Chapter 8
Conflict, Stress,
and Well-Being
PowerPoint Presentation by Charlie Cook
Copyright © 2005 South-Western. All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives
After reading and studying this chapter and doing the
exercises, you should be able to:
1. Understand the nature of conflict in organizations and what
its leading causes are.
2. Have the necessary information to resolve many workplace
conflicts, including dealing with difficult people.
3. Understand the nature, causes, and consequences of work
stress.
4. Explain what organizations can do to manage and reduce
stress.
5. Do a more effective job of managing your own stress.
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8–2
Conflict in Organizations
• Conflict defined
 The opposition of persons or forces that gives rise to
some tension.
 Occurs
when two or more parties perceive mutually
exclusive goals, values, or events.
 Among
individuals, conflict
also occurs when persons
face incompatible choices
and are emotionally
stressed as a result
of the conflict.
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8–3
Sources of Workplace Conflict
Perceived
Adverse Changes
Individual
Personality and
Disposition
Live versus Staff
Differentiation
Workplace
Conflict
Sexual
Harassment
Work and Family
Demands
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8–4
Sources and Antecedents of Conflict
• Perceived adverse changes
 Changes in working methods, conditions,
or employment opportunities that are
considered negative developments.
 Downsizing
 Laying
off of workers to reduce costs
and increase efficiency affects both
dismissed and surviving employees.
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8–5
Sources and Antecedents of Conflict
• Line versus Staff differentiation
 Line units and managers are concerned with
producing or selling the firm’s products or services.
 Staff units and managers serve in advisory roles and
are concerned with secondary purposes of the firm.
 Conflict between line and staff units arises when:
 Staff professionals attempt to influence line
decisions and enforce compliance with
organizational policies.
 Staff professionals appear have more loyalty to
their professions than to the organization.
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8–6
Sources and Antecedents of Conflict
• Sexual harassment
 Unwanted sexually oriented behavior at work that
results in discomfort and/or interference with the job.
 Types of sexual harassment:
 Quid
pro Quo
– Offering an explicit or implied employment-related benefit
conditioned on an exchange for sexual favors.
 Hostile
working environment
– Creating an employment environment that is perceived by
the harassed party as intimidating, hostile, or offensive.
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8–7
Significant Sexual Harassment Cases
• Oncale vs. Sundowner Offshore Services Inc.
 Sexual harassment is “conduct” not “cause” (i.e.,sexual desire)
and is actionable even in same sex cases.
• Burlington Industries vs. Ellerth
 Sexual harassment threats do not have to be carried out to be
actionable.
 An affirmative defense limits employer liability if it takes action to
prohibit or remedy sexual harassment and the harassed
employee did not pursue employer corrective opportunities.
• Faragher vs. City of Boca Raton, Florida
 Employer is liable for a pervasive, hostile environment whether
or not it was aware of the environment.
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8–8
Negative Effects of Sexual Harassment
• Increased job stress
• Lowered morale
• Increased and severe conflict
• Lowered productivity
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8–9
Guidelines for Minimizing Sexual Harassment and
Protecting the Firm Against Harassment Charges
• Develop a zero-tolerance policy on harassment and
communicate it to employees.
• Deflect a sexual harassment charge with an affirmative
defense.
• Publicize anti-harassment policies as aggressively and
regularly as possible.
• Ensure that employees will not face reprisals if they report
offending behavior.
• Conduct training for employees and managers on sexual
harassment policies and practices.
• Punish employees guilty of harassment.
Source: Adapted from Susan B. Garland, “Finally, A Corporate Tip Sheet on Sexual Harassment,” Business Week, July 13, 1998;
Jennifer Laabs, “Steps to Protect Your Company Against Sexual Harassment,” Workforce, October 1998, p. 41.
Copyright © 2005 South-Western. All rights reserved.
EXHIBIT 8-2
8–10
Competing Work and Family Demands
• Work-family conflict
 Occurs when an individual has to perform multiple
roles: worker, spouse, and parent.
 There is a negative relationship between all forms
of work-family conflict and both job and life
satisfaction.
 Organizational programs that
reduce work-family conflict:
–
–
–
–
Flexible working hours
Work-at-home programs
Dependent care programs
Parental leave programs
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8–11
Personal Dispositions, Personality
Clashes, and Workplace Bullies
• Disposition
 A characteristic attitude, similar to a personality trait.
• Personality clash
 An antagonistic relationship between two people
based on differences in personal attributes,
preferences, interests, values, and styles.
