What Is Task Conflict? Definition, Examples & Resolutions

Published: August 16, 2024by Jeremy Pollack

Conflicts are an inevitable part of most professional settings. Conflicts emerge mainly as a result of personal differences in opinions, viewpoints, and ideas regarding work or personal issues among different professionals in the workplace.

Ultimately, the workplace experiences different types of conflicts, with task conflict emerging as the most common.

A furious business director of a startup office berating her employee for business mistakes and errors

What Is Task Conflict?

Task conflict consists of disagreements among team members on the best way to accomplish a specific work-related task. Task conflicts also entail the existence of differing opinions, ideas, or opinions among team members on how to complete a given work task.

Different areas precipitate the existence of task conflicts in the workplace, including:

  • Division of Labor: Team members can disagree on how to distribute work to each member of the team in ways that make the distribution just and fair. If team members cannot agree on how to share tasks with each other, task conflicts will arise.
  • Resource Allocation: Task conflict also occurs when team members disagree on how to distribute resources needed to complete a specific task.
  • Poor Management of Expectations: Task conflicts can occur when a superior has specific expectations on how a subordinate should perform their tasks, and the subordinate fails to meet those expectations.
  • Poor Interpretation of Facts: When team members have different understandings of the facts surrounding a given task, they may struggle to find common ground during conflicts.

Task Conflict vs. Other Types of Conflict

There are major differences between task conflict and other types of conflicts in the workplace. Here are some differences:

Relationship Conflict

Relationship conflicts define personal disagreements in the workplace arising from different personalities that influence negative emotional interactions among employees. They are strongly discouraged in the workplace. Unlike task conflicts, which result in improved team dynamics, relationship conflicts result in negative emotions and reduced productivity.

To resolve relationship conflict, it is crucial to implement effective communication and mediation strategies. Relationship conflict examples include disputes over work styles, personal boundaries, or interpersonal disrespect, all of which can severely impact team cohesion.

Value Conflict

Value conflict is when employees clash due to differences in lifestyles, values, and identities. Examples of value conflict include religious beliefs leading to clashes between employees, which result in religion-related value conflicts.

Differences in ethics, politics, and social norms also cause value conflicts. Just like relationship conflict, value conflict can lead to deteriorated cohesiveness in the workplace, which is bad for work completion and performance.

On the other hand, task conflict encourages the generation of different ideas that can improve the performance of a specific task.

The Role of Task Conflict in the Workplace

Task conflict is strongly considered the most powerful tool for organizational growth. However, it can only become a tool for organizational growth if it is managed effectively. Effective conflict management will result in significant benefits in the workplace, including:

Improved Team Innovation and Creativity

Task conflict occurs when group members have differing opinions or ideas on how to complete a work assignment. By taking all these ideas into consideration, a team leader will encourage diverse thinking that eventually brings different perspectives to the table. Ultimately, effective conflict management will elevate team innovation.

Improved Decision-Making

Task conflict generally defines differences in ideas or opinions, but effective management of task conflict can ultimately improve decision-making and clarity about the roles and responsibilities of team members.

Task conflict can also refine work strategies and ideas when it is properly managed, especially when team members decide to hold debates to clarify their specific responsibilities within the team.

Enhanced Resource Allocation

Task conflict can occur as a result of differences in the allocation of resources, but its proper management can achieve even better results in the allocation of those resources. For example, if there are differences in how to best use resources, effective handling of such conflicts will optimize resource allocation and prevent resource wastage.

Enhanced Team Cohesion and Communication

Proper management of task conflict can enhance cohesion and communication among team members, especially when members engage in open communication. Team cohesiveness also emerges when team members understand the different approaches to completing a task.

2 Types of Task Conflict & Examples

If you are running an organization with multifaceted professional interactions, you must understand all the different types of task conflict. It is an understanding that will help you foster a productive work environment, especially because many organizations tend to perceive task conflict in a negative way.

Effective conflict management can enhance the productivity of your employees while creating an environment with endless innovation possibilities. Let’s explore the different types of task conflicts that are common in any professional setting.

1. Cognitive Task Conflict

Cognitive task conflict refers to any differences between team members regarding information, knowledge, and viewpoints on how to complete certain work tasks. It has nothing to do with relationships or personal issues and is purely based on professional and work-centric differences.

