Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

After my 'O' level exams, I picked up an admin job before entering Junior College. I was only a temp staff back then and I sat at the edge of the office together with other temp staffs of the same department. We were a bunch of young girls while the rest of the office staffs were much older. The conflict arose when the perm staffs who sat near us (also known as the "buyers"), were annoyed by the little things that we did.

During work, we were particularly busy. As such, we packed food back to the office to eat and work most of the times. This created some unhappiness in the buyers who complained to the Head of our department. The reason that the buyers gave was that "the smell of the food made them unable to concentrate on their work when some of them did not have time to go for lunch". So, we were banned from bringing food into the office.

Subsequently, another ridiculous event happened. There was a dinner party held for the perm staffs and they were given half day off. Coincidentally, one of the temp staffs' birthday fell on that day, and we bought a cake to celebrate for her during tea break when most of the perm staffs had left.

Despite knowing the presence of a few staffs that had not left for the event, we still sang a birthday song in the office (at a moderate voice level). To our surprise, one of the buyers who had not left complained to the Human Resource (HR) department the next day. The issue escalated when the HR department questioned our Head of department and we were scolded for the reason that "we were creating chaos in the office". As we did not have any strong sense of unjust, the conflict was sort of a "silent" one. What made us irritated was that the buyers did not talk to us up-front but did things discretely behind our backs. They also like to pick on small mistakes such that we had to do things carefully since then.

This brings me to a question of why some people could not be more accommodating with small issues like these. Was it because we were not abiding to the office etiquettes? Or was there a difference in mindsets between different generations? Or was it the differences in ranks that allowed them to exercise their authoritativeness recklessly?

Effective Communication Skills

Looking at the comic above, different people have different interpretations of what the others want to convey. This is also true in the workplace today. Whether it is verbal or non-verbal communications, the main aim is to bring your message across correctly. Hence, it is vital to develop effective communication skills to avoid misunderstandings.

Today, communication in the workplace is more than just “talk”. In a constantly evolving working environment, things can become increasingly complicated. Sources of tension and friction can even arise from basic interactions with colleagues or team-mates.

This reminds me of my mother who, at times, came home complaining about how unhappy she was at work. Most of the misunderstandings arose from plain, normal conversations of her with her colleagues. These misunderstandings resulted in some negativity and could possibly hinder their productivity. The moral of the story that she told me was to “talk when necessary”.

Although some people may agree that “Silence is Gold”, and silence can save them from disputes, think again. Communication is not just about verbal but it involves non-verbal messages as well. E-mails, reports, letters, or even body languages are also forms of communication.

So, I believe that “Communication is Platinum”. It can be a way to build relationships with fellow colleagues and to be a good team player. I can also deliver my ideas more effectively to my team-mates and bosses. More importantly, I need effective communication skills to pass my job interview.

Since human beings were given the ability to think and speak, why not make good use of both to set you at the advantage of effective communication!