Good: Is disagreement good?

         It is natural that when our ideas are opposed, as a human with echo chambers we seem to feel unpleasant to any comments against us, and this could lead to a conflict (Niedbala, 2019). It is clear that most people do not enjoy encountering a negative argument. Then, when it comes to different opinions in conversations, many tend to avoid showing their opposing opinions as they think that would be also impolite and could create an undue problem. Moreover, many employees, for example, may have thought that it is better if they just advocate their supervisors’ ideas; otherwise, they think it is going to have a detrimental effect on their careers (Belcher, 2016).

Although disagreements are able to cause an immensely negative effect on a relationship, I, however, think that we should express it truthfully as its benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

Better results come from the process of disagreement. In fact, this usually forces us to generate numerous methods to solve difficult problems with the best solution we can provide. During the conflict, we also have time to thoroughly consider each possibility and different perspectives from others (Gallo, Maimon, & Ashkenas, 2018). Although conflicts are painful sometimes, innovative outcomes are created through this process by weighting between advantages and disadvantages of each solution. This development can be applied from households to companies where there are many people and it is unavoidable to face this kind of difficulty. 

With the limited background you have, it is impossible to know and understand everything correctly. It is better to share possible solutions and listen to other ideas carefully to find the best one so that you will have a great opportunity to learn new things about how other people think. This will help you develop your thinking process to become much more logical and diverse. Otherwise, you might be dubbed an arrogant and unreasonable person. Even if you are parents, you do not have to feel embarrassed to accept your children’s disagreement. In  contrast, it is beneficial to think critically and challenge your own assumptions.

Besides, conflict leads to improvement in interpersonal skills such as negotiation skills (Sawhney, 2020). It is evident that when you are trying to persuade other people, apart from reasonable arguments, you need to influence them through your gestures, tone, and so on. All of these require practice, which you can train and improve gradually from various conflicts that you have experienced before. Thus, instead of being upset, you must feel that the conflicts are enhancing your negotiation skills in order to make you an outstanding negotiator.

Many firms are trying to adopt diversity in their working culture as not only is it about equality but it is also related to a sense of being dynamic. However, people from different backgrounds could bring many ways of thinking, which is able to lead to a conflict in some circumstances. In organizations, although homogeneous groups find their work more positive, it is much more effective when it comes to diverse groups (Parker, Medina, & Schill, 2017). Thus, if they want to create that kind of atmosphere, encouraging inclusivity with positive disagreement would be the perfect way. 

In conclusion, while there are people who avoid opposing others because they do not want to be in a problem, this behavior is spoiling the productivity and the opportunity to learn new things as well as its benefits such as improving diversity in the workplace and interpersonal skills coming from the conflict. I would suggest anyone who is still aware of conflicts change their attitude and consider it a good action.

References

Belcher, L. M. (n.d.). What happens when a manager & an employee have a disagreement? Chron. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/happens-manager-employee-disagreement-15740.html 

Gallo, A., Maimon, A., & Ashkenas, R. (2018, April 17). Why we should be disagreeing more at work. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved September 11, 2021, from https://hbr.org/2018/01/why-we-should-be-disagreeing-more-at-work?registration=success 

Niedbala, E. (2019, May 3). Ingredients for conflict: Why we get so angry when people disagree with us. Character & Context, Society for Personality and Social Psychology. https://www.spsp.org/news-center/blog/niedbala-echo-anger 

Sawhney, V. (2020, October 28). Actually, it’s okay to disagree with people at work. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/10/actually-its-okay-to-disagree-with-people-at-work 

Parker, A., Medina, C., & Schill, B. (2017, August 1). Diversity's new frontier: Diversity of thought. Harvard Business Review. https://store.hbr.org/product/diversity-s-new-frontier-diversity-of-thought/rot343