Dysfunctional Effects of a Conflict in a Healthcare Organization

Conflicts in healthcare settings are quite common events because of the continuous changes and transformations today's healthcare organizations are undergoing and the vigorous interaction between the medical professionals working in them.

To survey the opinions of medical professionals about the possible destructive effects of conflicts on them in the workplace.

We conducted a direct individual survey of 279 medical employees at four general hospitals. We used a set of questions that reflect the negative effects and consequences of conflict on healthcare professionals as direct or indirect participants. All data were analysed using the descriptive statistics and non-parametric analysis at a significance level for the null hypothesis of p < 0.05.

Workplace conflicts contribute a lot to the stress, psychological tension and emotional exhaustion medical professionals are exposed to. The confrontation the conflict brings the participants into acts as a catalyst of the conflict and enhances the manifestation of hostile actions. A conflict generates a situation which has an impact on the behaviour of all participants involved in it giving rise to emotional states such as anger, aggression and reproaches. The destructive consequences resulting from a conflict are seen in the reduced work satisfaction and demotivation to perform the work activity. The contradictions that arise as a result affect negatively the team cooperation and obstruct the collaborative efforts in solving the problems in the healthcare setting.

A conflict in a healthcare setting exerts a considerable destructive effect on an employee, therefore it requires prompt identification and effective intervention to minimise its unfavourable outcomes.