict management is paid undeservedly little attention. They are often not interested in it at all, or pass on it rather superficially, marking the issue only in general terms. So in today’s reality the important question is, how important is it for a modern leader to be competent in the topic of conflict management?
To answer this question, it is necessary to understand how conflicts affect personnel management, and as a consequence on the effectiveness of organizational management.
What is affected by conflicts in the work environment and what dangers do they pose to business?
Human productivity is significantly reduced during stress. This is easily explained by the apparatus of the nervous system and the brain. The hypothalamus is activated to respond to stress. And we are actually losing access to the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for rational and creative decisions.
Any conflict leads to an increase in energy consumption of all its participants, distracting them from the usual tasks, requiring constant switching of parties to confront each other. And this – leads to the fact that the physical and mental productivity of the employee is significantly reduced. And the higher the complexity of the work performed, the more significant the impact of the conflict on productivity.
Non-standard solutions require freedom of thought, search for opportunities and vision. So where to get all this, when much of the attention is focused on the conflict ?! The thinking of the participant involved in the conflict is occupied with the construction and calculation of the development of confrontation, the search for opportunities for defense and attack, rather than constructive ideas for the benefit of the organization.
In a normal working atmosphere there is a constructive interaction of employees: helping each other, mutual help and support. All this – has a positive effect on the performance of each employee in any team. While discord and confrontation destroy the working microclimate and deprive workers of the opportunity to interact productively with each other. Conflict situations with colleagues, with management, conflicts caused by the lack of opportunity to implement their knowledge and skills, lack of recognition of their own merits, demotivate the employee, reducing the level of their motivation and job satisfaction.
We should not forget about the impact of conflict situations directly on the physical health of employees. In the process of conflict there is a mobilization of mental and physical activity. In a long-term conflict situation, the resources of the human body are significantly depleted, which can lead to stress. Increased consumption of internal resources affects performance, activity, leads to the emergence and exacerbation of psychosomatic disorders and diseases, which often ends with the physical withdrawal of the employee from the work process.
When assessing the impact of conflicts on the performance of employee duties, the manager must first realize the importance of developing conflict management skills in the team! To do this, the leader must know and be able to identify the conflict in time, determine its cause, influence its development, reduce the risks of dysfunctional consequences, to carry out the necessary work to prevent confrontation in the future.
A modern manager must have a basic understanding of the psychology of human relations, have empathy, developed emotional intelligence, effective communication skills, understanding of the mechanisms of occurrence and development of conflicts, as well as ways to resolve them. A huge role is also played by the attitude of the leader to the conflict not as a negative phenomenon, but as a constructive opportunity, the impact of which on work processes and relationships within the team should not be underestimated. The manager should make it clear to their employees that they are serious about mental health problems. It is even better if the manager clearly tells the staff about their support and the possibility of providing therapeutic assistance in cases where it is necessary.