• Bullying behavior
 One who tries to control his or her victim through fear
and intimidation.
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8–12
Functional and Dysfunctional
Consequences of Conflict
• Functional conflict:
 Occurs when the
organization’s interests are
served as a result of a
dispute or disagreement.
 Fosters higher levels
of performance.
 Leads to crossfunctional problem
solving and
constructive change.
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• Dysfunctional conflict:
 Occurs when a dispute
or disagreement harms
the organization.
 Is disruptive in
many ways.
 Wastes time and
resources.
 Leads to anger
and workplace
violence by
employees.
8–13
The Relationship between Conflict Intensity
and Performance
Source: Kenneth W. Thomas, “Organizational Conflict,” in Steven Kerr (ed.),
Organizational Behavior (Columbus, Ohio: Grid Publishing, 1979), p. 156.
Copyright © 2005 South-Western. All rights reserved.
EXHIBIT 8-3
8–14
Stimulating the Right Type of Conflict
within Teams
• C-type (Cognitive) conflict
 Focuses on substantive, issued-related (concrete) issues and
differences that can be dealt with more intellectually than
emotionally.
• A-type (Affective) conflict
 Focuses on subjective, individually
oriented issues that are dealt with
more emotionally than intellectually.
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8–15
C-type (Cognitive) Conflict and Teams
• Benefits of C-type conflict:
 Conflict is functional in requiring teams to engage in
activities that foster team effectiveness:
 Activities
focused on core issues of the problem
 Creativity
and innovative thinking that create
stretch goals
 Open
communications where all can speak freely
without fear of retribution
 Integrative
use of all team members, instead of one
or two carrying the load for all.
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8–16
Conflict Management
• Conflict management styles
 Combinations of satisfying one’s
own desires (assertiveness) and
satisfying the desires of others
(cooperativeness).
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8–17
Conflict Management Styles
Sharing
Accomodative
Competitive
Collaborative
Conflict
Management
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Avoidant
8–18
Conflict-Handling
Styles According
to Degree of
Cooperation and
Assertiveness
Source: Kenneth W. Thomas, “Organizational
Conflict,” in Steven Kerr (ed.), Organizational Behavior
(Columbus, Ohio: Grid Publishing, 1979), p. 156.
Copyright © 2005 South-Western. All rights reserved.
EXHIBIT 8-4
8–19
Conflict Resolution Methods
• Confrontation and problem solving
 A method of identifying the true source of the conflict
and resolving it systematically emphasizing a tactful
and non-combative approach to maintaining a
harmonious relationship with the other party.
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8–20
Confrontation and Problem Solving
D. H. Stamatis’ six steps:
• Step 1: Awareness—recognizing that conflict exists.
• Step 2: The decision to confront—conflicting parties come into
open contact, no longer avoiding conflict.
• Step 3: The confrontation—parties choose conflict
management styles and work toward resolution.
• Step 4: Determining the cause of the conflict—parties jointly
identify the source of the conflict.
• Step 5: Determining the outcome and further steps—parties
attempt to develop a means to reduce or eliminate the cause of
the conflict.
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8–21
Confront, Contain, and Connect for
Anger
• Confront
 Jump in and get agitated
workers talking to prevent
future blowups.
• Contain
 Move the angry worker out
of sight and earshot of
fellow workers.
Remain impartial in the
situation.
• Connect
 Ask open-ended questions
to get at the real reasons for
the angry outburst.
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8–22
Dealing with Difficult People
• Use tact and diplomacy in
dealing with annoying behavior.
• Use nonhostile humor.
• Give recognition and attention.
• Help the difficult person feel
more confident.
• Reinforce civil behavior and
good moods.
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8–23
Structural Methods
• The organizational structure of a firm can create
conflict among and between employees.
 Structural methods emphasize juggling work
assignments and reporting relationships to minimize
disputes by:
 Exchanging
members of an organizational unit for
another unit’s members.
 Resolving
the conflict through an appeal to a
higher authority
 Maintaining
an “open door” policy.
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8–24
Work Stress
• Stress is the mental and physical condition that
results from a perceived threat that cannot be
dealt with readily.
 Stress has productivity, legal, and human
consequences.
 Stress can result from both
negative and positive situations.
 Stress creates psychological,
physical, and behavioral
health problems.
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8–25
A Cybernetic Theory of Stress, Coping,
and Well-Being in Organizations
• Stress is a discrepancy between an employee’s
perceived state of being and desired state.
 For stress to occur, the discrepancy must be
important to the employee.
