In your work as an HR professional, you may find yourself involved in both functional and dysfunctional conflict situations when there are disagreements between individuals or groups in the workplace. One of your goals will be to help employees address and manage functional conflicts before they become dysfunctional.

As discussed by Liddle (2017), conflict pivots between functionalor dysfunctional conflict based on our perceptions. Functional conflict, when approached in a positive way can be a powerful driver of change, learning and growth (Liddle, 2017, p. 20) and can spark innovation, trust and engagement (Meinert, 2017, para. 4). Conversely, dysfunctional conflict, or negative conflict, in the workplace drains energy, which is costly to companies, teams and relationships (Meinert, 2017, para. 5).

• Explain functional conflict versus dysfunctional conflict.
• Based on your experience of functional and dysfunctional conflict in the workplace, describe an example for each in the workplace.
• Share ways in which you may need to grow as an HR professional in each of these areas.