Stress causes conflict, and conflict causes stress.

Many people attempt to reduce their job-induced stress without resolving the workplace conflict that causes it. Consider taking a proactive, rather than reactive, approach. Learn simple, practical communication tools that enable you to manage conflict, rather than let conflict manage you. Benefits include reduced emotional and physiological stress, and the physical illnesses that often result from chronic stress.

The Track 2 option is recommended for managers and other employees who wish to resolve, manage, and prevent costly* stress-related conflict. The Track 3 option is recommended for human resource personnel, employee assistance professionals, and other support staff.

Follow links in the "Conference Info" panel to the left for program details. Print this one-page flyer

* Click for complimentary access to the Dana Measure of Financial Cost of Organizational Conflict, an on-line calculator producing immediate results. Also compute the financial return-on-investment in conflict management training.

Edited by Kristin Evans. See other bibliographies.
Contributors: Glenn Ford, Phonsavanne Sithiphon, Cavit Kahya, Ed Beaupre, Jennifer Lostowski, Gil Pizano

Copyright restriction: The contents of this bibliography may not be placed on other websites, but links from other websites may be directed to this page. Hardcopies of this page may be printed for academic purposes.

• Abraham, R ., (2000). The role of job control as a moderator of emotional dissonance and emotional intelligence-outcome relationships. Journal of psychology [J Psychol], Vol. 134, (2), pp. 169-84.

This article evaluates the role of conflict on a job and its effects on the emotional intelligence of the employee's. It looks at the amount of emotional dissonance that takes place do to conflict, and how that affects job performance and overall job satisfaction. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed throughout the article.

• Antonioni, David. (1995, Sept-Oct). Practicing conflict management can reduce organizational stress. Industrial Management.

Mediation techniques are important skills required for a manager to be able to handle workplace conflict. Role conflict, role ambiguity, work overload and time pressure are seen as four stressors believed to be associated with organization changes. According to the article, studies show that managers who used conflict management techniques experienced significantly less stress related to organization changes than managers who did not use them.

• Balas, M. (2004) Unresolved Tension Can Lower Workplace Productivity, Increase Turnover. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, p. 1.

This article discusses how tension in the workplace leads to decreased morale, decision making, quality of life at work and turnover. The author suggests that resolution is both the responsibility of the organization and the individual. Organizations should have a policy in place while the individual should deal with the problem directly.

• Bronson, T., Capt. USAF (2004) THESIS: Active Duty Military Deployments: A Respite from Job Stressors and Burnout for Air Force Acquisition Support Personnel . United States Department of The Air Force Air University. Air Force Institute of Technology.

Captain Bronson provides a thesis that highlights the effects of role-conflict on active duty personnel and the relationship of the effects of conflict with burnout. Captain Bronson suggests that after deployment the certain high-stress events caused higher levels of burnout and conflict that prior to deployment. Bronson discusses the implications of the findings in this paper.

• Chung, B. G., & Schneider, B. (2002). Serving multiple masters: role conflict experienced by service employees. Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 16, pp. 70-87.

In this article, author focuses on employees' role conflicts when it comes to a point where they need to make a decision while they're serving for both customers and their companies. The study is presenting framework for understanding possible outcomes of conflict that employees might face at work. It also puts evidences for where conflict might arise when employees think what customers expect from them vs. how management rewards employees.

• Conflict 911 (2001). Detaching from negative emotions. Retrieved from the web September 25, 2004, http://conflict911.com/cgi-bin/links/jump.cgi?ID=5103.

Learn how to detach anger and other negative emotions. The anger you display at that time might not be reflective to the current situation but perhaps something in the past that has finally surfaced now. As we grow and mature, we learn how to deal with it and in this article, there are ten stages involved with detaching anger and negative emotions within yourself.

• Conflict 911 (2001). Millions are driven to attack their computers. Retrieved from the web September 25, 2004, http://conflict911.com/cgi-bin/links/jump.cgi?ID=5107.

One in four Britons admit in pounding their computers. Experts say people feel they are at the mercy of their computer whether the machine is breaking down or if the mailbox is cluttered by junk mail. Stress in the workplace decreases ones ability to keep things under control. Study shows that computer abuse may increase.

• Corbitt Clark, Mary (2005). The Cost of Job Stress.