  • Example 1: In a tech startup, team members from diverse technical backgrounds disagreed on the best technical approach for a new software feature. This task conflict arose due to their differing technical expertise and perspectives, leading to structured debates. These debates, while challenging, ultimately fostered innovation by combining diverse perspectives into a more versatile final product.
  • Example 2: A healthcare facility experienced task conflict among doctors, nurses, and administrative staff over patient care strategies, particularly in emergency scenarios. The team members held conflicting opinions on the best procedures for handling patients. By valuing each team member’s viewpoint and integrating these into a cohesive patient care strategy, the facility improved both teamwork and patient outcomes.

Given that cognitive task conflict doesn’t involve personal issues or emotions, it is possible to manage them effectively and gain associated benefits. It is important to encourage team members to share all their opinions and ensure that the culture of innovation is not suppressed.

2. Procedural Task Conflict

Procedural task conflict is another unique example of conflict around work tasks. It occurs when team members disagree on the process or methods needed to execute a task. These differences revolve around the ‘how’ of a task and not the ‘what,’ which is the cognitive part of the task.

  • Example 1: In a product development team, task conflict arose over the project’s timeline and testing procedures. Team members disagreed on the phases of product testing, with some advocating for more extensive initial testing to catch defects early, while others preferred a faster timeline to speed up the launch. This task conflict led to debates over the optimal balance between thoroughness and speed in development processes.
  • Example 2: During the planning stage of a marketing campaign, a task conflict emerged regarding the decision-making process for choosing the campaign’s media outlets. Some team members favored a centralized approach with decisions made by senior marketing leaders, while others supported a decentralized approach, empowering individual team members to make choices based on their expertise. This procedural task conflict necessitated discussions to establish a consensus on the most effective procedural strategy for media selection.

By handling task conflict well, an organization can optimize work processes and then enhance the overall efficiency and effectiveness of teamwork within the organization.

Business female employee with many conflicting priorities arranging sticky notes commenting and brainstorming on work priorities colleague in a modern office.

Resolving Task Conflicts

The best way to deal with task conflict in the workplace is through peaceful resolution. Peaceful resolutions of task conflicts of any kind will ensure that work-related issues become avenues for productivity and improved collaboration. Here are a few ways that your organization can use to manage task conflict.

  • Active Listening: Task conflict occurring among team members can be turned into innovative opportunities if team members practice active listening. Active listening is a conflict resolution that entails understanding others from their points of view and without judgment.
  • Effective Communication: Most conflicts escalate when team members cannot understand each other due to ineffective communication. By getting these team members to recognize and adapt different communication styles, they will not only work through the conflict but also enjoy team effectiveness.
  • Conflict Resolution Strategies: Given that conflicts are inevitable in any organization, it is crucial to have conflict resolution strategies that act as guidelines to help team members navigate all types of conflicts effectively. Some of these strategies can include setting rules to guide discussions and having a neutral party listen in on these discussions if the conflict is a little intense.
  • Building a Culture of Understanding: If your employees understand that conflicts are part of their professional setting, they are more likely going to feel less tense whenever there are task conflicts. A culture of understanding will ensure that no team member hurts the feelings of others and that they don’t let their negative emotions run too high.

Impact of Task Conflict on Organizational Performance

Task conflict among team members in an organization is unavoidable. If managed properly, these conflicts can augment and enhance the performance of the employees involved. On the contrary, unmanaged task conflict can be devastating, especially when it stirs hostilities among team members or between individual employees.

Task conflict sometimes coincides with animated discussions and individual excitement among employees. It is considered most beneficial to organizational performance because it occurs without the intense negative emotions that are common in relationship conflict. When it is properly managed, task conflict can improve the quality of critical thinking and decision-making processes, which then translates into improved organizational performance.

Task conflicts also have positive and negative outcomes in an organization.

Positive Outcomes of Task Conflict

Every type of conflict has the potential to adversely affect an organization’s performance. However, task conflicts are quite unique because proper conflict resolution will result in a number of positive outcomes, including:

  • Foster Healthy Competition: A manager can use task conflicts among employees to promote healthy competition. For instance, rewarding employees for their ideas will surely improve team performance.
  • Improve Problem-Solving: A manager can leverage task conflicts to give employees an opportunity to improve in the collaborative problem-solving process. For example, asking team members to put down all their ideas and work through the pros and cons of each idea before finally making a choice.
  • Result in New Ways of Working: Task conflicts often arise when employees cannot agree on the process of completing a task. When disagreeing, the employee suggests a new process that can be more beneficial or efficient to the organization and to the rest of the coworkers.
  • Encourage Teamwork: Employees are often tasked with working in teams to complete certain projects. When team members talk about their differences, they find ways to work together, compromise, and identify new ways to solve project problems. The result is a stronger team, and the spirit of teamwork will live on in the organization.

