A Recipe for Healthy Conflict

When the members of a work team start arguing about a task they’re assigned to complete, their anger or irritation are obviously piqued. But in many cases, those debates and disagreements may invigorate them and leave them happier with their jobs.

Researchers have long believed that task conflict — which occurs when group members disagree about the content of a task being performed — can be beneficial because team members share different opinions and perspectives.

But studies demonstrating that effect have been elusive.

A trio of behavioral researchers set out to test the effects of task conflict on emotions and job satisfaction. Gergana Todorova (University of Miami), Julia B. Bear (Stony Brook University), and Laurie R. Weingart (Carnegie Mellon University) found the outcomes vary depending on the intensity of the conflict.

The study distinguished mild task conflict—in which employees debate and express various opinions and ideas—from intense task conflict in which employees clash or fight about their differing ideas.

The scientists drew on research showing the entrenched, inflexible positions that characterize high intensity task conflicts and the integrative perspectives and reflections that emerge in mild task conflicts.

“Consider the example of two employees engaged in a task conflict over the name of a new product,” they write in the Journal of Applied Psychology.  “A mild expression of that conflict would include the colleagues sharing incongruent opinions, listening to the other’s perspective, and rebutting as needed. In contrast, an intense expression would involve more forcefully stated arguments for one’s position, less listening to the alternative perspectives, and each side repeating his or her own position several times.”

Todorova and her colleagues found that the information gained in a task conflict is a significant force behind the emotional outcomes.

They collected data from 232 employees at a health-care organization. Participants completed a survey that included questions designed to measure how task conflicts affect their emotions and their learning.  They also measured whether conflict occurred most frequently people with similar jobs (e.g. between two nurses) or diverse jobs (between a nurse and a housekeeper).

Two months later, the participants responded to another survey in which they rated their job satisfaction.

Results showed that people learn more information from others when they engage in mild task conflict expression (TCE) compared to intense TCE.  And because of the information they gain, they feel more energized, excited, and satisfied with their jobs.

In addition, information gained in conflicts yielded more positive emotions (and consequently more job contentment) when they involved people from dissimilar job functions, and when co-workers’ unit was generally characterized by more fact-gathering and other learning activities.

Taken together, the findings indicate that task conflict can be energizing in certain contexts.

“Conflict is often considered a ‘dirty word’ in organizations, but managers can help people to focus on the informational benefits and positive affective outcomes of mild task conflict,” the researchers state. “Furthermore, if managers can help employees acquire information from conflicts, positive active emotions and resultant job satisfaction can ensue.”