The article defines job stress 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." The author adds that the overwhelming effect of stress on workers can be devastating. Not only is high stress unhealthy, as documented in the article, but it costs employers billions of dollars each year in areas such as burnout, turnover, lack of production and absenteeism. The author points out that many companies are aware of the effects of stress, and are taking steps to prevent this occurrence. The first step, as she points out, is for the organization to meet with and talk to their people, in an effort to determine the areas of greatest concern. After this is done, companies must follow up frequently to see that any interventions implemented are being carried out.

• DelBel, J. C. (2003). De-escalating workplace aggression. Nursing Management , Vol. 34, (9), p. 30.

The article discusses the workplace aggression in health care industry, in which nurses are exposed to different kinds of aggression, both verbal and physical. The article gives statistics about the negative effects of workplace aggression over the health care staff. It is concluded that the management needs to take preventive measures through legal policies and strict training. The article recommends different methods on how to deal with workplace aggression such as stress management sessions and patient family/staff meetings.

• Dew, John R. (1998). Go with the flow: Stress and the quality professional. Quality Progress, 31, 65-68.

In this article the author presents some common causes of stress in the workplace and provides some recommended coping tools. Too much stress can be damaging to the individual and employer when it impacts a person's work and relationships with coworkers and supervisors. It is therefore important that the individual learn how to manage stress effectively.

• Euwema, M., Kop N., & Bakker, A. (2004). The Behavior of Police Officers in Conflict Situations: How Burnout and Reduced Dominance Contribute to Better Outcomes. Retrieved from the Web July 18, 2005. Department of Social and Organizational Psychology Utrecht University Heidelberglaan 1 PO Box 80140 3508 TC Utrecht The Netherlands and Dutch Police Academy PO Box 1201 Apeldoorn The Netherlands. Taylor & Francis Volume 18, No. 1 / January –March 2004. The Taylor and Francis Group.

This article suggests that studies, of 358 Dutch police officers who were surveyed and observed over a 122-day period, show a link between police officer burnout and a decline in their aggressive behavior. Because dominance is an indicator considered vital to the role in this profession, it is paradoxically shown that where burnout is evident, there are more effective outcomes in situations where conflict occurs.

• Hughes, D . (1994). Work experiences and marital interactions: elaborating the complexity of work. Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 15, p. 423.

This article looks at the how conflict at home can affect working conditions of everyday life on the job and visa versa. It basically goes through and says that conflict at home or work combined with stress will cause a specific reaction within a person, and that reaction will be carried over with the person and dramatically affect their level of conflict and stress in the other environment.

• Jones, D. (2001) Great Expectations for Healthier Workplaces. Retrieved from the Web July 18, 2005 . http://www.nqi.ca/articles/article_details.aspx?ID=67 National Quality Institute, Excellence Articles.

Deborah Jones, President of Well-Advised Consulting Incorporated, a company that provides consulting expertise on strategic planning for organizational health, provides quantitative rationale supporting why a firm would embrace a healthy workplace. She clearly shows that there are costs associated with workplace conflict and burnout and relates these negative effects with eye-opening statistics that confirm leadership should be concerned with stress management in the workplace.

• Joyce, A. (2004, May 16) Give Peace a Chance; Face up to office conflict before it has time to fester; (Final Edition) The Washington Post, p. F.06

The article discusses ways conflict can be avoided in the workplace by one worker making a simple adjustment. Joyce demonstrates the value of conversation in the conflict resolution process by pointing to specific examples. She also shows through McCrea's encounters that many people will suffer through conflicts because they are fearful of conflict situations. McCrea believes that dealing with conflict immediately can solve many of the problems in the workplace, making for a more productive workplace.

• McClure, L. (2000). Anger and conflict in the workplace. VA: Impact Publications

This book talks to managers about how to identify problems. It provides ways to help in determining if someone is having a bad day or if there is a greater concern to be worried about. It also talks about how to create an environment that is less stressful. It provides insight on how to identify crisis situations, conflict and emotions of anger before spiraling into violence.

• MSN Careers (2004). Fight On-The-Job Stress. Retrieved from the web September 25, 2004, Website.

More than half of the population of the working force report working under stress. Stress can cause harm and damage to your health and performance. Author of Office Spa, Darrin Zeer shares some of his secret on what items to have at your desk to relieve the pressure and stress at work.

