Reflection On Conflict In The Workplace

703 Words2 Pages

Conflict can occur anywhere and at any place, and recently there has been an ongoing conflict that has been manifesting at work, between a supervisor and an employee, and I am stuck in the middle of their conflict. For the past few months, a coworker has been moved from seat to seat, all over the call center. At first, the conflict was very difficult to see, however, between the supervisor and the employee, atmosphere of tension was felt when interaction was made. The employee, Ana Maria, began showing acts of defiance against her supervisor’s instructions, and additionally began spreading her discontent with fellow employees. As a result from her discontent being spread with to the other employees, work productivity began to fall, which caused …show more content…

The anger that was express was gathering strength and Edith did nothing to resolve the issue but simply brush the problem to the side, where she hoped that being away from the team will calm her discontent. On the contrary, this action caused Ana Maria’s fury to begin to boil over with burst of frustration, harsh language, and unprofessional etiquette on calls with clients. However, her frustration then began to affect my productivity because her negativity was intoxicating. I tried to speak with Ana Maria, and explain that she needs calm down and be professional because her negativity was beginning to spread. At that point, I also became part of the problem, she presumed that I was against her, and was also labeled as the enemy, which is the same view she has against Edith. Once I became Ana Maria’s enemy in her eyes, I effectively notified Edith, her supervisor, and informed her Ana Maria’s …show more content…

As a former supervisor, I would recommend that, Edith take control of the situation, and establish what issues exist between Ana Maria and herself. Establishing clear communication is crucial to avoid further breakdown. However, another option, if communication cannot be established, would be to bring in a neutral supervisor, his job will be to assist in gathering additional information to resolve the issues. One key factor is to establish a calm and friendly environment. This environment can actually assist the neutral with further fact finding, and actually allow Ana Maria to be able to communicate. However, both options have been attempted and no further resolution is achieved, the next option is to introduce higher management to assist in resolving issues between both

Open Document