Most people are uncomfortable with conflict, but is conflict always bad? Conflict can be dysfunctional if it
paralyzes an organization, leads to less than optimal performance, or, in the worst case, leads to
workplace violence. Surprisingly, a moderate amount of conflict can actually be a healthy (and necessary)
part of organizational life. [7] To understand how to get to a positive level of conflict, we need to
understand its root causes, consequences, and tools to help manage it. The impact of too much or too little
conflict can disrupt performance. If conflict is too low, then performance is low. If conflict is too high,
then performance also tends to be low. The goal is to hold conflict levels in the middle of this range. While
it might seem strange to want a particular level of conflict, a medium level of task-related conflict is often
viewed as optimal, because it represents a situation in which a healthy debate of ideas takes place.