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In the model, the type of conflict might be either the content of the task or the process of the task (similar to task conflict and process conflict, as described earlier). Task-content conflicts are disagreements among team members’ ideas and opinions about the task being performed, including debates about facts or opinions. In contrast, task-process conflicts are conflicts about logistical and delegation issues, such as how to proceed and allocate work.

Individual well-being exerts a powerful effect on how people deal with conflict. For example, people who endure levels of high stress activate hormones that result in a number of negative physiological outcomes, including headaches and increased cardiovascular response.87 Several investigations—one involving more than 3,000 employees—reveal a positive and significant correlation between conflict at work and physical health problems.88

INVESTMENT MODEL OF CONFLICT

Rubult’s EVLN model of conflict in close relationships argues that people can take one of four approaches when confronted with conflict: exit, voice, loyalty, or neglect.89 Exit refers to formally separating, or moving out of a relationship and in many cases ending all contact. Loyalty occurs when people passively wait and hope that things will improve. Voice involves discussing problems, investing in mutually agreeable solutions, and a willingness to change. For example, a manager says, “I need to talk to you about something that is bothering me . . . ” or “I feel uncomfortable about the status of the current project, and I suspect you might feel the same way, and I hope to clarify . . . ” Neglect happens when people ignore the other party and are passive. To the extent that people are satisfied with their relationship, they are more likely to use voice and loyalty (versus exit or neglect). When people are highly invested, they are more likely to use voice and loyalty. Team-level commitment moderates the relationship between organizational-level commitment and the use of EVLN, such that greater commitment increases the use of voice.

A longitudinal investigation of 38 workers revealed two additional destructive options: imagined exit and brutal neglect.90 In some teams, members might engage in open hostility or attack one another. Exhibit 8-6 (Conflict Choices) represents an application of Rusbult’s conflict model to people in business teams. In this model, people’s behavior in conflict is depicted in terms of two key dimensions: active versus passive behavior and constructive versus destructive action. When people are passive and destructive, they engage in avoidance. This means ignoring the other party or not engaging in a potentially clarifying discussion.

87Pennebaker, J. W. (1982). The psychology of physical symptoms. New York: Springer-Verlag. 88Spector, P. E., & Jex, S. M. (1998). Development of four self-report measures of job stressors and strain: Interpersonal conflict at work scale, organizational constraints scale, quantitative workload inventory, and physical symptoms inventory. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 3, 356–367. 89Rusbult, C.E., Zembrodt, I.M., & Gunn, L.K. (1982). Exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect: Responses to dissatisfaction in romantic involvements. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43(6): 1230–1242. 90Grima, F., & Glaymann, D. (2012). A revisited analysis of the Exit-Voice-Loyalty-Neglect model: Contributions of a longitudinal and conceptually extended approach. M@n@gement, 15(1), 1–41.

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