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In any social context, conflicts, as well as being inevitable, are also essential for grasping the potential of diversity and for growing as a person. Learning to deal with conflicts in a constructive way is essential. In reality, however, we give the word ‘conflict’ negative connotations and this is often what makes us react in a dysfunctional manner.
In private it is often easier to express dissent in a discussion or talk about our needs and hurt feelings. But the more we feel more intimate with the other party (e.g... partner, family member or friend), the more we feel that he/she will be able to understand and forgive us for our emotional spills.
In the professional world , when we are in the midst of a conflict, we feel more restrained in expressing our needs or feelings openly, tending more to hide difficulties, until the conflict explodes in a completely unexpected way for the counter-party. Having complete emotional control is often seen as an ideal professional approach; 'emotional control', however, should not imply a denial of the emotional world.
Conflicts in the private and the professional worlds have the same general characteristics. What changes is our way of dealing with them, depending on the context, situations and interlocutors.
Overview
