In this article, we will be discussing what role conflict is, including types of role conflict and examples.
Being in a leadership position involves making important decisions and sometimes it’s difficult to choose. Even in our workplace or home, we are sometimes required to make important decisions.
Role conflict occurs when an individual is expected to perform the duties of two contradictory positions. A simple example of role conflict is the work/family conflict, which is very common.
Sometimes parents find it difficult to create a balance between their work and family. For example, a dad who is a pilot or a mum who is a professional healthcare worker may be absent during important moments because of their jobs.
Role conflict is an experience most people have to deal with. But is there a solution to role conflict and what are the examples of role conflict?
What Is Role Conflict?
A role conflict occurs when an individual is expected to perform the duties of two contradictory positions according to study.com.
Most parents experience role conflict. It’s a bit difficult to create a balance between work and family, especially if your job is very demanding.
Because of the positions we hold, choosing between fulfilling familial and professional obligations makes us feel conflicted. We experience role conflict when we must make important decisions and choose between our work or family.
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Why Does Role Conflict Occur?
We experience role conflicts when conflicting demands are placed on us to make important decisions between work and family. Most people experience role conflict when they feel they have been pulled in different directions.
For example, let’s say a boy named Jim wants to get into a basketball league and Jim’s father Rob, wants to spend more time with his son. To rekindle his relationship with his son Jim, Rob decides to become the coach of his son’s basketball team.
Rob knows that his son is not as good as other players on the team. Jim is yet to gain the experience to compete at the highest level. Jim is still developing his skills and if he is given an opportunity to represent the team at important games, the team may lose to the opponent.
Rob wants his son Jim to play during important games. However, he knows that letting Jim play ahead of other skilled team members will cost the team. Rob wants the team to win and only with the experience team players can he achieve that.
As a loving father, Rob is experiencing what is known as a role conflict.
Types of Role Conflict
Generally, there are two types of role conflict which are intra-role conflict and inter-role conflict.
Intra-role Conflict
This is a type of conflict that occurs when different results are expected while performing the same role.
For instance, an employee may be asked to complete a task by two managers. Their request is solid but the task cannot be completed by the employee at the same time.
Let’s say there is a situation where the employees want good paychecks with shorter working hours. The company’s directors may not agree with the employee’s request.
In such a situation, the managers or supervisors experience what is known as intra-role conflict.
Inter-role Conflict
This type of conflict occurs out of opposing demands on the same individual while fulfilling different roles.
For example, working under increased pressure may result in spending more hours at the office. This makes it difficult for a mum or dad to spend more time with the family.
Due to the demanding nature of the job, an employee may spend more time at the office than with his or her family.
Examples of Role Conflict
According to Indeed.com, role conflicts are in various forms. As an employer or director, your employees will react and responds differently to role conflicts.
Generally, there are several examples of role conflicts which are common in the workplace.
Working in Higher and Lower Level Roles at the Same Time
Although employees usually work to complete a specific task, there are those within the team who act as the supervisor or manager. Acting as a supervisor or manager describes working in high and lower-level roles.
Assuming these temporary positions may sometimes cause confusion between team members. Those given the temporary position of supervisor or manager must work with team members and also report the performance of workers to the higher authority.
To shed more light on the subject, let’s say there is a team of editors who must complete a task. Within the team, a lead editor is selected to monitor the team and conduct reviews of the team’s performance.
The lead editor also has to complete the same task as other members of the team.
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The Trolley Problem
This is a well-recognized thought experiment that involves an individual making an important decision between two outcomes.
The best description of the trolley problem involves a railway worker watching a trolley on the track. The trolley is moving towards a group of people who are unable to move away from the track.
The railway worker must make a quick decision to avoid this collision. He must choose to operate a lever and change the trolley’s direction. By doing so, the trolley will only collide with a single individual on the track.
In such a situation, the railway worker is experiencing intra-role conflict as he must choose between doing nothing and letting the trolley run over many people. Or act quickly to divert the trolley, leading to the death of a single person.
Obligations Due to Different Job Titles
Most people are employed and given the position to handle two different jobs. Accepting such job titles can be demanding as sometimes employees feel overwhelmed because they have to work in two different roles.
