Utilising personality typology to resolve Subliminal conflict in the workplace

Abstract

The hypothesis of this research suggested that improved self-awareness can allow people in the workplace to recognise their own ‘‘blind spots’’ and choose to deal differently with others when faced with conflict. Expecting employees to have high levels of emotional intelligence when they have never been given the opportunity to learn these skills might be unrealistic. However, ignoring the behaviours which lead to dysfunctional conflict may come at a high cost for organisations. The researchers allude to the cost of industrial disputes in South Africa, which are amounting to unacceptable proportions for both private and government institutions. Organisations that adopt a consistent approach to conflict and even encourage positive task conflict will have more success in avoiding subliminal conflict. Human resource practitioners need to motivate resources for adopting processes such as learning interventions and coaching to encourage an enquiring attitude to mastering conflict. Many people have only experienced conflict in negative ways, either due to their childhood experiences, personal histories or other negative work experiences. These attitudes are not likely to surface during interviews and it is thus incumbent on the organisation to encourage a climate of learning the mastery of conflict skills.