Conflict & Stress

Tehzeeb Sakina Amir

BS session
1
 Conflict
 A process where one party perceives that
another party has negatively affected (or about
to affect) something that the first party cares for.
 Interaction ‘crosses over’ to become a
interrelation conflict
 Conflict such as: disagreement, incompatibility,
differences etc.

2
 Conflict – healthy….?
 Views on conflict:
 Traditional view – it is harmful and must be avoided
 Violence, destruction etc
 Dysfunctional outcome
 Focus on causes of conflict

 Humanistic view – it is natural & inevitable outcome

of human interaction
 Acceptance of conflict
 Beneficial for humans

3
 Conflict – healthy….?
 Views on conflict:
 Interactionist view – it positively effects group
working
 Acceptance & encourage certain level of conflict
 Group leaders role

 It promotes creative, critical & viable approaches

 Neutral (depends on type & leader)

4
 Good or bad……
 Functional  Dysfunctional
 Constructive  Destructive
 Support goals &  Hinders performance
performance  Blocks goal
 Encourages creativity attainment
 Leads to better  Closes up innovative
solutions/strategies thinking

5
 Types of Conflict

Task Relationship Process

 Functional for  Dysfunctional  Productive

better  Personality (Functional)
performance clashes  Dysfunctional
 Controlled &  Interests, when role
minimum level motives, etc clarity is low,
 Decreases strict deadlines,
understanding / etc
empathy
6
 The conflict process - 5 stages
1. Potential opposition or incompatibility
2. Cognition & personalization
3. Intentions
4. Behavior
5. Outcomes

7
 The conflict process - 5 stages
 Potential opposition or incompatibility
 Communication
 Most common starting point of conflict
 Different jargons, connotations etc
 Too much or too little communication
 Structure
 Role conflict – structural
 Greater ambiguity in structure breeds conflicts
 Personal variable
 ‘that’ annoying individual
 Different value system

8
 The conflict process - 5 stages
 Cognition & personalization
 Perceived conflict
 Awareness by one or more parties of conflict-promoting
conditions existence
 Felt conflict
 Emotional involvement (frustration, anger)

9
 The conflict process
 Intentions
 Competing
 Desire to satisfy one’s interest regardless of the impact on the other
party
 Collaborating
 Desire to satisfy concerns of all parties
 Avoiding
 Desire to withdraw from a conflict
 Accommodating
 Willingness to place opponents’ interest above one’s
 Compromising
 Each party is willing to give up something
10
 Intentions
Competing

Collaborating
Assertiveness Compromising

Avoiding

Accommodating

Cooperativeness
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 The conflict process
 Behavior– stage where conflict becomes visible, Overt actions
to implement intentions
Annihilatory
Destroy
conflict
Aggressive physical attacks

Threats

Assertive verbal attacks

Questioning or challenging

Minor disagreements

No conflict
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 The conflict process
 Behavior
 Conflict management techniques
Conflict Resolution Conflict stimulation
Problem solving
Superordinate goals Communication
Expansion of resources
Avoidance Bringing in outsiders
Smoothing
Compromise Restructuring organization
Authoritative command
Altering human variable Appointing a devil’s advocate
Altering structural variable 13
 The conflict process
 Outcomes
 Functional
 Dysfunctional
 Creating functional

14
Stress Management &
Employee well being
 Stress

A normal physical response to events

that makes you feel threatened
or upset!

A state of affair involving demand

on body’s physical or mental energy
 Stress
Constraint / hurdle Opportunity
Overworked
Positive anxiety
Change

Time pressed Stress

Challenging
Demand
Performance
Overload enhancer
Multi-tasking
 The kinds of Stress
EUSTRESS – “Good Stress”
 anything that makes you feel motivated, exhilarated, or inspired

Acute Stress

 short, occasional episodes of stress

 even if not discharged not likely to damage the body

 very intense but doesn’t last too long (20-30 minutes)

 “Bad Stress” - Distress

Chronic Stress
 Unrelenting stress; a long-term stress resulting from
those nagging problems that just do not seem to go
away

 Events that are not so intense, but seem to last

forever (e.g., days, weeks, months or years)
 Stress – drives you
 Helps to keep you focused, alert & energetic
 Provides extra strength to fight or flight
 Facilitates you to meet challenges
 Sharpens & drives your concentration
 But beyond a certain
level point stress stops
being helpful and start
causing damages
 Some common stressors

Add-ons
Etc etc etc……..
Add-ons

A mountain of bills!
Additives
Traffic jam!

An argument!

A busy schedule!
 How much is too much….
Differs from person to person….

Stress tolerance level depends upon

Your Your sense Your

support of control attitude &
network outlook

Your Your Your

EI knowledge preparation
JOB STRESS
 What is Job Stress?
 Job stress can be defined as the harmful physical
and emotional responses that occur when the
requirements of the job do not match the
capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker.

 Job stress can lead to poor health and even injury.

Reference: www.cdc.gov/niosh
Stress and Work relationship
 Work-related Stress
 25% of employees perceive their jobs as
the #1 stressor in their lives

 75% of employees believe workers now

have more on-the-job stresses and
demands than they did a generation ago

www.cdc.gov/niosh/stresswk.ht
ml
 Causes of Job Stress
 Worker/individual characteristics
- Personalities/Interpersonal relationships
- Coping Styles
- Communication
 Causes of Job Stress
 Working conditions
- Work organization and expectations
- Little or no control over job
- Mismanagement
- Physical environment
- Economic conditions
- Discrimination
 Early Signs and Symptoms
of Workplace Stress
 Headaches
 Sleep disturbances
 Difficulty in concentrating
 Feeling anxious, irritable, or depressed
 Fatigue
 Stomach problems
 Muscle tension
 Job dissatisfaction
 Low morale
 Social withdrawal
Organizational Stress Management
• Increase individuals’ autonomy and control
• Ensure that individuals are compensated properly
• Maintain job demands/requirements at healthy levels
• Ensure that associates have adequate skills to keep up-to-
date with technical changes in the workplace
• Increase associate involvement in important decision making
• Improve physical working conditions
• Provide for job security and career development
• Provide healthy work schedules
• Improve communication to help avoid uncertainty and
ambiguity
 Managing Job Stress
 Take responsibility for improving your physical and
emotional well-being.
 Avoid pitfalls by identifying knee-jerk habits/reactions
and negative attitudes that add to the stress you
experience at work
 Learn better communication skills to ease and
improve your relationships with management and
coworkers.
 Ways to Manage Job Stress
 Positive attitude
 Take care of yourself!
 Rethink your thinking
 Plan and prioritize your
(cognitive restructuring)
day
 Emphasize
 Limit distractions
 Let perfectionism go
 Don’t over-commit
when you can
yourself
 Try not to personalize
 Make friends at work
criticism, but rather use it
 Ask for help as an opportunity for
growth