{
  "title": "Is task conflict really good for teams?",
  "url": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/conflit-de-tache-est-il-vraiment-benefique-aux-equipes-en",
  "language": "en",
  "datePublished": "2026-09-29",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "SHR — Swiss Human Resources",
    "url": "https://www.shr.swiss",
    "address": "Esplanade de Pont-Rouge 9A, 1212 Lancy, Suisse"
  },
  "summary": "“Good” conflict over ideas is often contrasted with “bad” relationship conflict. Meta-analyses heavily qualify this distinction.",
  "section": "Research",
  "topic": "Conflict Management",
  "place": {
    "name": "Fribourg",
    "region": "Fribourg",
    "country": "CH"
  },
  "keyPoints": [
    {
      "heading": "The first assessment",
      "point": "Carsten De Dreu and Laurie Weingart (2003, Journal of Applied Psychology) find that both relationship and task conflict are, on average, negatively associated with team performance and satisfaction."
    },
    {
      "heading": "A finer reading",
      "point": "Frank de Wit, Lindred Greer and Karen Jehn (2012, Journal of Applied Psychology) update the synthesis: the link between task conflict and performance is close to zero overall, but turns positive under certain conditions, notably when task conflict is weakly intertwined with relationship conflict.."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Why the distinction is fragile",
      "point": "In practice, the two types of conflict are strongly correlated: a disagreement on substance easily slides into the relationship."
    },
    {
      "heading": "What follows for a manager",
      "point": "Encouraging debate is not enough; its relational spill-over must also be contained."
    },
    {
      "heading": "A practical implication, verifiable in-house",
      "point": "After a difficult debate, ask each participant separately whether the disagreement was about the topic or the people."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "authors": "Weingart",
      "year": "2003",
      "source": "Journal of Applied Psychology"
    },
    {
      "authors": "Jehn",
      "year": "2012",
      "source": "Journal of Applied Psychology"
    }
  ],
  "wordCount": 238,
  "image": "https://www.shr.swiss/img/blog-editorial-2026-09-29-en.jpg?v=4",
  "translations": {
    "fr": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/conflit-de-tache-est-il-vraiment-benefique-aux-equipes",
    "en": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/conflit-de-tache-est-il-vraiment-benefique-aux-equipes-en",
    "de": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/conflit-de-tache-est-il-vraiment-benefique-aux-equipes-de",
    "it": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/conflit-de-tache-est-il-vraiment-benefique-aux-equipes-it"
  },
  "relatedPages": {
    "programme": "https://www.shr.swiss/formation/gestion-du-conflit/fribourg",
    "city": "https://www.shr.swiss/formations-ville/fribourg",
    "blog": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog"
  },
  "citationPolicy": "Citation autorisée avec mention « SHR — Swiss Human Resources » et lien vers l'article."
}