Survey of Conflict in the Workplace

Craig Runde, Director of the Conflict Dynamics Profile® (CDP)
Leadership Development Institute at Eckerd College

A recent survey by the Leadership Development Institute (LDI) at Eckerd College has found that managers spend a substantial amount of time dealing with conflict. As shown in figure 1, over two-thirds of managers spend more than ten percent of their time handling workplace conflict and forty-four percent of managers spend more than twenty percent of their time on conflict-related issues. This confirmed a recent study done by the Center for Creative Leadership® which discovered that a majority of managers reported moderate levels of conflict on the job. It also suggests that finding effective means for resolving conflict effectively might lessen the amount of time required for managers to deal with workplace conflict.

Figure 1:
Time Spent Dealing with Workplace Conflict

The LDI study also looked at specific conflict behaviors measured by the Conflict Dynamics Profile® (CDP), a 360-degree conflict instrument developed by LDI. One question dealt with situations and behaviors that trigger conflict in individuals. These triggers are also known as conflict “hot buttons”. As figure 2 shows, by far the most frequently mentioned hot button behavior was untrustworthiness. This result is supported by statistical research done on the CDP, which has found that people find untrustworthy behavior to be the most problematic hot button.

Figure 2:

Behaviors that Most Trigger Conflict

Two other questions on the survey looked at what types of constructive and destructive behaviors are seen as most important in helping resolve or further inflaming conflicts.

With respect to constructive behaviors, respondents found perspective taking--trying to understand the other person’s point of view--to be the most effective behavior in either helping resolve conflict. See figure 3.

Figure 3:

Most Effective Conflict Behaviors

Four destructive behaviors were also reviewed. Respondents were more divided in their responses on these, suggesting that all of the behaviors were seen as having the capacity to inflame conflict in the workplace. See figure 4.

Figure 4:

Behaviors that Most Inflame Conflict

 

A total of fifty-two people took the LDI survey. Sixty-two percent were women and thirty-eight percent were men. Sixty-one percent of those taking the online survey identified themselves as middle or first-level managers. The survey was conducted during February, 2003.

To learn more about dealing with conflict in the workplace, consider attending one of LDI's many programs dealing with workplace conflict.