How Does a Workplace Conflict Unfold, Phase by Phase?

In every broken employer-employee relationship, there are a few phases of the conflict, and multiple events foreshadowing the eventual collapse — the kind of pattern that business intelligence for workforce planning is meant to catch early. On their first day, every employee comes to their new job with high hopes and loads of enthusiasm as well as with high employee motivation.

After all, no one would accept a job from any boss if they were suspecting that it would be a disaster. Everything is so new and shiny — almost like a honeymoon!

Then, the employee starts learning about the company: all the written and unwritten rules, the procedures, the duties, the hierarchy, the social relations, the opportunities, the dos and don’ts.

Subsequently, the employee slowly starts integrating into the company culture. This requires developing an identity within the company. “What is my edge? What do I want to be known for in this company? How do I want to be perceived?” — questions that sit at the heart of how to cultivate self-awareness at work. The integration process often goes smoothly.

But sometimes, something goes wrong—namely, the employee discovers that they can’t fulfill their ambitions related to career paths. They just can’t grow into what they would like to become under the umbrella of their current employer. They just know that their professional development is at stake. This sense of being stuck is a well-documented risk factor: a study in Scientific Reports found that career plateau raises turnover intention largely by driving up job burnout.

This feeling often goes along with the feeling of being undervalued and/or not taken seriously enough. And this is when the tension starts.

The Phases of Descent.

So, the employee asks for changing/increasing their scope of responsibilities, promotion, or a raise. And, they immediately encounter resistance from the employer’s side.

It is because the employer has its vision for the company’s future. They don’t have any intention to change the company’s structure or culture for the employee.

That holds true even for the sake of that person’s satisfaction or the necessity to build a career path. It’s rather that, they aim to reward the employee for the excelling performance within the current system.

Hence, the resistance. The employer might not notice the problem. They might continue with the projects without making favours to the employee or offering a chance for professional development.

If so, the only way from this point is down.

What happens then? Well, the employee’s motivation gradually drops.

At some point, the connection between the employer and employee falls off into the “dead zone.” In this situation, every action from the other side is interpreted as a sign of bad intentions, even if the intentions were nothing but positive. This matches what organizational psychologists call psychological contract breach: according to a meta-analysis by Zhao, Wayne, Glibkowski, and Bravo in Personnel Psychology, broken implicit promises are strongly linked to mistrust and lower job satisfaction, and moderately linked to a stronger intention to quit.

The employee feels frustrated about the fact that the reality much differs from their original expectations of the job. As a result, they are no longer willing to cooperate with the employer.

Consequently, no standard motivation strategy (such as a prestigious business trip or a raise) could encourage the employee to work with a smile on their face. Typically, there is no motivation left at all at this point.

Usually, it means that the employee does the bare minimum at work, and is actively searching for other career options after working hours. At this point, a raise might even literally infuriate them rather than motivate them.