CONFLICT MANAGEMENT The Psychology of conflict and conflict ...

9. CONFLICT, HEALTH, AND WELL-BEING 273
regarding the potential indirect impact that conflict can have on employee
physical health (e.g., Wei & O’Connor, 2002).
Interpersonal conflicts in the workplace have also been associated with
increased somatic complaints, which are self-reports of physical symptoms
that may include headaches, gastrointestinal problems, and faintness
among others. Data from a diary study conducted by Hahn (2000) showed
that participants reported more health symptoms following a conflict.
Specifically, participants with an internal locus of control were more likely
to report health symptoms after the occurrence of a conflict. Furthermore,
Spector and Jex (1998) reported a correlation of .26 between the physical
symptoms inventory (PSI) and a measure of interpersonal conflict at work.
Similarly, Frone (2000) found that when employees reported experiencing
more conflict with their coworkers, they also reported higher levels of
somatic symptoms as measured by a physical symptoms checklist.
A variety of other strains such as burnout, life dissatisfaction, and
psychiatric morbidity has also been reported in response to this social
stressor. Burnout refers to a feeling of emotional exhaustion that may
result from the experience of stressors. Rainey (1995) tested a model of
stress with a sample of sports officials and found that interpersonal conflict
was the best predictor of burnout. The implications of these findings
are important given the fact that burnout is associated with health symptoms
and a predictor of changes in cholesterol and triglycerides levels (Shirom,
Westman, Shamai, & Carel, 1997). In addition, Appelberg, Romanov,
Honkasalo, and Koskenvuo (1991) conducted a study on the occupational
and psychological factors associated with conflict at work using the Finnish
twin cohort. The results for both males and females indicated that
employees reporting more conflict at work were also more dissatisfied
with their lives and experienced more daily stress. However, Romanov,
Appelberg, Honkasalo, and Koskenvuo (1996) reported an even more
alarming finding in a longitudinal study using the same Finnish sample.
The researchers collected epidemiological follow-up data in addition to
health, education, psychosocial, sleep, and personality information. The
follow-up data included suicidal deaths, hospitalization, and free medication
due to psychiatric diagnoses. The results showed that employees
who reported interpersonal conflicts at work in the prior six months had
a higher risk for psychiatric morbidity even after controlling for social
class, mental instability, personality, alcohol consumption, health status,
mental instability, marital status, and conflict with spouse. Although the
results cannot establish causality, the researchers believe that “the extent
to which interpersonal conflict at work can weaken an individual’s ability
to solve his or her emotional problems and eventually lead to mental
disease seems to be a crucial topic for future research and interventions in
the occupational field” (Romanov et al., 1996, p. 169).
Another stream of research reporting psychiatric illnesses, including
posttraumatic stress disorder, as outcomes of extreme escalated conflict is
found in the European literature. “Mobbing” refers to a persistent escalating