Negative Outcomes of Task Conflict

In some rare instances, task conflicts can have negative outcomes for an organization, such as:

  • Negatively Affect Working Relationships: Task conflicts involve disagreements between employees who have different ideas or opinions. If an employee doesn’t agree with the idea that gets chosen, the relationship between these team members remains affected.
  • Lead to Disengagement: Conflict avoidance involves ignoring conflicts in the workplace. This avoidance can slowly cause employees to lose interest in their work. When that happens, the employees will still show up for work, but they will be disengaged and unproductive.
  • Breed Resentment: Differences in opinion can breed resentment when managers or employees don’t resolve these conflicts and find an amicable solution.
  • Reduce Productivity: Task conflicts can affect employee productivity, especially when too much time is spent nurturing task conflict instead of turning their focus on working.

Two happy employees after task conflict resolution

Resolving Task Conflict with Pollack Peacebuilding Systems

Disagreements among employees and team members create turbulence in an organization. If not managed properly, conflicts can become the source of disharmony in a work environment.

At Pollack Peacebuilding Systems, we are passionate about conflict resolution-no matter the type of conflict. At the heart of our conflict resolution methods and strategies is our ability to effectively turn a potentially damaging task conflict into a conduit for understanding and organizational growth.

In our commitment to steering you toward successful conflict resolution, we have designed a series of effective methods and strategies that can suit the needs of every organization.

Methods and Strategies Employed by Pollack Peacebuilding Systems

  • Training in Conflict Management: Effective task conflict resolution starts with comprehensive training for managers, supervisors, or team leaders. The training helps them identify, understand, and resolve conflicts effectively.
  • Differentiating Task Conflict from Relationship Conflict: As part of our effective conflict resolution methods and strategies, we focus on distinguishing between task conflict and resolving relationship conflict, leveraging the potential benefits of effective task conflict resolution.
  • Moderating the Intensity of Conflicts: Conflicts at moderate levels are healthy as they provide avenues where team members debate and discuss solutions. However, intense conflicts can lead to toxicity and negative emotions, and moderating conflict intensity is an effective way to manage task conflict.

Steps to Prevent and Manage Task Conflict

To effectively manage task conflict, organizations should follow these five steps:

  1. Identify the Task Conflict: Task conflicts may arise from personal differences in team dynamics, work processes, division of labor, or resource allocation. It’s crucial to identify the factors that led to the conflict, the employees involved, and both the source and symptoms of the conflict.
  2. Address the Conflict: The next step is to address the conflict directly. If you are a manager overseeing the team, arrange a meeting to discuss how the conflict started and allow team members to openly debate their points of view. If the conflict is complex, consider bringing in a mediator experienced in handling task conflicts.
  3. Identify the Most Suitable Conflict Resolution Strategy: Choose conflict resolution strategies that best fit the specific situation. For conflicts involving the division of labor, managers should clearly define tasks and roles rather than leaving them ambiguous. Conduct trial runs with team members to determine the most effective methods or work processes.
  4. Resolve the Conflict: Implement the chosen strategies and ensure that employees can independently agree on the most effective work processes or roles.
  5. Evaluate the Results: Consistently follow up on the outcomes of your conflict resolution efforts. Assess how well the strategies addressed the conflict and whether the original issues have been resolved. If problems persist, consider adopting a different strategy for future conflicts.

At Pollack Peacebuilding Systems, we are dedicated to turning conflict into opportunities for growth and innovation within your organization. If you’re encountering persistent conflicts and need structured, professional intervention, we’re here to help. Contact us to learn more about our conflict resolution services and start building a more collaborative, productive workplace today.

Avatar for Jeremy Pollack

Jeremy Pollack

Dr. Jeremy Pollack is a social psychologist and conflict resolution consultant focusing on the psychology, social dynamics, and peacebuilding methodologies of interpersonal and intergroup conflicts. He is the founder of Pollack Peacebuilding Systems, an internationally renowned workplace conflict resolution consulting firm. Learn more about Dr. Pollack here!