As we’ve discussed before, avoiding is a conflict resolution style in which a party does not make any attempt to address or resolve the conflict. It can also occur when a conflict involves parties who don't highly value their relationship nor the goals of the conflict, and it might be easier to just dodge the conflict altogether than to bother resolving it.
As a style, avoiding is:
EXAMPLE
Your colleagues are arguing over the best approach to a certain project, and they ask your opinion. You aren't assigned to the project, so you don't care very much about which approach they choose, and you don't want to be pulled into the middle of their argument. You avoid the conflict by pretending to be too busy to help and recommending that they ask someone else.EXAMPLE
You are on a trip with some friends. You've saved up some money for this trip, but you notice that you're running low. You've eaten at a few more restaurants than expected. You know you're going to need to bring this up because it's going to make a difference in the trip in terms of some of the things you do. However, you keep avoiding it; you just don't talk about it.EXAMPLE
While walking down the street in your neighborhood, you notice there's some kids at the end of the block. It looks like they're getting into a fight, and it’s starting to get violent. You were walking right towards it, so you decide to cross the street and avoid the fight.This particular style of conflict has, as all styles do, both positive and negative outcomes.
EXAMPLE
Return to the example where you avoid getting involved in your colleagues' argument.EXAMPLE
Return to the trip example, where you're running low on money and you avoid talking about it.EXAMPLE
Go back to the scenario where you're walking down the street and see the kids in a fight at the end of the block, so you cross to the other side of the street.Source: Adapted from Sophia tutorial by Marlene Johnson.
