People spend a large part of their day at work , and it is logical that, after so many hours, conflicts can arise.

Conflicts are normal, but detecting them and resolving them is key to keeping the work environment from becoming a living hell, because when we are bad at work our performance, our motivation or our sense of belonging to the organization are affected.

Conflicts at work: what are the most common?

But, what are the most common conflicts in the work environment? what are the most frequent causes of these labour problems? We explain below.

1. Lack of teamwork

Teamwork is one of the competencies most valued by recruiters, because when an employee works in a team, his or her creativity and learning improves, his or her stress level is reduced and performance and productivity increase . However, in cases where workers decide to go their own way and teamwork does not manifest itself in the company, conflicts may arise.

On the other hand, a very individualistic mindset can lead to mistrust of others, and in such situations it is easy to misinterpret certain behaviors and attribute them to a desire to stand out from one’s co-workers.

  • To know more, you can read our article: “The 5 benefits of teamwork”

2. The lack of communication

Lack of communication is another cause that can lead to serious conflicts at work , because when an employee or superior fails to communicate (or send the necessary messages) to other workers problems can arise. Miscommunication can present itself as misinformation or misinformation. In the first case, the information does not arrive; in the second case, the information arrives badly.

In the end, the frictions that can arise from a lack of communication can give way to situations of ambiguity that lead to failures and, on those occasions, the inability to know who has made a mistake causes conflicts to break out.

3. Toxic partners

Sometimes labor conflicts can arise without any intention, however, other times, toxic people create a bad environment wherever they go, especially at work. Toxic co-workers identify themselves because where they step they end up with everyone and create conflict where there is none. They like to meddle where they are not called, they want to be the center of attention and they are often the typical people known as false and critical.

4. Toxic bosses

It may be that it is not the colleagues who intoxicate the work environment, but the bosses, either because of their bad management or their personality, make your life impossible . In these cases, you may be at a disadvantage when it comes to resolving the conflict.

In short, toxic bosses are often: arrogant and bad communicators, autocratic, inflexible, controlling and discriminating.

  • You want to know more about the toxic bosses? Then click here.

5. Competitiveness

It is common for many companies to pay their employees based on their achievements. And while some companies distribute commissions to team members, others reward employees individually: based on sales or targets set, one person receives the commission. This type of incentive can cause friction between workers , since the competitiveness that is created brings about conflicts between workers.

6. Love relationships

Coworkers may suffer some romance, which doesn’t have to be negative. However, n some situations, love relationships at work can lead to conflicts . Love relationships can arise in the work environment as in any other place, but, in order to avoid conflicts, it is necessary that they do not interfere with the work.

7. Partners who do not work well

And of course, when a partner does not perform as he should, conflicts can arise . When someone doesn’t do his job well he will end up interfering with yours, and possibly, make you have to do his and work harder. Companies and organizations are dynamic systems, and a delay in the deadline for delivering a project can cause the entire general functioning of this “living organism” to suffer.No one likes to work twice as hard.

8. Prejudice (machismo/racism)

Prejudice is a source of conflict in different spheres of life, and also at work. Colleagues who do not tolerate people from other parts of the world or with a different skin colour, bosses who treat their employees in a macho way, etc. These are cases that can appear in the field of work.

9. Personality clashes

Sometimes personalities just don’t fit together and the spark jumps at the first sign of change . In personal relationships, conflicts exist day in and day out. When a conflict of this kind arises, it is best to solve the problem as soon as possible.

However, it should be borne in mind that clashes between different personalities are not usually the most frequent reasons for conflicts within a company. On the contrary, many problems that are actually of an organizational and collective nature are wrongly attributed to the individual characteristics of certain people, as this is “the easy option” when looking for an explanation for what is happening (not for nothing it is based on an essentialist view of the workers).

10. Mobbing

Mobbing”, also known as psychological harassment at work, occurs at work when an individual or several individuals systematically and repeatedly exercise psychological violence on another individual or individuals. Mobbing can be between employees, from employees to the superior, from the superior to the employees or from the organization to one of its workers. Mobbing not only affects work performance and causes serious conflicts, but can also cause serious psychological problems in the person who suffers it . This is a problem that must be tackled at the root once it is detected.

11. Changes in the company

Changes in the company can generate conflicts of different types . For example, staff cuts may lead to employees feeling uncomfortable and unmotivated; or changes at the top management level may lead to new policies that are not viewed well by employees, especially older ones. In the end, these disruptions can cause the progress that has been made so far to be stalled until there is a new situation of readjustment.

12. Exploitation

Exploitation by employers can also lead to conflicts with workers , for example, if the worker does not feel that he or she is being paid fairly or perceives that he or she is working too much (more hours than he or she should) it can lead to bad outcomes for the company and for other workers.

13. Resource conflicts

Overworking can be forced as in the previous case . But it can also happen that the lack of resources of the company (fewer workers than it should have, bad management of the personnel, etc.) causes the workers to come into conflict with the company or to feel stressed and burned out.

14. Conflict over values

It may be that we are very clear about the values of the company and that we like our work very much, so we will perform at an optimal level. But it may be that some of our colleagues do not feel the same way as we do in this respect . This may result in the latter’s performance being low and unmotivated. This can create a bad atmosphere among peers.

15. Unclear guidelines

It has already been mentioned in a previous point that communication is essential for the good performance of professional work. One type of communication that should be taken into account and treated carefully is unclear guidelines.

The lack of communication in the business regulations or in the objectives expected from an employee, can cause what is known as role conflict , in other words, not having a correct idea of what should be done or what is expected from a worker . Role conflict creates conflicts between workers and is one of the most common causes of work-related stress or burnout.