Conflict in the library workplace

Colleen Conner, April Geltch, Joshua Murray, Jason Phipps, Amy Swindler

Conflict Resolution Center (CRC)

We offer a neutral and safe forum to address difficult situations early before matters escalate.

Left unresolved, conflict can be costly and have serious consequences to management and employees.

What is workplace conflict?

A condition between or among workers whose jobs are interdependent, who feel angry, who perceive other(s) as being at fault, and who act in ways that cause a business problem.Notice that this definition includes feelings (emotions), perceptions (thoughts), and actions (behaviors). Psychologists consider these three the only dimensions of human experience. So, conflict is rooted in all parts of our human nature. Dana, Daniel (2000). Conflict resolution. New York,

NY: McGraw-Hill. P. 5

Library setting

Small or medium-sized public library. School library.

Employee roles in a public library

1. Library branch manager

2. Librarians Reference librarians Children’s librarians Young adult

librarians Catalogers

3. Library staff Library assistants Library aides Library pages

Employee roles: School library

1. Principal2. Library media

teacher (credentialed and certificated)

3. Library media technician (classified staff)

4. Library aide5. Student library aide

Literature review findings

Conflict must not be ignored Different types of conflict

Call for different ways of managing it Conflict resolution vs. conflict management Understanding individual motivations

important to understand and manage conflict Conflict leads to change

and vice versa (technological change) Communication among all parties is essential

to resolving or managing conflict Success depends on the involvement of

everyone in the solution or resulting changes

What tactics not to use

Do not use the following strategies to resolve conflict because they will not work: Avoiding

I lose, you lose Only addressing your

narrowly-defined responsibilities. Issues that affect the entire library are not addressed because they are not your responsibility.

You will both be losers. Accommodating

I win, you lose Some workers will not

perform their tasks, causing other works to take over their responsibilities – this causes resentment.

Win/Win

I want to win

I want you to win too

Ask yourself…

"Why does that seem to be the best solution to you?"

"What's your real need here?"

"What interests need to be served in this situation?"

"What values are important to you here?" "What's the outcome or result you want?"

Effective Win/Win

"I'll do X for you, if you do Y for me."

X supports their needs, Y supports yours.

Stages in Conflict Resolution

1. Define the conflict What exactly is wrong?

2. Examine possible solutions What can you do to solve the problem?

3. Test the solution Will this work?

4. Evaluate the solution Has this worked?

5. Accept or reject the solution Am I satisfied?

Things to Remember

Suppress your personal negative feelings, while trying to keep all situations involving conflict in perspective.

Learn from the conflict and embrace it as something positive.

What would you do if:

You are a Library Assistant who has worked in the library for 25 years – starting as a page and working your way up to Library Assistant III, the highest grade of Library Assistant. Jane is 25 years old and she was just hired directly out of SJSU’s library program as your supervisor despite the fact she has no library experience. You feel animosity toward her.

What would you do if:

You are one of two bookmobile librarians in a medium-sized city. To save money, the city has promoted a Library Assistant to run the day-to-day operations of the city’s entire bookmobile program because they do not consider bookmobiles to be genuine libraries. Despite outranking the Library Assistant, you must now take orders from her.

What would you do if:

You are a part-time page and your hours are cut while another page’s hours are increased. There is no explanation for this action.

Some Do’s and Don’ts to remember

Do maintain appropriate eye contact.

Don't look down. Do paraphrase at the

appropriate time (for example…Is what you're saying?…).

Don't interrupt. Do be aware of your own

body language and your tone of voice.

Don't assume. Do listen. Don't mismatch your style.

http://www.black-collegian.com/news/special-reports/conflict2000-2nd.shtml