The construction of conflict talk across workplace contexts: (towards) a theory of conflictual compact

Abstract

Studies of conflictual workplace discourse are rare, both in language-awareness research and discourse analysis more generally, owing partly to the difficulty in gaining access to such interactions, and arguably to the relative rarity of conflictual discourse occurring at work. The topic is therefore both under-analysed and under-theorised. Drawing on data in the form of meeting transcripts and spoken and written interview data from three separate corpora of workplace communication, this study analyses how conflict is linguistically and discursively constructed across a range of different professional contexts. Our contribution to language awareness, and to discourse analysis, is threefold. Firstly, the close analysis of meeting data pinpoints a range of linguistic features that can constitute conflict at work, which then form the basis for a novel categorisation. Secondly, the combination of interactional data with interview data demonstrates the awareness professionals may bring when considering the issue of communication and conflict, and its ramifications for successful collaborations. Finally, the proposed theory of conflict can provide explanatory depth to awareness of conflictual discourse, explicating why workplace discourse may be more likely to turn conflictual in certain contexts, and not in others.

Keywords:

• Discourse analysis
• interaction
• professional interaction
• conflict talk

Notes

1. See Koester 2017 for a detailed discussion of conflict vs. disagreement and politeness.

2. The main role of an Operations Director is to increase efficiency and reduce costs working as part of an upper-management team, whereas an Estates Manager oversees the management of a selection of pubs.