Discuss the costs of conflict in the workplace

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: Conflict can include differences in opinion, disagreements about how to handle issues, complaints about performance or fairness, criticism about the behavior of others, and personality conflicts between people who just do not get along. Conflict is one of the most significant and costly problems in a workplace. A study by CPP, Inc., a company that specializes in conflict management, found that U.S. companies spend more than 2.8 hours per week addressing workplace conflict, which adds up to approximately $359 billion in paid hours per year. When companies do not effectively address conflict and work-place incivility, the negative emotions result in wasted time, loss of productivity, poor work performance, and decreased work effort, which are also costly to an organization. They may also lead to people leaving their jobs. In fact, a study of exit interviews from people who voluntarily left jobs found that more than 50 percent of all resignations resulted from unresolved interpersonal conflict. For every employee who leaves, a business needs to hire and train a new employee, which costs at least 1.5 times that employee's salary.