Employees with two separate job titles often confuse other team members they are working with. Because of their job status, other employees are confused and will often ask questions about their job titles.
For instance, an individual may be employed as a digital marketing coordinator. As a digital marketing coordinator, the employee’s primary job involves planning and scheduling marketing campaigns.
If the company has no copywriter, the individual employed as a digital marketing coordinator may be required to perform the duty of a copywriter and complete content writing duties.
Motherhood and the Workplace
As a parent, it’s important to create a balance between work and family, especially if you are a mother. This is one of the examples of role conflict that most women find themselves in.
The work/family conflict makes women feel they have been pulled in a different direction. A loving mother who is a medical doctor by profession may spend hours working at the office.
In this situation, she is experiencing inter-role conflict as being a mother and a doctor are both important. But the job is taking more of her time, keeping her away from her family.
Limited Provided Guidance for a Role
There are employees who may be hired to fill in a specific role with little or no experience in how to get things done properly. The supervisor or manager of these employees may hardly supervise or guide them on what needs to be done.
Because the employees are inexperienced and can barely understand how to complete their tasks, this affects their confidence and they will likely doubt if they are doing anything the right way.
Take an accountant who is employed to work with a team of accountants for example. The inexperienced employee must work with other accountants who have separate financial tasks they must complete.
The manager hands over a brief overview of the role to the team of accountants without providing any training materials or explaining more about the position.
This leaves the entire team of accountants in confusion. Because the manager did not provide further explanations and training materials, the team feels unsure about the tasks they were assigned to complete.
Also Read: Strategies for Teaching Students Leadership Skills
The Third World Country
According to Helpfulprofessor.com third-world countries refer to countries that are still underdeveloped and are not part of the US-led NATO bloc or part of the USSR-led Soviet bloc of Warsaw Pact countries.
Countries that are classified as third-world nations are mostly found in Africa, Central and South America, and Asia.
The third-world countries denounced the division of the world into militarized blocs and most of the third-world nations were forced to rely on one bloc. They were also allowed to rely on another bloc in order to meet their economic development needs.
For example, India opposed formerly colonized nations to join any military bloc. However, India is known to rely on the Soviet Union to supply technology training, heavy industrial equipment, and military hardware.
Public Defenders
Just like professional healthcare workers, lawyers also experience role conflict. Being a lawyer involves defending several clients including criminals avoid spending time behind bars for their crimes.
Sometimes is difficult to defend clients in court, knowing the number of evidence presented before the court and witnesses ready to testify against that client.
A lawyer sometimes finds himself or herself in a tight situation and experiences role conflict. Professionally, a lawyer is obligated to defend his or her client until there is enough evidence to prosecute that client.
Public defenders are among the examples of role conflict as they sometimes have to deal with their conscience over being professional as a lawyer.
Non-Coms in the Military
Non-commissioned officers are service members who rose through the ranks of enlisted men but they are not the equivalents of commissioned officers.
The rank of Sergeant and Corporal are considered non-commissioned officers in the United States Military. The British, Australian, and Canadian military also consider the rank of Sergeant and Corporal as Non-coms.
The rank of Sergeant and Corporal are superior to the enlisted men. With their expertise, they train enlisted men in the military.
Also Read: 15 Best Military Colleges in Georgia in 2024
What Are the Techniques to Minimize Conflicts?
You can minimize conflict by doing any of the following:
- Try not to give a quick response, instead listen carefully first
- Do not respond to high-intensity or emotional words
- Try to monitor your non-verbal leakage
- Concentrate on what is said and not how it’s said
- Identify emerging needs and interests of other people
- Understand and reflect on what you hear
Conclusion
Anyone can experience role conflict in life. Sometimes our jobs require more attention but we must not ignore making out time for important family events.
Try creating a balance between work and family in order not to lose both. And avoid taking two job titles just to impress a supervisor or a manager.
We hope this article on conflict role examples was helpful.
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References
- helpfulprofessor.com: 12 Examples Of Role Conflict
- study.com: What Is Role Conflict? – Definition, Types & Examples
- geeksforgeeks.org: What is Role Conflict and Why does it occur?
- indeed.com: Role Conflict: A Guide for Managers
