Intrapersonal Conflict
Intrapersonal conflict arises within a person. For example, when you’re uncertain about what is
expected or wanted, or you have a sense of being inadequate to perform a task, you are experiencing
intrapersonal conflict. Intrapersonal conflict can arise because of differences in roles. A manager may
want to oversee a subordinate’s work, believing that such oversight is a necessary part of the job. The
subordinate, on the other hand, may consider such extensive oversight to be evidence of a lack of trust.
Role conflict, another type of intrapersonal conflict, includes having two different job descriptions that
seem mutually exclusive. This type of conflict can arise if you’re the head of one team but also a member
of another team. A third type of intrapersonal conflict involves role ambiguity. Perhaps you’ve been given
the task of finding a trainer for a company’s business writing training program. You may feel unsure about
what kind of person to hire—a well-known but expensive trainer or a local, unknown but low-priced
trainer. If you haven’t been given guidelines about what’s expected, you may be wrestling with several
options.
