An Argumentative Essay on Managing Workplace Conflict in Healthcare

This essay delves into the critical issue of workplace conflict within healthcare organizations, exploring its various forms, causes, and impacts on both employees and patient care. It highlights factors such as unclear responsibilities, limited resources, and interpersonal relationships as key contributors to conflict, which can manifest in various forms, including workplace bullying and harassment, ultimately affecting the mental health of healthcare professionals. The essay references the RAND Corporation's research on mental health and work-life balance to support the argument for implementing effective conflict management techniques. It emphasizes the importance of formulating effective policies, addressing mental health concerns, improving communication, and promoting work-life balance to mitigate conflict and enhance the overall quality of healthcare delivery. Furthermore, the essay discusses practical approaches like flexible working hours and awareness programs to reduce conflicts. The essay concludes by reiterating the significance of proactive conflict management in fostering a positive work environment and improving patient outcomes within healthcare settings.

Running head: QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN HEALTHCARE
WORKPLACE CONFLICT
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

2WORKPLACE CONFLICT
According to Abiodun (2014), workplace conflict is also known as organizational
conflict. The conflict can occur in many forms due to multiple factors. The conflict can occur
against any individuals, decisions or tasks within the healthcare organization or any
healthcare settings. The factors that may lead to conflict in any healthcare organization may
range between unclear responsibilities, limited resources, or any other issues such as
interpersonal relationships. In rare cases, these conflicts can even lead to violence. According
to Stecker & Stecker (2014), the individuals involved in conflict include physician, nursing
professionals, technicians, patients and any other key stakeholders of the healthcare
organizations. Therefore, it is very much crucial to resolve and manage the conflicts that arise
in the healthcare organizations as it may affect on delivery of quality care towards the
individuals. This essay would provide argumentative initiations towards implementing a few
techniques to manage the conflict within the healthcare organization.
According to Rand.org (2020), the RAND Corporation is an organization that
researches on multiple issues and helps in generating solutions towards the communities. The
conflicts are the major issues, and RAND Corporation has helped in providing the critical
solutions for managing these conflicts that occur within the workforce. There is a publication
from RAND Corporation that is about understanding the mental health of the employees
within the healthcare organization. The conflict in the organization impact on the mental
health of individuals (Rand.org, 2020). Conflicts such as workplace bullying or harassment
lead to significant mental health issues. The findings of the publications include that the high

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work demands, changes in the management and lack of clarity of responsibilities result in
influencing the mental health of the individuals. The employees may be unable to deliver
active responsibilities due to distress or issues in mental health. The job insecurity also
effects on mental health. The impact on mental health is ultimately leading to workplace
conflict. According to the Sjoberg (2014), the gender difference was also impacting on the
workplace conflict as it was found that the women found greater challenges in balancing the
work and their personnel life. Therefore, the significant recommendations for managing the
conflict within the healthcare organization is formulating effective policies. There is a need
for investigating the previous or already existing standards or rules. Identifications of the
critical issue or gap in the organization that fails in managing the conflict in the healthcare
organization are essential for the improvement of the organization. Generating awareness of
mental health and its causes would be a practical approach in managing the conflict. The
causes of mental health need to manage for reducing the conflicts. The effective
communication within the organization and addressing the issues or key factors of conflict is
the crucial step that the senior leader and management of the organizations need to address
(Mauno, Ruokolainen & Kinnunen, 2015). The management of the organization can also
establish a rule of providing a compulsory training briefing about crucial mental health and
developing an awareness of how conflicts have adverse effects on mental health. Addressing
the issues of mental health would reduce the conflicts within the organizations. There must be
clear communication of deligating responsibilities to healthcare professionals and to improve

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the support system towards the employees. Unclear tasks also result in conflict and therefore,
effective communication is essential by the senior managers or senior leaders. Mental health
can be taken as a promotional activity by healthcare organizations. Positive aspects within the
working environments would strengthen employees and reduces conflicts.
Another publication from the RAND publications stated that many people find it
difficult to manage their personnel life and professional life. The lack of unable to balance
both lives had resulted in conflicts in healthcare organizations (Rand.org, 2020). Multiple
factors result in tensions between work and family life. There can be a negative impact on the
work-life of the individual due to the lack of balancing both personal life and work life. For
examples, tight working schedules may result in missing an important family event.
Therefore, the employers or management of organizations need to identify such work-family
conflict and also, need to address associated problems of the conflicts. The findings in this
publications have discovered that majority of the working people who have the flexible shift
timings has resulted great in their performance whereas the strict schedule in the workplace
has reduced the performance and resulted in low commitment towards their work. The
development of an awareness program in understanding the causes and effect of the work-
family conflict has also reduced the conflicts in the organizations. Therefore, the senior
leaders or management of healthcare organization must develop such awareness programs
with the help of effective training modules or seminars. Such activities would result in
reducing conflicts. They would also be able to analyze the needs and demands of their

