7.7 Conflict Resolution
Conflicts are inevitable when working on a team composed of members with different personalities, roles, and responsibilities. It is essential for all nurses to develop conflict resolution skills.
Common Sources of Interpersonal Conflict
Common sources of interpersonal conflict in health care settings are passive-aggressiveness, horizontal aggression, defensiveness, peer informer behavior, and victimization behaviors.[1]
Passive-Aggressiveness
Passive-aggressiveness is a behavior that shows disconnection between what a person says and does. Many times, a passive-aggressive person will agree with another person’s request, but later express feelings of frustration or anger to others and not comply with the request.
As an example, a charge nurse informs the team of RNs in a team meeting that a new policy requires bedside rounding. A nurse responds enthusiastically during the meeting but then complains to others about the policy and refuses to do it. The best method of managing passive-aggressive behavior is to confront it calmly and directly. For this example, it would be helpful for the charge nurse to say, “I was disappointed to hear you are upset about the new bedside rounding policy because you didn’t express any concerns directly to me. It would be helpful for you to directly communicate concerns to me so we can discuss them and make a plan for going forward.”[2]
Horizontal Aggression
The nursing literature describes diffuse incivility, lateral/horizontal violence, and bullying among nurses in the workplace.[3] Horizontal aggression refers to hostile behavior among one’s peers. It is not acceptable and should be directly confronted in a constructive manner or it will get worse. A suggested approach to a peer displaying horizontal aggression is to respond calmly and sincerely, “I value your expertise and experience and am looking for your help and support.” If the negative behavior continues after an attempt to address the individual directly, the nurse supervisor should be notified according to the agency’s chain of command.[4]
Defensiveness
It can be difficult to receive negative feedback. Some people respond by becoming defensive. Defensiveness puts the blame for one’s shortcomings on another person to make oneself appear better.
As an example, a charge nurse addresses a nurse about not turning on the bed alarm after repositioning a client and leaving the room. The nurse responds defensively by inaccurately blaming others, stating, “The nursing assistants are always sloppy with their responsibilities.” It is helpful to confront defensiveness by restating the facts in a calm manner and redirecting the conversation to the problem, its resolution, and the risk of jeopardizing client safety. For example, the charge nurse could reply, “In this situation, I saw you leave the room after repositioning the client, and when I went into the room to answer the client’s call light, the bed alarm was off.”[5]
Peer Informer Behavior