Workplace Conflict in Applied Behavior Analysis: Prevalence, Impact, and Training.

Abstract

Conflict, albeit normal in every relationship, can increase stress and tension. Workplace conflict is highly prevalent in the field of health care and has been correlated with lowered job satisfaction and burnout. However, little is known about workplace conflict for practicing Board Certified Behavior Analysts® (BCBAs®). We distributed an electronic survey through the Behavior Analysis Certification Board® (BACB®) to determine the impact and prevalence of workplace conflict for practicing BCBAs. Most of our participants reported various levels of conflict with different workplace professionals including teachers, caregivers, colleagues, and supervisees. We found that a high proportion of practitioners reported losing cases and wanting to leave their jobs because of workplace conflict. Most of our participants did not feel that they had the training they needed to have sufficient skills to resolve workplace conflict effectively. Therefore, in this article we outlined the component skills necessary to manage conflict effectively and made recommendations for training these skills.