A new study suggests that conflicts amongst women at work have a more negative effect than those involving men. The University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business looked at various disputes at work to ascertain what the effect was on other colleagues. The research showed that conflicts tend to conjure up ideas of women, which results in them getting a bad reputation. This negative stereotyping carries over into the workplace which can make situations with your colleagues difficult.
In the study, participants were asked to assess various workplace scenarios which revolve around a conflict, with the following name combinations: Adam and Steven, Adam and Sarah, or Sarah and Anna. In this questionnaire, for example, the participants were asked to judge the likelihood of two managers repairing a broken relationship. The results showed that this was 15 percent lower if both of the managers were female, than if they fell into the other two gender combinations. It was also noted that those involved in all-female conflicts were more likely to allow the situation to develop, resulting in it negatively affecting the overall job satisfaction. The female participants in the group were just as likely as men to see the all-female conflict as more negative than any other combination.
Conflicts at work can seriously affect the team as a whole, as well as impacting your overall happiness within your job. If you’re finding that there are people in your team you don’t get on with as well as others, you should either speak to your manager about the dispute or deal with it as calmly and fairly as possible. Creating tension and arguments at work causes a more difficult situation than if you simply discuss the problem with the individual to sort it maturely, as well as creating a stressful work environment.
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