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employees. With the help of this analysis, the management of healthcare organizations can
formulate the effective and concern policies towards resolving the work-family conflicts.
There can be the implementation of some practices that may result in resolving the conflicts.
For examples, for working parents, there can be a practice of specific times and however,
they can take leaves during school holidays. According to Kossek et al., 2014, another
approach for balancing the life between professionals and individuals that can be compressed
hours that the employees would work for lesser hours as compared to others. The conflict
also builds a stressful environment around the individual. The conflict between professionals
and family lives may struggle in providing effective outcomes in the performance of the
individual in the workplace. In healthcare organizations, the conflicts may have a direct
impact on the delivering of services and results directly on the health outcomes of the
patients.
Although it has been understood that mental health has a more significant impact on
conflicts within the organization. However, according to the Kutcher, Wei & Coniglio
(2016), mental health is a broader concept and cannot be addressed only with the help of
organizational regulations. The policies formulated may not be able to reach the demand of
every employee of the organizations. Reducing the stress may impact on positive outcomes;
however, the decision for bringing better mental health should be based on effective pieces of
evidence. Another approach towards reducing conflicts is balancing work and family life.
The implementation of flexible working hours in the healthcare organization may be a little

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difficult. The works in a healthcare organization are related to delivering quality care towards
the individuals and the community. Flexible timings may affect the efficient delivery of care.
Not every individual would discuss such conflict with their employers and may create a
communication gap. No particular single rule or policy is present to address mental health
issues and reducing work-family life. However, as per Roche, Teague, & Colvin (2014),
formulating the right procedures and essential planning would result in effectively managing
the conflicts within the healthcare organizations.
From the above discussion, it can be clearly understood the importance of managing
the conflicts within the healthcare organizations. The management of conflict in healthcare
organization also results in improving the quality of the healthcare organization. Conflicts
result in reducing the performance along with the commitment of the employees. Whether a
nursing professional or any physicians, conflicts can result in negative consequences.
Therefore, managing mental health and developing a balanced work-life and personnel life.
The management and employer of healthcare organization must take the initiative for
developing the rules and regulations that would impact in reducing the conflicts within the
organizations. The implementation of new procedures would undoubtedly impact on
managing the conflicts that would enhance the overall quality of the organizations.

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References
Abiodun, A. R. (2014). Organizational conflicts: Causes, effects and remedies. International
Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences, 3(6), 118.
Kossek, E. E., Hammer, L. B., Kelly, E. L., & Moen, P. (2014). Designing work, family &
health organizational change initiatives. Organizational dynamics, 43(1), 53.
Kutcher, S., Wei, Y., & Coniglio, C. (2016). Mental health literacy: past, present, and
future. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 61(3), 154-158.
Mauno, S., Ruokolainen, M., & Kinnunen, U. (2015). Work–family conflict and enrichment
from the perspective of psychosocial resources: Comparing Finnish healthcare
workers by working schedules. Applied ergonomics, 48, 86-94.
Rand.org. (2020). About the RAND Corporation. Retrieved 29 February 2020, from
https://www.rand.org/about.html
Rand.org. (2020). Understanding Mental Health in the Research Environment. Retrieved 29
February 2020, from https://www.rand.org/randeurope/research/projects/researcher-
mental-health.html
Rand.org. (2020). Work vs. Family: How Some Countries Lead the Way in Flexible
Working. Retrieved 29 February 2020, from
https://www.rand.org/blog/2019/01/work-vs-family-how-some-countries-lead-the-
way-in-flexible.html
Roche, W. K., Teague, P., & Colvin, A. J. (Eds.). (2014). The Oxford handbook of conflict
management in organizations. Oxford University Press.
Sjoberg, L. (2014). Gender, war, and conflict. John Wiley & Sons.

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Stecker, M., & Stecker, M. M. (2014). Disruptive staff interactions: A serious source of inter-
provider conflict and stress in health care settings. Issues in mental health
nursing, 35(7), 533-541.