Embracing Discomfort for Productive Workplace Conflict

As long as there’s been a workplace, there’s been tension, strains, and disagreements between coworkers. Many of us are conflict-averse, and try to avoid sensitive areas that we know could lead to confrontation. But is that the wrong approach? Chicago Booth’s Lisa Stefanac says that workplace conflict contains valuable data, if only we know how to gather and learn from it. Confronting conflict, rather than avoiding it, she says, can lead to a healthier work environment.