 The worker attempts to deal with the discrepancy by
coping through altering the perceptions, desires, and
importance surrounding the discrepancy.
 To manage stress properly, a person must narrow the
discrepancies between actual conditions and a
desired state.
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8–26
Symptoms and Consequences of Work
Stress
• Stressor
 Any force creating a physiological,
emotional, and/or behavioral
stress reaction.
• Strain
 The adverse impact that
the stress reaction has on
employee health and wellbeing that coping with the
stressor brings about.
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8–27
Symptoms of Stress
• Emotional
 Anxiety and tension
 Depression and
discouragement
 Boredom
 Prolonged fatigue
 Feelings of hopelessness
 Defensive thinking
• Behavioral
 Nervous habits
 Decreased job performance
 Errors in concentration and
judgment
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• Physiological





Increased heart rate
Elevated blood pressure
Faster respiration rate
Dilated pupils
Increased perspiration
• Risk factors
 Heart attacks and strokes
 Hypertension and
headaches
 Ulcers
 Colitis
 Allergies
8–28
Burnout
• A pattern of emotional, physical, and mental
exhaustion in response to chronic job stressors.
 Symptoms—cynicism, apathy, and indifference.
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8–29
Top 25 Stressors as Measured by Life-Change Units
The numbers to the right of each life event represent
the scale value in life-change units.
1. Death of a spouse (100)
2. Divorce (73)
3. Marital separation (65)
4. Jail term/imprisonment (63)
5. Death of a family member (63)
6. Major personal injury or illness (53)
7. Marriage (50)
8. Fired from the job (47)
9. Marital reconciliation (45)
10. Retirement (45)
11. Major change in the health
of family member (44)
12. Pregnancy (40)
Source: These stressors have changed over time. This version is from
Thomas H. Holmes and Richard H. Rahe, “The Social Adjustment Rating
Scale,” Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 15, 1971, pp. 210–223; with
an interview updating it from Sue MacDonald, “Battling Stress,” The
Cincinnati Enquirer, October 23, 1995, p. C4.
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13. Sexual difficulties (39)
14. Change in financial state (38)
15. Change in number of arguments with
spouse (35)
16. Mortgage or loan for major purpose (31)
17. Foreclosure of mortgage or loan (30)
18. Change in responsibilities at work (29)
19. Son or daughter leaving home (29)
20. Trouble with in-laws (29)
21. Outstanding personal achievement (28)
22. Spouse begins or stops work (26)
23. Begin or end school (26)
24. Change in living conditions (20)
25. Revision of personal habits (15)
EXHIBIT 8-6
8–30
Burnout
• Sources of burnout are mismatches between the
person and:
 Working an overload (longer hours and less free
time).
 Lacking of control over one’s work.
 Lacking of reward for one’s contributions.
 Lacking or a breakdown in the person’s work
community
 Lacking fair treatment.
 Value conflicts between job demands and personal
ethics.
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8–31
Factors Contributing to Work Stress
• Within the individual
 Coping with significant change.
 Being hostile, aggressive, and impatient
(Type A individuals).
 Having an external locus of control.
 Negative lifestyle factors
 Lack of exercise, poor eating habits,
smoking, abusing alcohol and drugs.
 Being pessimistic in general.
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8–32
Factors Contributing to Work Stress
• Adverse organizational conditions
 Stress from high job demands and lack of control over job.
 Role overload (too much to do)
 Role underload (too little to do)
 Role conflicts

Intrasender and intersender

Interrole and person-role
 Role ambiguity
 Emotional labor
 Repetitive strain injuries (RSI)
 Culturally diverse work force
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8–33
The Job Demands–Job Control Model
EXHIBIT 8-7
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8–34
Organizational Approaches to Stress
Management
 Providing emotional support to employees.
 Making wellness and fitness programs
available to employees.
 Giving on-site massages
to employees
 Allowing napping
on the job.
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8–35
Providing Emotional Support to
Employees
Emotion support from immediate supervisors can
help employees cope with job stress. Supportive
behaviors include:
1. Keeping communication channels open.
2. Providing the right kind of help.
3. Acting as a catalyst for change.
4. Holding back on disseminating stressful
information.
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8–36
Individual Approaches to Stress
Management
• Control
 Get the right emotional support.
 Practice good work habits and time management.
• Symptom management
 Get physical exercise to release endorphins.
 Use a relaxation response technique.
• Escape
 Eliminate the stressor.
 Mentally block out the stressor.
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8–37