• MSN Careers (2004). Psychologists have an Antidote for Toxic Coworkers. Retrieved from the web September 25, 2004. Website.

Neil J. Lavender, forensic psychologist, author of “Toxic Co-Workers: How to Deal with Dysfunctional People on the Job” talks about how to deal with co-workers that causes you stress on the workplace. From his survey, about 87 percent of 1,200 people had worked with a lethal co-worker at one point in their career.

• Nierman, L. (1994, March). Managing conflicts without conflict. Food Processing.

Conflict in the workplace often arises because people wish to do their job well. Understanding the nature of conflict is a key for an employee to discover and place into motion ways for conflict resolution to occur. According to the author, the focus of a conflict should be on finding the best solution rather than on people and winning.

• Occupational Hazards (2004). The Mind-Body Connection: Workplace Conflict, Stress & the Risk of Injury. Retrieved from the web September 4, 2004. http://www.occupationalhazards.com/safety_zones/48/article.php?id=12168.

Article presents the impact of workplace conflict on the physical and mental health of employees. It describes ways to handle these types of issues in today's workplace and recommendations for building long-lasting systems and approaches to improve the welfare of the company and its people.

• Phillips, D., Cooke, J., & Anderson, A. (1992). A surefire resolution to workplace conflicts. Personnel Journal, Vol. 71, pp. 111-115.

This article is valuable as it discusses a new technique to conflict management, which was developed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The method which required a mediator for each affected partner is referred to as the dual advocacy mediation. The goal of this type of mediation is to ensure a speedy and effective resolution to a conflict.

• Noble, C. (2001). Resolving Co-Worker Disputes Through “Coaching Conflict Management.” Canadian HR Reporter, Vol. 14, (16), pp. 18-20.

Conflict is a part of daily life, an inevitable consequence of interacting with other people. People encounter situations on a regular basis that affect how one works and relates with other people. Coping mechanisms vary, and some employees, as Noble explains, will manage conflict better than others. While not all people are well equipped to do so effectively, everybody has the capacity to improve this skill of managing conflict. Workplaces that understand and accept this premise are in a position to provide tolls that effectively influence the organization's bottom line by reducing conflict and stress.

• Scwartz, A. (2005). Summary: The YWL Discussion (March 2005) How Do Young Women Sustain Themselves? Retrieved from the Web July 18, 2005. Website. Association for Women's Rights in Development.

Burnout affects the relationships that young women have when advocating woman's rights. This article suggests that there are organizational issues that lead to poorly defined roles and responsibilities that lead to burnout. The article suggests that burnout negatively affects the employee-supervisor relationship and creates unneeded conflict. Further, the author suggests that the supervisor be open for discussions with the employee and show empathy while attempting to assist the employee to relive burnout. Additionally, this article suggests that group dynamics can lead to conflict when team members have reached burnout.

• Selinger, Carl. (2005) From War to Peace. Retrieved from the Web July 26, 2005. http://www.spectrum.ieee.org

This article discusses how to manage work place conflicts or arguments in a constructive manner. The key to success, according to the author, is to deal with the situation directly and quickly without letting it fester. Get it out in the open and deal with it so you can get on to more important things says the author, there in no sense in burying or delaying the problem.

• Thornton, J. (2005). Worked Over? Retrieved from the Web July 18, 2005.Website. Rodale Inc. Men's Health.

Job burnout can cause stress that can lead to conflict. Michael P. Leiter, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Acadia University in Nova Scotia , and Christina Maslach, Ph.D., a psychologist and the pioneering creator of the Maslach Burnout Inventory suggests a model that identifies six key areas that can break an employee's spirit. Understanding these six areas can help a person understand how to cope and negate burnout's negative consequences.

• Wood, J. A., (2003). Interrelationships of role conflict, role ambiguity, and work-family conflict with different facets of job satisfaction and the moderating effects of gender. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management (Volume 23, pp. 99-113).

This article analyzes three factors of role stress (role conflict, role ambiguity and work-family conflict) and their effects on job satisfaction. Employers need to take steps in reducing role stress and work-family conflict in order to increase employee job satisfaction. Employee demographics should be considered prior to making any changes that may affect role stress. Reducing causes of role stress and increasing job satisfaction in one area may not effect job satisfaction in another area.