Nonviolent Communication and Conflict Management

           

           Sometimes employees wear many hats and have many responsibilities because their employers or supervisors may think that they are capable of handling things but sometimes we can get overwhelmed which may in turn cause conflict. For example, on top of having the normal teacher responsibilities where I am employed we have dual roles such as being a parent, health, community outreach, safety, or curriculum  coordinator in which we have to plan activities for each age group, have meetings, or plan events once every three months for the children, families, and the community. Every role is planned and implemented well but on top of that our janitor has recently retired and we currently only have one who works at our other site.

Teachers are now to clean all main bathrooms, including their classroom bathrooms, take all trash to a dumpster that’s about 2 blocks away, mop and sweep halls, and perform other janitorial duties that are not a part of the classroom. This is where the unproductive conflict, conflict that is managed poorly and has a negative impact on the individuals and relationships involved, has come in (O'Hair & Wiemann 2012, p.220). One strategy from NVC that I think will have a positive impact is the principle of having empathy. The supervisor over the site did not have empathy for the roles that are already being done and that the extra duties are not shared fairly.  This will cause her not to be judgmental as to her thinking that we are capable of picking up the slack from the extra duties and still continuing to do the other things that we do and not be overwhelmed.

Furthermore, I feel that the human relations approach, the human needs of organizational member share ideas with others and to feel like a member of a group, will also be effective (O'Hair & Wiemann 2012, p.312).  For example, every other Friday the teachers and supervisors can have a group meeting to voice their opinions or any concerns that they may have. We can then strategize solutions as a whole and come to an agreement of what should have to solve any problems.

We have an assistant secretary who takes fees, inputs children information, answer phones, and opens the door. One of my colleagues mentioned that the extra duties that they are asking us to do will cause us to work overtime whereas the assistant is done with her work by 12pm every day and has 3 hours left in which she should help out with some of the responsibilities. Another suggestion was for us to have a suggestion box where we can communicate some of our problems by just writing them down and putting them in the box to be addressed. I hope we all can come to a medium and everyone can calmly address their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation.

Reference

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.